Power-to-X Strategy in Mexico

Abstract

The academic literature on Power-to-X (PtX) is only just beginning to emerge within social sciences, specifically strategic management. This is largely due to the recent emergence of PtX technologies and market development. This thesis contributes to the growing body of literature by examining how Mexico—a developing country with abundant renewable energy resources and increasing technical capacity — can implement a context-sensitive PtX strategy to support its energy transition and broader development goals. This thesis finds that despite Mexico’s potential, the country currently lacks a comprehensive PtX roadmap and faces infrastructural, institutional, and market barriers. Using an abductive research approach, this study combines theoretical frameworks with empirical insights derived from semi-structured expert interviews and relevant secondary data. The first part of the analysis is structured around Peng’s Strategy Tripod, which integrates the industry-based, resource-based, and institution-based views, offering an initial framework to assess Mexico’s strategic conditions for PtX deployment. However, through empirical findings, this study reveals that PtX implementation in Mexico also depends on dynamic, relational, and cross-sectoral factors that extend beyond the original tripod dimensions. These inductively derived themes include international cooperation, knowledge sharing, academia partnerships, and public–private collaborations, which are found to play an important role in overcoming structural constraints and enabling strategic coordination. By operationalizing these themes to identify emerging pathways for PtX development in Mexico, this thesis emphasizes the importance of relational capabilities and multi-actor synergies for a context-sensitive PtX strategy. This thesis operates at the intersection of strategic management and energy transition in developing countries, using Mexico as a case study. Theoretically, it extends existing frameworks by adapting Peng’s Strategy Tripod to the dynamic realities of energy transition in developing contexts. Practically, it offers insights for policymakers and interested stakeholders by identifying key barriers and enablers to PtX development and implementation in Mexico, concluding with three integrated policy recommendations grounded in the full range of empirical findings.