The Assembly Enterprises in the Electric Electronic Sector in Tamaulipas , Mexico : Their Knowledge Ties

This work’s objective is to identify, and to classify the different types of bonds established between the assembly enterprises in the electric electronic sector in Tamaulipas with the local and foreign agents. The work is supported in a multicase study methodology. The methodology is applied by Marin and Giuliani (2006) that allows them to measure the bonds looking for the frequency, stability, the degree of cohesion, the fragility of the relationships, the interoperability, the interdependence of the diverse agents of study, and also its graphic representation through the Netdraw software. The classification of the enterprises involved in the study was obtained with the enterprises with fragile local ties and strong bonds with their headquarters. The evaluation of these bonds allowed them to classify them as globally diversified (enterprises A and B); Globally dependent (C); Globally Independent (E); and Globally Isolated (E).


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Which are the bonds established the assembly enterprises selected in the study with local agents?-How are they classified and represented following the methodology of Marin and Giuliani (2006) using the Netdraw software?
For this, a theoretical discussion is presented about the bonds of the related enterprises with local agents and the role of the technological involvement.After that, a case study methodology is presented and supported by the election of the enterprises involved in the study.In the following part, information and results are analyzed which will allow to classify the enterprises according to the bonds established with the local and foreign agents, following the methodology of Marin and Giuliani (2006).Lastly, the conclusions are presented.

Bonds, IED, and Knowledge Contributions
Since the 80'san extensive debate has taken place in the assembly enterprise, in the economic growth, and the development of the territories where they are established.There is an optimistic position that considers that assembly enterprises are part of this productive model that has contributed to transform a part of Mexico, generating jobs with salaries that have increased meanwhile the enterprises have evolved technologically (Carrillo & Lara, 2004;Carrillo & Gomis, 2005, 2011).The other position, more critical and pessimistic, it considers that the assembly enterprises have a limited effect over the economic development in the territories where they are located, and if they have impacted in the job offers, this will be low quality and with a lower income (De la Garza, 2015, Bendesky et al., 2004).Some authors recognize the fast success in the program in the creation of jobs in the northern border of the country (Ayer & Layton, 1974;Brooke & Peach, 1981).IN particular, Calderon and Mendoza (2000) have studied that the first explaining factor of the manufacturing job expansion in the north of Mexico, in particular for the states of Baja California Norte, Chihuahua, and Tamaulipas, it was the growth in the manufacturing jobs in the border.Between 1993 and 2000, the manufacturing job in the border had grown to an annual rate of 5.8%.The states that generated the most jobs in the period were Chihuahua, 10.9%, Baja California Norte, 9.2%, Tamaulipas, 8.6%, and Coahuila 5.9% (Fullerton, Vázquez, & Barraza, 2011).
The foreign transnational enterprise (EET) through IED could contribute to the economic development mainly through two channels.One, facilitating the productivity growth and the exports and creating jobs.This group of effects generates additional incomes that increase the capacity of expenses in consumption and investment, and because of that, economic growth.Two, through the creation of technological involvement and knowledge contributions (Spillover).Precisely, this second channel is the one we will discuss in this work (Dutrenit & Vera Cruz, 2004).
The contribution effects, understood as the transference of knowledge to enterprises or institutions of the territory, they depend on the bonds or the type of relationships established by IED, in particular, the foreign transnational enterprises (EET) in the destination country with the enterprises and the local agents.
The EET and their capacity of generating contribution effects require the existence of at least two requisites, or fundamental conditions for them to appear (Dutrenit & Vera Cruz, 2004): 1).Since the offer's side or knowledge production (related to EET) (Demanding bonds).From the existence of a corporative strategy belonging to EET prone to facilitate or promote the collaborative relationships with agents or local enterprises, that grant a sufficient autonomy to the related enterprises to develop a technologic and innovative behavior, also the industry's intensity where the enterprise is located.These autonomous behaviors always depend on the objectives of corporative strategies According to Altenburg (2000), the strategies respond to the search of markets, resources, efficiency, strategic resources, or capacities.Thus, the related enterprises of EET always respond to a specific corporative strategy and depending on that, the related enterprises could develop more collaborative bonds in the sense of facilitating knowledge flows to the local enterprises.However, the capacity of developing this type of productive bonds could not happen, if the local enterprises are not prepared for that.
2).From the side of the acquisition or knowledge demand (local enterprise) (bonds' offer).The existence of technological capacities in the local PYME to cover the necessities of supplies, in the quality of standards of their products at an international level, in the update of their productive and management practice, teaching practice for their human resources, among other factors.The technological capacities are according to Kim (1997): "…the ability to make an effective use of the technological knowledge to assimilate, use, adapt, and change the existent technologies.It also allows to create new technologies and develop new products and processes in response to the changing economic environment…" In other words, to have the option to develop bonds that make possible the generation of contributions, this will depend on the existence of technological capacities belonging to them.Frequently, local enterprises don't have productive capacities sufficiently developed to supply an amount of materials or services with the required quality by the EET (Dussel, 2001).The development of appropriate technological capacities means to advance in accumulating processes, and technological development, since stages in which simple routine operations are performed to others which are more complex (Dahlman & Westphal, 1982;Lall, 1992;Bell & Pavit, 1995), which require innovation, and learning.
A type of specific technological capacity that the local enterprises have the need to promote to develop effective and long term bonds is their absorbing capacity.This means, the capacity that they have to absorb the external available knowledge and sum it up to their routines and productive processes.The absorbing capacity depend on the base of the available knowledge in the organization, that grants the ability of identifying new information, assimilate it, and add it to the routines of the organization, and the intensity of the efforts, which is related to the internal organizational mechanisms oriented to develop this capacity.

