Brand Management as a Trigger in the Success and Competitiveness of Mexican Small and Medium Sized Enterprises

Abstract

The exponential growth of foreign direct investment (FDI) since the entry into force of the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1994 has had positive and negative outcomes for the country, the international agreement has had positive effects over the manufacturing sector which is largely comprised by large foreign multinational enterprises, leading Mexico to be one of the most important manufacturing countries in North America. However, the negative impact of this agreement has been reflected over the Mexican SMEs which were not prepared for large-scale trade liberalization, making almost impossible to compete against foreign multinational enterprises due the large cultural, technological and managerial divergences between them.