Drivers and pressures of industry 4.0 that generate marketing innovation and affect the innovative performance of Mexican SMEs: From the perspective of open innovation

The purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of the drivers and pressures of the emerging technologies that make up i4.0 on marketing innovation and on the innovative performance of Mexican SMEs. In addition, the moderating effect of i4.0 barriers is verified, in relation to the use and pressures of i4.0, on marketing innovation and on the innovative performance of SMEs. This study analyzes a sample of 516 Mexican SMEs with commercial and service activities. Data collection was carried out during the months of April to July 2024, through a structured survey aimed at managers and/or executives. The statistical technique used for data analysis was through multivariate partial least squares analysis using PLS-SEM. The results confirm that the drivers and pressures for the use of i4.0 have positive and significant effects on marketing innovation outcomes. These emerging technologies, in turn, are drivers that consolidate marketing innovation as the most relevant business dynamic capability for driving innovative performance outcomes in these SMEs. However, the use of i4.0 does not present significant effects on the innovative performance outcomes of SMEs. The results also confirm that the barriers of i4.0 positively and significantly moderate the relationship between the use of i4.0 and the innovative performance of Mexican SMEs. Research confirms the importance of the adoption and use of emerging technologies in SMEs. However, greater collaboration between businesses, governments, universities, and research centers is needed to promote public policies that allow for greater scope for technological transformation through innovation in underdeveloped regions. These results contribute to the development of the theory of dynamic capabilities, the theory of the diffusion of innovation and open innovation.