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This article studies innovative behaviour and its impact on export activity. Our results show—for the Mexican case—that innovation is a method used to meet international standards and is therefore necessary in order to compete in export markets. This relationship has been observed in both developed and developing countries, although the exact configuration differs, probably due to the different role innovation plays in each. We used several sub-samples showing that different types of firms are associated with distinct independent variables. These variables could quite possibly explain many of the differing and often contradictory results in existing literature.

Small-scale fisheries are large contributors to regional economies and livelihoods in coastal communities of Latin America. While Mexico is one of the cases where small-scale fisheries play an important role, overfishing and poor management strategies have led to the collapse of many of its fisheries. The callo de hacha scallop fishery of the Ensenada de La Paz in Baja California Sur is an example of such a fishery which, after years of mismanagement, was closed by the Mexican authorities in 2009. The present study evaluated the recovery efforts in the cove and the potential outcomes of a collaboration between a non-governmental organization and a fishing community working towards the restoration of this pen-shell fishery. After more than four years of closure and active monitoring of the recovering process, the callo de hacha population has shown a significant population recovery, with potential solvency for reopening fishing activities. Four scenarios of uncertainty are evaluated with two of them providing positive net present values from reopening the fishery. We also document the involvement of a non-governmental organization with a fishing community, which created social capital and, in our opinion, was essential for a successful restoration. Having an actively involved community helped raise funds for the fishing closure so fishers were able to comply with Mexican legislation; it also fostered community building and self-organization that will be crucial to maintaining the sustainability of the fishery.

Resumen: Este trabajo analiza la gestión del conocimiento en pequeñas y medianas empresas a partir de la perspectiva de la medición del capital intelectual. La evidencia empírica muestra que los recursos intangibles favorecen el desempeño competitivo. El objetivo es identificar el capital intelectual incorporado en prácticas de gestión del conocimiento y analizar su influencia en el desempeño competitivo. La fuente de información es una encuesta en la industria mexicana de maquinados industriales. Mediante análisis multivariados se identifican grupos de prácticas y se estima su influencia sobre el desempeño competitivo. Los resultados muestran que el capital humano está asociado al cumplimiento de una amplia gama de objetivos competitivos, mientras que el capital tecnológico y el relacional tienen efectos selectivos.Palabras clave: capital intelectual, recursos intangibles, análisis multivariado, maquinados, México.Abstract: This paper analyzes the Knowledge Management Practices (KMP) in small and medium enterprises from an intellectual capital measurement approach. The empirical review shows than intangibles resources enhance the competitive performance. The main purpose of this research focuses on identifying the intellectual capital embodied on KMP and analyzing its influence on competitive performance. The source of information relies on a survey of the machine shop Mexican industry. Sets of KMP are revealed through the use of multivariate analysis and its influence on competitive performance is assessed. The results show that human capital is related to a wide range of competitive goals while the technological and the relational capital have a more narrow effect on those goals.