Accelerating the formation of regional systems of innovation in Mexico? Understanding the effects of the Technology Business Accelerator Program in the formation of resources and capabilities to innovate in Mexican regions

Abstract

My doctoral dissertation research project uses the case of the Mexico’s Technology Business Accelerator (TechBA) program in order to advance our understanding of whether a business acceleration program can enhance the capabilities of the whole system of innovation, and not just of the companies participating in the program. Through a qualitative analysis of the effects that the TechBA program has on the innovation and learning processes within firms and across actors and organizations in the locations where they are based in Mexico, it seeks to identify the effects that access to global flows of knowledge and technology has on the formation of technical, productive, organizational, and institutional capacities to innovate in Mexican regions. The present paper has presented the theoretical basis, background information and the methodological framework of my doctoral research project. It concluded by advancing a series of research propositions arising from the literature on systems of innovation, knowledge and learning processes, and regional economic development, that will be used to guide the process of data collection and analysis. These initial propositions are based on an on-going literature review and are expected to evolve through an interactive process between theory development and empirical observations into conclusions generalizable to an analytical model of the effects of a government-led business accelerator program on the formation of regional systems of innovation in developing countries.