IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/h/spr/sprchp/978-3-032-05555-2_5.html

Volkswagen de México—Strategic Coupling Through Frugal Innovation and System Orchestration

In: Innovation Systems from Below

Author

Listed:
  • Juan Carlos Mondragón Quintana

    (University of Bristol, Business School)

Abstract

This chapter analyses the innovation practices of Volkswagen de México (VWdM), a key subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group and one of the most prominent automotive manufacturers in Mexico. Drawing on the Innovation Systems from Below (ISFB) framework and empirical evidence from fieldwork and documentary research, the chapter examines how VWdM has developed innovation capabilities under institutional constraints. It explores the firm’s evolution from a high-volume assembler into a regional orchestrator of innovation, concentrating on three interrelated dimensions: internal knowledge development, frugal innovation, and orchestration of local institutional networks. Through initiatives such as the Corporate Innovation Department, Technical Centre, dual training programmes, and academic partnerships, VWdM demonstrates how multinational subsidiaries can drive innovation in emerging markets, even in the absence of robust state coordination. The analysis maps VWdM’s innovation activities and situates the firm within the innovation space map. The chapter offers insights into how operational subsidiaries can become embedded knowledge actors, contributing to regional innovation systems through process optimisation, competence-building, and strategic alignment with global production mandates.

Suggested Citation

  • Juan Carlos Mondragón Quintana, 2026. "Volkswagen de México—Strategic Coupling Through Frugal Innovation and System Orchestration," Springer Books, in: Innovation Systems from Below, chapter 0, pages 135-160, Springer.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-032-05555-2_5
    DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-05555-2_5
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    To our knowledge, this item is not available for download. To find whether it is available, there are three options:
    1. Check below whether another version of this item is available online.
    2. Check on the provider's web page whether it is in fact available.
    3. Perform a
    for a similarly titled item that would be available.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-032-05555-2_5. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.