Methodology
For the measurement of the bonds of the enterprises subjected to the study and the local agents, a methodology was developed by Marin and Giuliani (2006), in a study about multinational enterprises in Argentina.In that document the bonds of the subsidiary companies are evaluated, and also the spillovers effects (Annex 1).
In this research, case study was used due to the fact that this method when it examines the phenomena of its real context, takes advantage of the richness of their content and it describes the context where the phenomena is being studied (Eisenhardt and Graebner, 2007).Following Yin (1989) proposal, the comparison of the differences among the cases subjected to research was adapted, to obtain results that could explain the situation of the components of the subject study, which in this research are the factors that explain the nature of the local and international bonds.The research has a multiple exploring, descriptive, and explanatory goal about the types of bonds of established knowledge.For doing this, the main objective of our research, and following Yin (1989), about one of the purposes that the research may have, is to validate the studies of Marin and Giuliani (2006).In our research, some cases that offered a major chance of learning were selected (Stake, 1994) and that they could allow an analytical generalization (not statistic) from the results (Ragin & Becker, 1992;Easton, 1994).
The index (dependent variable) intensity of the bonds of knowledge in assembly enterprises subjected to the study with local and international agents is the result of the multiplying of two variables (A and B).Variable A is obtained from the answers about the meaningfulness of the knowledge sources -headquarters, subsidiary, internal sources, suppliers, competitors, educational institutions, the government, in this order of importance for the evaluated enterprises (irrelevant 1 to very relevant 4, in a Likert scale).Variable B establishes the number of bonds, whether they are national or international, as it is indicated in the tables of the enterprises.Table 1.Types of knowledge bonds from the subsidiary enterprises from the EMN

Type of bond Characteristics
Globally diversified (GDiv) They are subsidiaries that have strong bonds with their headquarters and enterprises from the corporation, but they have made links with international corporations, and also with local agents.The GDiv could be associated with strong capacities of innovation.Due to the model of entrepreneurism designed by the managers, it is likely that the GDiv search to exploit any source of knowledge or the resources in their close geography.This is the reason why this type if subsidiary is prone to create local bonds with territory agents, and because of that, to generate positive spillovers.

