Las alianzas tecnológicas entre organizaciones intensivas en conocimiento enfrentan desafíos relativos a la eficiencia de la vinculación, su efectividad, su duración e incluso al impacto esperado en la innovación; además, algunas de ellas son desconocidas de forma anticipada por las organizaciones. Este artículo analizó los factores que influyen en la formación de este tipo de alianzas en el sector industrial mexicano. La hipótesis plantea que las alianzas entre organizaciones intensivas en conocimiento se ven afectadas por distorsiones, discrepancias y empirismos aplicativos debido a visiones incompletas por parte de los líderes. Para el desarrollo de este trabajo, se emplearon cuestionarios y entrevistas a actores relevantes de dos organizaciones mexicanas intensivas en conocimiento, una del sector académico y otra del sector productivo, esto con la finalidad de identificar los recursos que poseían previamente a la formalización de la alianza tecnológica y cómo sirven a la toma de decisiones. Los resultados revelaron que el rol que desempeñen los líderes tiende a robustecer la posición estratégica de las organizaciones involucradas, siempre que las actividades de investigación complementen los recursos y capacidades disponibles, sirviendo éstas para afianzar la colaboración. Se concluye que las alianzas interorganizacionales son fundamentales para lograr el éxito en el campo empresarial y en distintos sectores, sin embargo, debe tomarse en cuenta que no siempre estas asociaciones satisfacen las expectativas de los participantes.
Biorefineries are modern mechanisms used for producing value-added products and biofuels from different biomass sources. However, a crucial challenge is to achieve a sustainable model for their adequate implementation. Challenges related to technical efficiency and economic feasibility are two of the most relevant problems. Therefore, the present study sought to determine the current trends in basic research and technological development around biorefining and sustainability. We carried out a co-occurrence analysis and a patent analysis using data obtained from the Scopus and Lens databases to provide a general overview of the current state of this area of knowledge. The co-occurrence analysis intends to provide an overview of biorefining and sustainability based on terms associated with these two concepts as a starting point to determine the progress and existing challenges of the field. The results of the patent analysis consisted in identifying the main technological sectors, applicants, and territories where inventions associated with biorefining are registered. The analysis of the information showed that bioeconomy, techno-economic aspects, circular economy, technical issues associated with biomass production, and biofuels represent the focal point of basic research in a wide range of disciplines. Technology development is focused on fermentation, enzymes, and microorganisms, among other areas, which shows the validity of these traditional techniques in addressing the problems faced by the bioeconomy. This scenario shows that developed economies are the driving force behind this area of knowledge and that the PCT system is fundamental for the protection and commercialization of these inventions in places different from where they originated. Furthermore, the challenge lies in learning to work in alternative and complementary technological sectors, beyond microbiology and enzyme applications, in pursuit of the sector’s technical and economic feasibility.
The interaction between industrial firms and academia has long been extremely weak in Mexico in spite of the manufacturing revival sparked by NAFTA since 1994. This situation is paradoxical given the persistent efforts from the Mexican State to encourage university-industry linkages. Over the years, this uncoupling has produced two effects: on the one hand, university research has followed its own agenda, mainly driven by scientists' interests based on their career tracks, and on the other hand, most firms lack research and development capabilities because they have preferred to seek abroad for technological advice. Because human capital plays a crucial role in this phenomenon, we then focus on answering the following question: to what extent are Mexican industrial firms able to harness university knowledge? Analyses carried out on a survey of 39,336 enterprises, which were collected by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), suggest that larger firms are more capable of absorbing the knowledge generated by universities thanks to their higher level of human capital, whereas smaller firms face harder challenges to harness academic knowledge because of their lack of qualified engineers and technicians that can help them to address their innovative endeavours. The implication of these results for public policy is that collaboration between industry and academia in Mexico can be encouraged by selectively supporting the hire of relatively low-trained engineering graduates and technicians, whereas universities should also be able to promote key programming skills, technical training, infrastructure skills and even sales training and negotiation skills, much earlier in the academic process.
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