Innovation capabilities accumulation using a lifecycle approach: The case of a Mexican steel company

How are innovation capabilities created in a firm in an emerging economy, whydoes such a firm decide to start to innovate? These are two of the challenging questionsthat direct this study. A Mexican steel company, called "Steel Company", is the subjectof study. This company started to operate with obsolete equipment, and thanks to a strongmanagement commitment to innovation, it could develop its own processing technologybecoming the world technological leader in its market. This study uses a single case studyresearch design in order to start the academic discussion regarding both questions.Capabilities life-cycles are identified, with a cluster of strategic capabilitiesevolving in a synergetic way, accumulating and diminishing innovation capabilities alongthe firm history. Strong context effects, shareholder and management support, andcorporate strategy changes are among key factors that conducted this evolutionaryprocess.The need to consider spin outs from the firm when studying the dynamics ofcapabilities is identified as an interesting future research for regional developmentpurposes, as innovation capabilities can be transferred crossing the boundaries of the firm.