Institutional R&D environment and its influence on employment and sales in Mexican manufacturing SMEs

This paper aims to determine whether there is a correlation between institutional R&D environment and industrial strengthening in Mexican manufacturing SMEs. Based on those companies with higher growth in sales and employment, it seeks to identify R&D variables in their environments that drive their growth. This empirical research was based on a survey of a sample of 402 Mexican manufacturing SMEs with a longitudinal analysis during the period 2007-2010. The main result is that R&D institutions and public policies have a positive influence on employment in manufacturing SMEs, but the opposite effect on sales growth.