A comparative study of problems encountered in the development of small businesses in the U.S. and Mexico

Abstract

The U.S. economy depends on the health of small businesses, which represent 99.9 percent of total U.S. businesses. Similarly, the Mexican economy depends on the health of its small (and medium) businesses, which represent 99.8 percent of total Mexican businesses. Small business creation and success is important to developed and developing countries, but risky. Studies have examined problems and opportunities created by small businesses. This paper examines problems and challenges faced by small businesses in Mexico and the USA. While these problems and challenges are similar in both countries, some important distinctions need to be identified. This is an important topic because small businesses that do not recognize which problems to avoid may quickly fail. Researchers noted there is no simple pattern for success among small businesses; there’s no general theoretical framework for success. Certain issues impacting small businesses have been identified as critical success factors (CSFs). The literature review of CSFs was used to develop the instrument for this study. The methodology was identical for both the U.S. and Mexico studies and included focus groups with business owners in the United States and Mexico. The business owners represented different businesses and identified common problems faced by their businesses. Problems uncovered in the focus groups were included in a survey instrument, which ultimately identified 29 key business problems. The survey instrument examined small business owners’ perceptions of current key problem areas. The 29 items presented to the small business owners in Mexico were identical to the 29 items presented in the U.S. survey. Factor analysis was used in an exploratory manner to analyze the interrelations among the 29 key business problems. The study’s findings indicate that the small business owner is a key participant among a complex set of interrelated factors including the availability of capital, adequate human resources, governmental organization and relations, and strategic planning. The issues that impact small business development in the U.S. are very similar to the issues that impact small business development in Mexico, but there are some critical differences. The study revealed a significant difference between the factor structure of the problem areas as perceived by Mexican entrepreneurs and U.S. entrepreneurs. Small business owners, business advisors and government facilitators may benefit from this knowledge as they develop companies in these countries. The Mexican government may consider a special program to provide micro loans and also encourage formation of cooperatives according to business clusters.

La expansión de la microempresa informal: ¿cuestión de desempeño o de empeño?

“…Para el caso 0-1 (Tabla 3), se encuentra que utilizar servicios contables, apoyarse del autoconsumo (cuidado de la liquidez), incrementar la productividad, no contar con socios (reducción de riesgo de comportamientos oportunistas ante la falta de contratos), ser constante en la operación (en línea con Berrone et al, 2014) y en el nivel de ventas, y no presentar incrementos abruptos en la rentabilidad (reducción del riesgo de gasto en bienes duraderos para el hogar, por ejemplo) estarían asociados a una probabilidad de 94.7% de que un emprendimiento establezca su primer local comercial en el corto plazo. Para el caso 1-2, la Tabla 4 muestra que utilizar servicios de contador, no autoconsumir bienes de la empresa (acorde con lo señalado por Hayes et al, 2015, en lo referente al manejo de insumos), incrementar la proporción de hombres en la plantilla (inequidad de género), ser la actividad laboral prioritaria del emprendedor, incrementar el número de empleados y ser más flexible en la operación (por ejemplo, por la tercerización de la economía), se pueden asociar a una probabilidad de 61.3% de que el emprendedor establezca un segundo local comercial en el corto plazo. Finalmente, las probabilidades de pasar a la categoría superior, calculadas en los valores medios de las variables, son de 55.9% para el caso 0-1 y de 5.3% para el caso 1-2.…”

“…Berge, Bjorvatn y Tungodden (2015) advierten que las malas decisiones en materia de capital humano pueden constituir un freno para el desarrollo de la microempresa incluso más importante que la falta de financiamiento. En consecuencia, la forma en que el microempresario enfrente estos y otros los retos operacionales (por ejemplo, la planeación estratégica y la implementación de controles operativos), podría determinar si el proyecto se sitúa o no en una potencial ruta de crecimiento (Hayes et al, 2015). A este respecto, autores como Thapa Fuertes-Callén y Cuellar-Fernández (2019) sugieren que la primera de las circunstancias repercute positivamente en la segunda, pero no necesariamente al revés.…”

“…Aunque se ha investigado profusamente acerca de los factores que impulsan el desempeño de las microempresas en México (Mungaray et al, 2007;Hayes, Chawla, y Kathawala, 2015;Dini y Stumpo, 2018;Rivera, 2018), los resultados acerca de la relación entre este y el potencial de expansión son aún escasos (Allinson, Braidford, Houston y Stone, 2013;Jang y Park, 2011;Federico y Capelleras, 2015;Fuertes-Callén y Cuellar-Fernández, 2019); no se 1 Llamadas también "emprendimientos" o "negocios de hogar" en este documento. diga ya si la búsqueda se circunscribe al ámbito del emprendimiento informal, que en México no es un tema menor.…”

Contextual factors of entrepreneurship intention in manufacturing SMEs: the case study of Iran

“…These contextual factors, which may have immediate or microenvironmental characters, can influence the entrepreneurial activity by presenting opportunities or threatening the entrepreneurship (Dahlqvist et al, 2000;Hayes, 2015). While most scholars agree on the value of entrepreneurial activity measurement, there is no agreement on how to do this evaluation (Davidsson, 2004;Dennis, 1999).…”

Small business marketing strategies for physical therapy practice owners

“…More than 50% of small business firms in the United States fail within the first 5 years of operation (Hayes, Chawla, & Kathawala, 2015). In 2014, 28.4 million small businesses constituted 99% of the total U.S. workforce, making small business firms essential to the economy (SBA, 2015).…”