Technological capability accumulation in the 'maquila industry' in Mexico

Abstract

From the mid-1960s, 'maquila' plants were established in the Mexican Northern border. The Mexican model was based on foreign firms establishing their own assembly plants. Even though this model was less successful than that of East and South East Asian in terms of several techno-economic indicators, it has largely contributed to employment generation. However, as a result of internal learning process and changes in the global firms strategies, several 'maquilas' operating in Mexico have undergone important qualitative changes. During the 1990s there was a change in the nature of their productive and technological activities towards more complex products and more innovative technological activities. In contrast, other dimensions have evolved slowly, such as the engagement of Mexican suppliers in global supply chains. The aim of this paper is to discuss an analytical framework to help study the technological capability accumulation in the 'maquila' industry in Mexico. Based on that the paper seeks to examine levels of technological capability accumulation of three maquilas, and to bring to light some stylized facts of the accumulation process in this industry. The analytical framework proposed draws on the taxonomy of technological capabilities proposed by Bell & Pavitt (1995) for the manufacturing industry in developing countries and its further adaptations and applications carried in Figueiredo (2001) and Ariffin & Figueiredo (2003, 2004). This paper adapts it to the particularities of the 'maquila' industry in Mexico. The new taxonomy includes technical functions that are relevant to this industry and redefines activities that correspond to various levels of accumulation. This paper is based on a case study methodology. The cases are the business lines of three maquilas in Ciudad Juarez: Thomson Multimedia, Philips Corp. and Delphi Corp. Two business lines correspond to the consumer electronics industry and the third is specialized on electronic products for the auto-parts industry. The evidence was collected between April 2001 and October 2002 in Ciudad Juarez. The main source of information are interviews conducted on the personnel of different hierarchical positions within each 'maquila'

Capacidades tecnológicas y su relación con las esferas del contexto en la industria mexicana

“…Otros autores consideran a las CT como los recursos necesarios para generar y administrar mejoras en los procesos y en la organización de la producción, productos, equipo y proyectos de ingeniería, las cuales se dan a nivel individual (habilidades, conocimiento y experiencia) y a nivel organizacional [19]. Otros consideran que las CT reflejan el dominio en la realización de las actividades tecnológicas [20]. Posteriormente este concepto se empleó como sinónimo de otros conceptos como el esfuerzo y la habilidad tecnológicos, sin embargo, más adelante se generalizó y actualmente se ha contextualizado y enfocado de acuerdo con su uso principalmente en las organizaciones de forma sistémica.…”

Do Productive Capabilities Affect Export Performance? Evidence from African Firms

“…This taxonomy has been developed in studies by Ariffin (2000) exploring the electronics industry in Malaysia; Figueiredo (2001) studying steel companies in Brazil; Ariffin and Figueiredo (2004) examining the electronics industry in Malaysia and Brazil;and Figueiredo (2008) in various sectors in Brazil. Similarly, Dutrénit and Vera-Cruz (2005) distinguish between 'basic operative capabilities' and 'innovative capabilities' to study the 'maquila' industry in Mexico. In these taxonomies, innovative technological capability acquires various levels of complexity-from 'basic' levels (minor adaptation and incremental quality improvement), through 'intermediate' levels (for various types of product and process design and engineering) to 'advanced' and 'research-based' levels (for developing the knowledge base for new product and process designs).…”

Efeitos de mudanças de propriedade sobre os processos intraorganizacionais de aprendizagem

“…Como consequência da gradual desregulamentação do mercado, no início dos anos 1980, e do esgotamento das políticas de substituições de importações, as empresas de países em desenvolvimento e, especialmente, as da América Latina (Ben, 2001), passaram a conviver com a concorrência de firmas internacionais (Rosal, 2004). Tal fato gerou um período de elevada instabilidade e turbulência, com mudanças no ambiente econômico e nas condições de competitividade (Dutrénit, 2005) e acarretou o esquecimento do tema inovação também no meio acadêmico.…”

“…Referenciando-se aos processos subjacentes de aprendizagem, encontram-se, por exemplo, Castro (2002), Büttenbender (2005) e Tacla e Figueiredo (2006). Verificando as implicações de tais processos para o desempenho técnicooperacional, encontramos Ben (2001) e Dutrénit (2005). Figueiredo (2001) realizou estudo comparativo entre duas empresas de aço brasileiras, analisando as implicações dos processos de aprendizagem em termos de maneira e velocidade de acumulação de competências tecnológicas.…”