Emprendimiento Social E Innovación Tecnológica En Las Pequeñas Y Medianas Empresas De Los Sectores Comunicaciones Y Restaurantes, Comercio Y Hoteles Enel Distrito Central.

Abstract

This research focuses on the problem related to the lack of sustainability and competitiveness of small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in the commerce, restaurants and hotels, communications and technology sectors in the Central District, Honduras. This problem is reflected in a high closure rate of these companies during the first years of operation, generating substantial concerns. To address this problem, a mixed methodology that combines quantitative and qualitative approaches has been applied. The census has been used as a statistical procedure to investigate the observation units from the Database managed by the AMDC. A key finding of the study is the negative trade-off between the size of companies and their closure rate, as well as the positive relationship between exonerations and the closure rate. In other words, smaller businesses are more vulnerable to closures, and as the value of exemptions in an economic sector increases, the rate of closures in that sector also increases. However, no evaluation was found between the COVID-19 pandemic and sales volume, business closures, business renewal, and jobs. A positive aspect identified is the variation between sales volume, employment and the number of companies, indicating that economic growth, represented by the increase in sales volume, contributes to the sustainability of SMEs. Another aspect of interest is that no differences were observed in the average renewals between the companies that took advantage of the government incentive policies and those that did not, demonstrating that the current government incentive policies for these companies have not yielded the results . expected in terms of sustainability and competitiveness. The study proposes a social entrepreneurship model to improve the sustainability and competitiveness of SMEs in the Central District, Honduras. The model includes sections related to public policies, legislation, business infrastructure, investment strategies for research and development, the incubation model and the strategy for evaluating performance indicators.