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This chapter's objective is to analyze, with a long-term perspective, the formation of an entrepreneurial culture in Mexico's Midwest, specifically in the state of Jalisco, in terms of the geographical environment, the culture in general, and the local economic institutions that, when viewed interconnectedly, will globally impact the practices, representations, and imaginaries of persons who at a given time have made the decision to undertake profitable economic activities – individual and collective entrepreneurs, in other words. To this end, we have divided the text into two sections. In the first, we conceptually review what we understand as entrepreneurial culture; in principle, we deconstruct its terms and then conjugate them from a social science perspective. We also emphasize the importance of studying the milieu as a scenario of action with different arenas, where a variety of agents have been involved. In the second part, without sidelining conceptual analysis, we present concrete empirical evidence of the role played by culture and local economic institutions that shape entrepreneurial culture in Midwestern Mexico over time, specifically in Jalisco. The text ends with some final considerations.

As has been widely recognized in the literature, the post‐war economic boom which drew to a close by the early 1970s has been followed by an intense period of industrial restructuring characterized by marked instability in all three major spheres of economic activity: production, distribution, and finance. This process has taken place both at the global level and at the level of national economies (Cardenas, 1990). It reflects a profound change in the mode of capitalist accumulation. Prior to the current round of restructuring, accumulation was taken to be principally the inward‐oriented task of each nation's own economy. Now, it seems that successful capital accumulation (i.e. development) depends most upon a nation's competitive integration into the world market for goods and services (Garrido, 1995). The present mode of accumulation implies an opening of national economies to international trade in commodities and capital, both among the advanced industrial nations and between the industrialized and the newly‐industrializing countries. This has generated a heightened degree of competition among countries and among firms, given that the easy movement of capital, goods, and services has allowed for real competition to emerge among dispersed places around the globe based upon their comparative financial and productive advantages.

This paper aims to associate two fields of research: circular economy and the restoration of water cycle through the implementation of rainwater catchment systems in urban zones.

This study considers the case of the metropolitan zone of Guadalajara, México. This urban concentration is the second largest in Mexico. It faces floods each year with a cost of over US$26m, while demand of water has a production cost over US$24m. At the same time, the aquifers are drying due to uncontrolled urbanization and increasing the impervious area over the recharge zones. In addition, rainwater is combined with wastewater, elevating the cost of the wastewater treatment because the amount and quality of water to treat exceeds the systems’ capacity. This situation causes floods and decreases the availability of ground water. These problems are reflected in the imbalance of parameters of water cycle and a new approach is needed. The circular economy model can help to preserve one of our most vital resources. Scarcity is already so pronounced that we cannot reach many of our desired economic, social and environmental goals. Technologies that help balance supply and demand can also help water (both stock and flow) to become part of a circular model. To prove this, the authors present a hypothetical scenario based on a pilot project and a basin modeling of Guadalajara, Mexico.

Through this paper, it is possible to demonstrate that rainwater harvesting can play an important role in circular economy. Using the rainwater catchment systems, the cost of damages caused by floods could be decreased, the demand of water could be reduced, cost of production can be reduced, the aquifers can be recharged and the wastewater treatments can be improved.

Few papers have been developed to associate two fields of research (circular economy and the restoration of water cycle), using rainwater catchment systems as the central element.

The study aims to investigate the national cultural clusters myth, studying the relationships between individual cultural values and preferred leader behaviour of working businesspeople in “Latin American” samples from Santiago, Chile, and Guadalajara, Mexico. The set of research questions to be addressed are: Are the rankings of value dimensions by businesspeople different between “Latin American” Chile and Mexico? Are the rankings of preferred leader behaviour dimensions different between Chile and Mexico? Are the predictive relationships of leader behaviour preferences by value dimension priorities different between Chile and Mexico?

In an investigation of the relationships amongst preferred leader behaviour and individual value dimensions, the study employs field survey research using two experimental but well established and documented instruments, the Schwartz Values Survey and the Leader Behaviour Description Questionnaire. Comparisons between results from two samples from Chile and Mexico are carried out.

