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Introduction

The call for paper for this special issue is linked to the 10th Strategic Management in Latin America (SMLA) conference that takes place on 11-12 December 2024 at Tecnologico de Monterrey’s Guadalajara campus in Mexico. However, we also welcome submissions from authors that do not intend to participate in the conference.

The coronavirus crisis, geopolitical conflicts, and the trade tensions between China and the United States, all affect business in Latin America. However, besides these recent unfavorable external market conditions, structural economic problems prevail (ECLAC, 2024). Investment in innovation is key to overcome the development challenges in terms of social inequalities, poverty, competitiveness, and sustainable growth. Despite the efforts to increase the innovativeness of nations, industries, and firms in Latin America, its contribution to the world’s innovative activities is minor (Olavarrieta & Villena, 2014). Funding for research and development mainly comes from governments and goes to academic institutions. This contrasts expenditures in research and development in developed countries where private firms play a major role. Hence, investment in innovation must both come from the government and the private sector to overcome the development challenges that plague the region.

The importance of firms for the social and economic development in Latin America has only recently been recognized (Ketelhöhn & Ogliastri, 2013). It is the innovation capabilities of companies that are core to growth and, hence, social and economic development. In order to spur growth, productivity is key for Latin American economies. Productivity, however, is stagnant if not declining compared to the rest of the world. New investments should target knowledge-intensive activities, employment that yield higher productivity, the incorporation of technological advances, and even export diversification (ECLAC, 2024).

It is argued that innovation in firms in Latin America should even go beyond technology (Zawislak et al., 2017). Innovation relates to the distinct activities of a firm that allows to gain and sustain market share over time. According to Schumpeter (1934, as cited in Zawislak et al., 2017), innovation takes on different forms such as the introduction of new products, new processes and production methods, new sources of supply, the opening of a new market, and the restructuring of an existing industry. Technology is an important part of innovation, particularly as related to products, processes, and sources of supply, but also involves communities, societies, and institutions as related to innovations in new markets and novel-type of industries. Technology is only part of these innovation processes.

We know that innovation is key for the transition to more sustainability in Latin America (Gonzalez-Brambila et al., 2016; Zapata-Cantu & González, 2021). Hence, it is important to advance our understanding of how firms within the region contribute to the development challenges that target social inequalities, poverty, climate change, competitiveness, and sustainable growth. Latin America offers interesting opportunities for the creation and testing of management theories, also regarding their societal impact (Aguinis et al., 2020). We therefore encourage researchers to identify the peculiarities of strategic innovation and sustainability in businesses in Latin America and how it might differ from their counterparts in developed countries in the world.

List of topic areas*

We welcome submissions related to strategic innovation and sustainability in Latin America, including but not limited to:

• The role of innovation for sustainability within the firm and vice versa;
• How firms innovate for sustainability as related to social inequalities, poverty, climate change, competitiveness, or sustainable growth;
• How sustainability contributes to the competitiveness of the firm or the region;
• How firms engage in sustainability, which includes the drivers, motivations, and challenges;
• How firms of different sizes and industries engage in innovation for sustainability;
• How foreign multinationals contribute to sustainability in Latin America.

*It is important that the submissions to the special issue focus on the context of Latin America. We welcome contributions that advance our understanding from a conceptual or empirical perspective. The empirical articles can either apply a quantitative, a qualitative, or a mixed-method research approach. Contributions can focus on different sizes of firms, distinct industries, and target different levels of analysis (i.e., individual-level, team-level, firm-level, industry-level). In accordance with the conference call for papers, innovations can relate to different organizational domains, such as innovations in finance, marketing, retail, product and processes as related to new ventures, and in the context of family businesses and multinational enterprises.

Guest Editors

Sascha Fuerst,
Tecnologico de Monterrey, EGADE Business School, Mexico,
[email protected]

Edgar Rogelio Ramirez-Solis,
Tecnologico de Monterrey, Business School, Mexico,
[email protected]

Carlos Rodriguez,
INCAE Business School, Costa Rica,
[email protected]

Submissions Information

Submissions are made using ScholarOne Manuscripts. Registration and access are available by clicking the button below.
Submit your paper here!
Author guidelines must be strictly followed.
Authors should select (from the drop-down menu) the special issue title at the appropriate step in the submission process, i.e. in response to “Please select the issue you are submitting to”. 
Submitted articles must not have been previously published, nor should they be under consideration for publication anywhere else, while under review for this journal.

Key Deadlines

Closing date for manuscripts submission: 1 December 2024

References:

Aguinis, H., Villamor, I., Lazzarini, S. G., Vassolo, R. S., Amorós, J. E., & Allen, D. G. (2020). Conducting Management Research in Latin America: Why and What’s in It for You? Journal of Management, 46(5), 615–636.
Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) (2024). Science, technology and innovation for sustainable and inclusive productive development: guidelines for 2024–2025 (LC/CCITIC.4/3), Santiago.
Gonzalez-Brambila, C., Jenkins, M., & Lloret, A. (2016). Challenges for scholarly business research in Latin America. Journal of Business Research, 69(2), 383–387.
Ketelhöhn, N., & Ogliastri, E. (2013). Introduction: innovation in Latin America, Academia Revista Latinoamericana de Administración, 26(1), 12-32.
Olavarrieta, S., & Villena, M. G. (2014). Innovation and business research in Latin America: An overview. Journal of Business Research, 67(4), 489–497.
Zapata-Cantu, L., & González, F. (2021). Challenges for Innovation and Sustainable Development in Latin America: The Significance of Institutions and Human Capital. Sustainability, 13(7), 4077. 
Zawislak, P. A., Tello-Gamarra, J., Fracasso, E. M., & Castellanos, O. (2017). Innovación más allá de la tecnología: perspectivas de América Latina. Academia Revista Latinoamericana de Administracion, 30(4), 434–443.