Entrepreneurs' Responses to Organized Crime and Violence

This research aims to investigate the various direct and indirect impacts of organized violence and crime on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as well as entrepreneurs’ responses to violent acts. A mixed-method design based on a quantitative content analysis of 204 news stories found in the international press and a multi-case study covering 10 SMEs operating in Monterrey, Mexico, is used to explore entrepreneurs’ responses to the direct and indirect effects of violent acts. The results highlight the dynamic between informal and formal institutions in SMEs’ attempts to survive in complex institutional contexts. Future studies based on the results of this research could enhance the literature on SMEs and entrepreneurs in emerging markets. The results, which illustrate entrepreneurs’ responses to violent acts, enhance our understanding of the emerging operational and managerial strategies of SMEs operating in complex institutional contexts. The findings highlight the emerging process of social change in Mexican society among members of the middle class, and various attempts to fight back against organized violence and crime in a non-violent manner. SMEs are important in Mexico and Latin America. However, the understanding of the direct and indirect impacts of organized crime and violence on SMEs is limited. This research identifies and analyzes the emerging responses of entrepreneurs to these institutional constraints.