Gabriela Citlalli López Torres, Gonzalo Maldonado Guzman, Sandra Yesenia Pinzón Castro

(Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, México)

 

 

Abstract: The twenty first century is recognized for its high economy globalization, competitiveness and uncertainty in the business environment, where essentially Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) have to constantly adapt strategies to remain in market. Innovation is considered in the literature as a strategy that allows firms to keep them in market position and to enhance its performance level. However, SMEs have a number of barriers that prevent innovation activities, basically because these enterprises generally make few investments on research and development. This paper presents an analysis of innovation in SMEs performance, operating in Aguascalientes state, México, using a sample of 400 companies. The results obtained show how barriers to innovation significantly affect SMEs performance levels.

 

 

Key words: barriers to innovation; performance; small and medium-sized enterprises

 

JEL codes: M10