Globally dependent (GDep)
They are the subsidiaries that only bond with their headquarters, and with enterprises from the corporation.They are characterized by strong bonds with the headquarters, and with other enterprises from the corporate group, they have from medium to strong resources of generation of knowledge like the capacity of innovation, but with limited local bonds in the country of origin.This type of subsidiaries could potentially generate spillovers in the country because of their privileged access to the knowledge of the headquarters, but they fail to do so, because of the organizational model that inhibits the formation of local bonds of knowledge.

Globally independent (GInd)
They are the subsidiaries that have not established bonds with the headquarters, and with enterprises belonging to the corporation, but only with other agents outside their own multinational group.They are characterized by the development of bonds with other agents in the international markets that are independent from the corporation, from moderately to highly strong resources and innovation capacities, and intense local bonds.These local bonds could be because of entrepreneurism and dynamic behavior from this type of subsidiary, which makes them to actively search collaboration of international agents, and also in the local area. .

Globally isolated (GIso)
They are subsidiary enterprises that have scarce bonds with the central corporation, or with any other international company, and also with local agents.They do not establish international bonds, they have a weak capacity in generating knowledge and innovation capacities, and have created local links.These subsidiaries with a Little innovation capacity don't have a lot to transmit in their countries because they are not able to generate knowledge that could be assessed, or because they have absorption capabilities.
The analysis unit of our work is formed by five assembly subsidiary enterprises selected in the electric electronic sector in Tamaulipas state.The cases were selected among a sample by convenience of 25 enterprises based on the criteria of enough information to maximize the process of investigation (Garcia et al, 2012).As a result, the information obtained from the five enterprises must allow maximizing the results in terms of quality and amplitude.The enterprises subjected to study are organizations with an important generation of jobs, and where the absorbing of knowledge offers information for its study in depth (Flybjerg, 2006).
Taking into account the gathered information through interviews with managers, and engineers, department managers of engineering, development and quality, it was built a database that includes the information about relevant and irrelevant aspects about innovation topics, and also about the collaboration with foreign and local agents.
The information was classified according to the proposition of Marin and Giuliani (2006) (Table 1).The results were framed with the program Netdraw, which allowed to identify and represent the relationships that the studied enterprises have established with the local and foreign agents as a source of information or destination of the transferred knowledge, in case that this had happened.In the study, Netdraw represents the bonds, measured by the amounts of interactions that the enterprises have had with national and foreign agents, headquarters, local suppliers, universities, etc.

Results
In the following text, I will present the results obtained from the measurement of the local and international bonds of the enterprises subjected to study.

Assembly enterprise (A)
It is a manufacturer of electronic components and it focuses in looking for technological solutions to customers' problems.The history of the enterprise began in 1919 in the established laboratories to buy an investigation company in Cleveland, Ohio, that had invented a high temperature alloy.After this, they widened their list of products, and they were imrpoving their products and processes, taking advantage of the new technologies (Table 2)

Types and intensity from the local bonds
The assembly enterprises don't have bonds with the Federal or State Government outside the program of the Exporting Assembly Mexican Industry (IMMEX).The government is considered as a passive agent inside their innovation and growth programs.They have only received supportfrom the Federal Comission of Electricity (CFE) to help to pay the cost of electric energy.
Their bonds with the educational sector are given by the making of professional practice with students in professional education, and joined projects of investigation with a local educational center, where the enterprise proposes the school what to investigate, or which area needs support.There's not any proactivity planned by the educational institutions to approach the assembly enterprise.
It highlights that the main obstacles to achieve a bond with the educational sector are that professors are not updated, and also the lack ot innovations and technologies, the failures in the infrastructure inside the educative areas to be updated.There is no bond with enterprising associations or commerce institutions.(Figure 1).
The result a value of the central some educ

Globally div
Internal and e    kes us to conc y dependent ( dicates that com nts.(Table 7).The assembly enterprise C, which produces electrical parts and components, it increased 50% in 2010 (related to 2006) the improvements in their products, that in the average have a result of 43 a year.The use of information technologies have been used as a strategic organizational competitive tool for achieving a better costumer's satisfaction, because through this it's possible to know the requirements of the design of the product, and also to give a following along the project or product in particular.