Two samples from large cities in Latin America, Santiago, Chile, and Guadalajara, Mexico, are compared using preferred leader behaviour dimensions and individual values and their relationship to one another. Significant sample and gender sub‐sample differences were observed for preferred leader behaviour, indicating that the perception of preferred leader behaviour priorities differed between businesspeople in Santiago and Guadalajara. Results indicate a general preference in both samples for a Parental Leader style, nurturing in Chile and stern in Mexico, and managerial leaders should be a source of enjoyment and pleasure in business; indications are that engaging in business is an enjoyable endeavour. Gender (sex) differences were observed between samples for preferred leader behaviour. Due to several demographic differences in job level and age in the samples, further work is required to verify the differences observed.

Samples are from two cities, Santiago, Chile, and Guadalajara, Mexico, with an obvious requirement for studying additional regions in the country. Interpreting the findings is challenging and needs to be clarified though further focus group studies to assist in interpreting similarities and differences.

Practical applications of the outcomes of the study are that the results can be used to inform managerial leadership training and development and practice for expatriate and local managerial leaders working in the two cities.

The authors’ literature review and data analyses have some social implications as they found contradictory and misleading discussions of the relative placement of Mexico, Chile, and other countries in South, Central, and North America using cultural value dimension studies that need to be rationalised in further research.

The study is of value to practitioners and researchers interested in managerial leadership in Latin American countries.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the value of attending the Guadalajara Book Fair and a Sister Library program.

The paper takes the form of an overview by a public library director attending an international book fair and Sister Library program.

Attending the Guadalajara Book Fair is an invaluable experience not only for the attendee but for the library that the attendee represents. Participation in a Sister Library program is a cooperative venture that is beneficial to both parties.

The paper highlights the value of international collection development and networking, especially the Sister Library program.

This paper aims to analyze the effect of a recent disruption of Mexico's gasoline supply chain on the usage of public bike-sharing systems in Mexico City and Guadalajara.

The authors use a detailed data set to understand the usage patterns of Ecobici and Mibici. The authors assess both systems with a differences-in-differences econometric model using the least popular stations as a control group.

The authors find that the number of rides increased significantly shortly after the event because less popular stations became more utilized.

The authors show that when the effects of gasoline shortages were noticeable, usage rates increased in Guadalajara and Mexico City, but the rise primarily came from the users selecting more bikes from the less popular stations. Therefore, the authors show that citizens in both cities regarded bike-sharing as an adequate means of transportation, maximizing system usage during a disruptive time. This finding suggests that cities should invest in improving public bike-sharing systems to reduce carbon emissions and increase their population's well-being.

The authors use a publicly available data set to understand how citizens answered to a major disruption. Furthermore, this is one of the first papers that align supply chain risk management with sustainable transportation and analyzes its effects on citizen behavior in a Latin American setting.

El propósito de este artículo es analizar el efecto de una interrupción en la cadena de suministro de la gasolina en México sobre el uso del sistema de bicicletas públicas en Ciudad de México y Guadalajara.

Usamos una base de datos detallada para entender los patrones de uso de Ecobici y Mibici. Analizamos ambos sistemas a través de un modelo econométrico de diferencias en diferencias utilizando las estaciones menos afectadas como grupo de control.

Encontramos que la utilización del sistema aumentó en número de viajes de manera significativa luego del evento. Esto es debido a que las estaciones menos populares se empezaron a utilizar de manera más intensiva.

Demostramos que los habitantes de las dos ciudades decidieron buscar alternativas de transporte cuando los efectos de la escasez de gasolina se sintieron con fuerza. Esto significa que los ciudadanos consideran que las bicicletas públicas son un medio de transporte adecuado y que durante episodios inoportunos decidieron buscar opciones en las estaciones menos populares maximizando el uso del sistema. Por lo que las ciudades deberían invertir en la mejora de dichos sistemas para que sean más utilizados y así se reduzcan las emisiones de carbono y para que aumente el bienestar en la población.

Utilizamos una base de datos abierta para entender cómo los ciudadanos respondieron a una interrupción importante. Adicionalmente, este es uno de los primeros trabajos que alinea la gestión de riesgos en la cadena de suministros con transporte sostenible y analiza su efecto sobre el comportamiento de los usuarios en un contexto latinoamericano.

