Suyen Alonso-Ubieta, Ronald Mora-Esquivel and Juan Carlos Leiva
Building on the resource-based view theory, this paper aims to evaluate the role of innovation on competitiveness and competitive efficiency among Costa Rican small and…
Abstract
Purpose
Building on the resource-based view theory, this paper aims to evaluate the role of innovation on competitiveness and competitive efficiency among Costa Rican small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs).
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses a sample of 231 Costa Rican small and medium-size firms for 2019. The authors compute a competitiveness index that includes four pillars: innovation, strategy, markets and human capital. To estimate competitive efficiency, the authors use a non-parametric model, namely, data envelopment analysis, with a single constant input.
Findings
The results confirm that competitive and efficient SMEs present a more homogenous distribution of resources and capabilities. The innovation pillar is positively correlated with competitive efficiency. A positive correlation exists between market experience (business age) and innovation and between innovation and business size in terms of the number of employees.
Practical implications
The study contributes to the understanding on how SME managers’ decision-making processes affect resource allocation within the business, and on how SMEs can introduce strategic actions based on improvements of those resources that will likely have a greater impact on competitive efficiency.
Originality/value
This study contributes to better grasping how the configuration of resources and capabilities, in which innovation plays a decisive role, and contributes to shape the competitive efficiency of small and medium-sized businesses in a developing economy.
Details
Keywords
Esteban Lafuente, Suyen Alonso-Ubieta, Juan Carlos Leiva and Ronald Mora-Esquivel
This study evaluates the relationship between the entrepreneurial ecosystem and business competitiveness in four different contexts (i.e. France, Spain, Hungary and Costa Rica).
Abstract
Purpose
This study evaluates the relationship between the entrepreneurial ecosystem and business competitiveness in four different contexts (i.e. France, Spain, Hungary and Costa Rica).
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses a sample of 348 manufacturing and knowledge-intensive business service firms operating in four countries with different entrepreneurial ecosystems (France, Spain, Costa Rica and Hungary) for 2019. Firm competitiveness is computed via the “benefit-of-the-doubt” (BOD) method, and a multilevel model is employed to assess the connection between the entrepreneurial ecosystem and firm competitiveness.
Findings
The results of the multilevel model indicate that the entrepreneurial ecosystem is related to firm competitiveness, while the BOD results suggest that firms operating in settings with a more consolidated entrepreneurial ecosystem are better able to realize the outcomes of strategic choices linked to the exploitation of key resources and capabilities. Country-specific results suggest that “human capital” is the most relevant competitive pillar prioritized by all sampled businesses.
Originality/value
The proposed analysis of the connection between the entrepreneurial ecosystem and business competitiveness in different contexts contributes to the development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem frame by offering insights into how the properties of the entrepreneurial ecosystem (i.e. interactions among individuals, organizations and institutions) can produce economically meaningful effects on business performance.