La Competitividad De La Pequeña Y Mediana Empresa Hondureña Estudios Empíricos: Factores Determinantes Para El Éxito Competitivo, La Gestión Del Conocimiento Y Efectos De La Covid-19.

Abstract

As part of this thesis by compendium, the topic of competitiveness in Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) in Honduras is presented as a research transversal axis through a series of studies carried out and published. Basic topics were considered such as: the determinants of competitiveness, knowledge management and the effects caused by COVID-19 on the competitiveness of the SME, an important sector in the Honduran economy. The importance of SME is evidenced through research, studies and positions of several authors and researchers worldwide. Likewise, the topic of competitiveness is of utmost importance for the Honduran SME sector as an alternative to contribute in areas of export and improvement in technology, its productive processes and also to face adverse situations such as the pandemic, which affects companies and society in general and forces them to look for new options and mechanisms to survive in a world of constant changes and challenges. The first study presents the results in relation to the determinants of the competitive success of agroindustrial SMEs in Tegucigalpa, M.D.C. in Honduras. Through the results of this study, it was identified that the agroindustrial SME has quality products, good customer service and the preparation/training of personnel as the factors that have the greatest impact on its competitive success. The results obtained in the first study identified that, with regard to factors related to competitiveness, 86.67 % of the SMEs do not develop a strategic plan, 66.67 % indicate that they do not have production manuals for their processes and 70 % require information systems. The data obtained in this research contribute to the understanding of the determinants of competitiveness in this sector. The second study corresponds to a quantitative, cross-sectional, correlational, empirical research, with a non-experimental design, since the variables were not manipulated. Its main objective was to analyze the situation of the competitiveness of small artisan enterprises in the municipality of Valle de Ángeles, Francisco Morazán, in Honduras in March 2020, from the perspective of knowledge management. The relationship between competitiveness levels and knowledge management in this artisanal sector was established. The results of this research are the product of the application of a structured survey to a sample of 30 craft business owners, who were randomly selected. It was possible to identify that 86.67 % of the small handicraft enterprises do not plan strategically to reach a competitive advantage, due to the low level of knowledge management. A total of 80 % indicated that they do not have assignments and responsibilities in the process of storing and maintaining knowledge. Likewise, 66.67 % indicated that they totally agree that the use of available knowledge is encouraged, but despite the above, only 50 % apply the knowledge to improve and innovate the work. With these data, Pearson's correlation test was applied to determine the correlation between the knowledge management variable and competitiveness, identifying the existence of a significant correlation between these variables by obtaining a result of 0.435 and, according to this statistic, the correlation of variables is significant at values of 0.05. The third study corresponds to a quantitative, cross-sectional, empirical research with a non-experimental design, since the variables were not manipulated. Its main objective was to analyze the effects of COVID-19 on the determinants of competitiveness in the agroindustrial SME sector in the Sula Valley region of Honduras in the first semester of 2020. It is important to highlight that the study of competitiveness has been evolving, generating diverse theoretical bases and concepts that support it; it is also necessary to identify the consequences of how COVID-19 will impact this economic sector. This is an issue that should be given attention and priority, due to the uncertainty resulting from the effects of the current pandemic. It is important that researchers, consultants and managers dedicate time and effort to try to understand, outline and project the future in order to develop the relevant strategies to successfully overcome this atypical situation. According to the analysis of the results and the effects of COVID-19, 100 % of the companies surveyed state that their sales were lower in the period that the study was conducted compared to the period prior to the onset of the coronavirus crisis. A total of 50 % of the companies surveyed indicated that they have had to negotiate the suspension of their employees due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Likewise, 67 % of the companies surveyed stated that some of their personnel are working remotely as a measure in response to COVID-19. In addition, 40 % of the agribusiness SME companies stated that they have access to credit, and 100% indicated that they will require loans to recover from the COVID-19 crisis. Faced with the current pandemic, the analysis of the determinants of competitiveness and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic should be considered by all sectors and, in particular, the private sector associations, the government through the institutions that support SMEs and international organizations. This will make it possible to guide future strategies aimed at recovering the agroindustrial SME sector and, above all, improving its post-pandemic competitiveness. It is important to emphasize that, in much of the work of this thesis, its objective was to generate information that is of interest to the public (government, international organizations supporting SMEs, unions and associations) and private sectors (business associations, SME managers and owners) that will serve as a basis for the development of future empirical studies and particularly to contribute with national and international institutions to design and promote policies to support and improve the competitiveness of the sector. Likewise, it is important to take actions in relation to the effects generated by COVID-19 that contribute to optimize the competitive level of the sector and improve the strategies to face the current or future pandemics.The present thesis by compendium is structured with the objective of analyzing the main concepts that are the object of study. Regarding competitiveness in the small and medium enterprise sector, it was considered to maintain the usual structure of a scientific article for this thesis, thus facilitating the reading and relating in parallel to the scientific articles that accompany it and complement the information presented. In the methodology chapter, the different methods, primary and secondary sources of information, samples used as well as the different tools and softwares used for data collection, tabulation and analysis are detailed. In the chapters on the obtained results, we present the significant results already published and that correspond to the contributions that allowed the discussion of these, thus contributing to future research. Finally, being a thesis in the compendium modality, the fundamental conclusions in each one of the published scientific articles are presented. Likewise, the annexes include the diplomas, letters, acknowledgements received and the links where the articles can be accessed. It is hoped that the effort made through this thesis and the published research will contribute to future studies and also to decision making and will improve the competitiveness situation of Honduran SMEs and the country in general.