The paths of innovation and inclusion in multinational enterprises operating in Mexico

Abstract

Innovation and inclusion are two key topics in the public agenda in Mexico. In recent years, public policies have focused on the promotion of innovation through various programs, expecting that this, in turn, might encourage social inclusion. In the academic field, current theoretical discussions have analyzed the relation between these two concepts from different perspectives. In this sense, Multinational Enterprises (MNE) are key actors for observing the processes of innovation and social inclusion, since they allow to study both phenomena. Based on the results of a nationally representative survey on MNEs carried out in Mexico, between 2008 and 2009, comprising a sample of 171 multinational firms, and on information from the National Ranking of Science, Technology and Innovation, this article presents the analysis of the behavior of Innovation and inclusion within MNEs operating in Mexico, and the possible relationship between these two variables, as well as the influence of the institutional and economic environment over them. The main results confirm a strong relationship between inclusion and innovation in MNEs established in the country. However, the picture is not very encouraging, since less than a quarter of the companies analyzed was simultaneously innovative and inclusive. This indicates that the paths of innovation and inclusion have not yet matched.

Keywords:
Innovation; Inclusion; Multinational Corporations; Mexico