Template-type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Author-Name: Vallejo, Bertha
Author-Email: vallejo@intech.unu.edu
Author-Workplace-Name: United Nations University, Institute for New Technologies
Title:  Firms’ Learning Capabilities under a New Economic Environment: A Case Study
	 of Mexican Auto Parts Firms
Abstract: The study presented in this paper describes preliminary findings on changes
	 in the adoption of different learning mechanisms before and after the
	 implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), based on
	 a study of 193 Mexican automotive firms. The results obtained give us useful
	 insights on the composition and capability levels of the sector as well as
	 highlighting changes in the research and development (R&D) capacity of these
	 firms under the new competitive market conditions. The study is based on
	 firm-level panel data from the automotive industry obtained from the National
	 Survey on Employment, Salaries, Technology and Training (ENESTyC) carried out
	 by the National Statistics Office and the Ministry of Labour for the years
	 1991, 1994, 1998 and 2000. It presents a descriptive analysis of quantitative
	 measures taken by firms with regards to learning, and focuses on changes in
	 learning trends owing to different market conditions brought about by NAFTA.
	 The analysis is complemented by a multivariate probit model that tests the
	 relationship between critical firm-level variables and a firm’s probability of
	 conducting R&D activities, training staff, acquiring technological packages
	 and/or receiving technology transfers from their headquarters, or procuring
	 machinery and equipment. The empirical analysis highlights important
	 associations between different kinds of learning mechanisms adopted by firms
	 and their own critical characteristics. The study shows that of all the
	 learning mechanisms available to firms, training is the one most commonly used
	 in the sector – and it is on the increase. However, the results also indicate
	 that training is mainly given to those who operate specific machines or
	 technologies, and does not go towards helping firms develop the absorptive
	 capacity they need if they are to move towards newer and more complex technologies
	 and market changes. This may imply that the automotive sector is moving towards
	 a lower level of dynamic learning, concentrating on day-to-day operational
	 activities with a tendency to import knowledge from foreign countries. On the
	 other hand there may be more competition since the implementation of NAFTA, which
	 requires firms to conduct training simply in order to maintain their operational
	 level rather than to upgrade their capabilities. The results obtained in this
	 study provide useful insights and lessons that go beyond the Mexican context and
	 that may be useful for other manufacturing sectors in developing countries. 
Keywords: Learning, capability building, technology transfer, automotive industry, NAFTA, Mexico
Series: Discussion Paper
Creation-Date: 2005
Number: 05
File-URL: http://www.intech.unu.edu/publications/discussion-papers/2005-5.pdf
File-Format: application/pdf
File-Size: 353 Kb
Handle: RePEc:unm:unuint:200505