The student will examine from a systemic perspective qualitative information from a company to propose improvements to its business model.

After working for more than 10 years with a global company, in January 2006 the Guadalajara-based jewelry SME, Divine Jewelry Co. (DJC), was facing liquidity problems, overstock and a debt from a bank loan, among others. The planned expansion of DJC, a family business founded in 1980, had resulted in just the opposite. Daniel, the owner and CEO of DJC, was determined to reverse the company's precarious situation as soon as possible. Some of the questions he asked himself centered on what actions he should take to pay off liabilities and try to survive in the industry his business had held a place in for 25 years. Daniel wondered whether, to pay off debts and have sufficient liquidity to have working capital and move forward, it would be enough to make efforts to recover those clients they had stopped serving, along with getting new ones. In addition, he thought it was necessary to formulate a plan to use the remaining proceeds from the sale of the property if they had to dispose of it. The case is about analyzing the strategic management of a company, specifically its business model, considering the context of its industry. The case also illustrates the problems that arise from focusing on serving a single client.

The case “Divine Jewelry Co: From Expansion to Survival” has been designed to be used by university students in initial management or strategic management courses on the following topics: Business modelsPorter's Five Forces ModelFormulation of strategies

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS11: Strategy.

The main purpose of this paper is to analyse the impact of the intellectual capital (IC) on the competitiveness in the manufacturing small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Mexico.

The approach of this investigation is developing a theoretical construct to determine the correlation between IC and competitiveness and find the most relevant factors that impact it, where IC is independent variable and the competitiveness is dependant variable. Using the Likert scale to determine the degree of agreement or disagreement, the survey was applied to 420 SMEs. The results were analysed using confirmatory factor analysis, Cronbach’s alpha and subsequently structural equation models.

The results show that the IC dimensions – the information obtained, IC developed and learning and feedback – have an effect on the competitiveness of SMEs. The paper presents the theoretical validation of the factors that impact on IC and competitiveness and hence they are the key elements that impact mostly on each analysed variable.

The results obtained measure the level of correlation between the variables in the study, helping to design strategies for the key factors needed to integrate the IC and to develop competitive synergies in the manufacturing SMEs.

This study shows the effects of the IC that are directly impacting the competitiveness of SMEs so that each factor of the dependent and independent variables should be analysed separately to propose improvements in implementing IC to seek higher level of competitiveness.

A corrosion study of the intra‐uterine device, “TCu 380 A”, was made using cyclic voltammetry (CV), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and optical microscopy (OM). Blood plasma, whole blood and artificial uterine fluid were used as corrosive media in order to establish a comparative scheme of the corrosion behaviour of copper in the device. In summary, the results obtained were not only similar to work reported previously, but also provided complementary data for a better understanding of the corrosion problem.

This study aims to examine the effect of the board of directors (BoD) structure on environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance in publicly traded non-financial firms from the perspective of agency theory, with investors as the principal, the management team as the agent, the BoD as an information system that reduces information asymmetries between them and ESG performance as a shareholder’s expectation.

Sample data is cross-sectional as of January 2023 and includes 1,695 non-financial firms listed in 59 stock markets across 54 countries. Data were sourced from the FactSet Research Systems database. The generalized least squares method was used to run quadratic and exponential models to assess the research hypotheses.

Results revealed that board size, independence, age, gender diversity and participation on other corporate boards have a nonlinear relationship with ESG performance. Board tenure is the only BoD attribute for which a nonlinear association is not found. This study found that firms with larger boards and more female board members tend to exhibit a stronger commitment to ESG performance. In contrast, companies with a board of directors consisting of independent members, advanced age, service on other corporate boards and CEO duality may struggle to prioritize positive ESG outcomes.

This study contributes to the academic discussion on BoD–ESG by examining nonlinear relationships among a large sample of publicly traded firms; providing results that could be applied internationally; using ESG data that is based on the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board's materiality framework, which identifies key ESG factors for investors; emphasizing the significance of diversity and inclusion within the decision-making bodies of public companies, thereby improving their ESG performance; and supporting the agency theory perspective and suggesting that the effect of board structure on ESG may reflect the board's focus on investors’ best interests.