The internationalization of Mexican design: The case of design firms and individual designers

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have traditionally focused their activities on their domestic markets. However in the last few decades SMEs have become increasingly active in international markets. This is due, in part, to the worldwide trend of large companies to downsize, to outsource activities and processes, and to offshore them. A strategy commonly used is differentiation, based on the innovation of products, services, processes, organizational changes, and marketing strategies. Design has also become an important element to foster innovation and is commonly used as a strategic competitive tool. However, in the case of Mexican firms, design-driven internationalization has not been strongly applied and rarely explored by the academic literature. Some information regarding the participation of México in the creative economy is presented; it occupies the 9th place among top exporters within developing economies. The case here presented, it is based on internationalization that is led by design; is focused on design offices and individual designers. A total of 200 design studios were contacted using an electronic survey, with a response rate of less than 10%. The main objective of this paper is to analyze the strategies used by Mexican design directors or independent designers to internationalize their products or services. The personal characteristics of the director are presented, as the key person in the decision making process in internationalization. This group of designers tends to be well educated, several with postgraduate studies abroad; most of them are young; bilingual; and are looking for international markets for their ideas. Survey sections are: innovation activities and its results; use of ICT; ways to finance innovation, and international experiences. Some design entrepreneurs have already established offices abroad, fostering the presence of Mexican design at international levels.