Assembly enterprise D
The assembly enterprise D had its origin in Texas in 1971, where a bilateral cable central was placed, it was a study center of Computer's science, video information and gathered data.In June of 1972 was established in the city of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, beginning a new cycle after September, 1981, where 1700 employees with engineering functions, manufacturing, and its service of lines of production are currently working.It offers, beside products and components of cable for television and radio.(Table 8)

Types and Intensity from the Local Bonds
The assembly enterprise D has bonds with educational sector institutions, but these relationships are not important for the innovation of the same enterprise.Some of these agents with the ones is bonded are: the universities, technological centers, laboratories and the technological institute.bonds of this enterprise in the local area are with customers for the acquisition of consumer goods, and not raw materials, or suppliers of intermediate goods.
For the previously exposed data and for its isolation, we can place the assembly enterprise C according to the classification of Marin and Giuliani (2006) as Globally Isolated (Giso), because it has the characteristics of these enterprises, but above all, because in spite of having obtained a value of 3.7 in a scale from 0 to 24 (table 9), the enterprise has shown a weak knowledge generation capacity, and it has a scarce capacity of generating any kind of information that can be transferred to other agents.As it was said before, the enterprise showed a very scarce capacity of knowledge generation, and it is scarce because of the capacity for generating any type of information that can be transferred to any agent (figure 4)  e, but s and .
As it was to their pro necessary Source: Self

Analysis i
The bonds which the the existen The impor Likert scal by an item the maxim educationa and techno About the effective bonds with the public or government sector, an almost inexistent relationship could be observed, there, the productive sector organizations do not consider the Estate work important in the support of the bonding.In no enterprise was observed that there was any type of bond with this sector.
This lack of bonds is worrying, considering that according to the triple helix theory, the government plays an important role, and bond for the development of the society of knowledge (Etzkowitz, 2002), the government has the task of facilitating the relationship enterprise -university, with an active participation through legislation, instruments and fiscal incentives appropriate for the increase and dynamism with such relationships (Chang, 2010).In this sense, the lack of relationship could influence in the weak relationship of the enterprises with the university.
In attention to the relationships enterprise, government and university could be considered to exist a separation of the institutional spheres, and the relationships among them.This is, administration barriers could be observed, or some others, referent to the public politics that make the bond of the industry more difficult.This ends up affecting the introduction of regional technological innovations.
The situation of the bonds of limited knowledge, and reduced capacity of knowledge transference to the entrepreneurial organizations in Latin America and Mexico, it forces the governments design specific politics, so the enterprises play a fundamental role in the knowledge economy, developing their absorption capacity (Cohen, W.M & Levinthal, D.A. 1990) as a generating source of proper knowledge.
One of the programs that has been promoted the most is the development of a network of local suppliers, even though the results are still limited in Mexico and in the northern border of Tamaulipas, they are particularly scarce, or completely inexistent.As Isaac and Quintana (2013) claim, These programs, local or federal must be guided to form networks of enterprises of a small scale in those sectors of major regional potential, and where the governing of the process of production must be kept.This type of politics of technological development, and innovation also promotes the improvement of technological capacities in the local enterprises, and not only in the sectors of high technology, but also in traditional or agriculture industrial sector, as it is the case of the wine industry and the "catching up" successful process in Argentina and Chile (Giuliani, et al, 2011).As a result, it strengthens the local technological capacity, it is necessary to reinforce the base of knowledge of the enterprises, and this necessarily occurs for supporting the professional university education (Isaac, et al, 2013) Figu elaboration. Fig

Table 2 .
Assembly enterprise description Source: Self ellaboration from the interviews.

Table 8 .
Description of the assembly enterprise D

Table 9 .
Summary of the bonds of the assembly enterprise D