Sustainable Innovation Management in the Shrimp Sector of the Municipality of Guasave, State of Sinaloa, Mexico

Abstract

Aquaculture is one of the fastest growing productive sectors in recent years, so much so that it has surpassed traditional fishing. The aim is to make its production processes sustainable, mainly economically and environmentally, through continuous innovation. Hence, the objective is to determine the relevance of sustainable innovation management in the shrimp sector in the municipality of Guasave, state of Sinaloa, Mexico, as a determining factor in the search for social and environmental well-being in this region of the Mexican Pacific. With this in mind, the present research was designed as an exploratory–explanatory study, under a qualitative approach with a multiple case study strategy using the Likert scale. To this purpose, 24 surveys were applied to the owners and managers of six farms specializing in shrimp production, with a continuous production of 10 years and a minimum of 100 hectares cultivated in recent years. Each survey consisted of seven themes and a total of 37 items to analyze eight indicators which influence the sustainable innovative management of the shrimp sector. The survey results indicate that the perception of entrepreneurs toward the relevance of sustainable innovation management is favorable, with 96% agreeing to encourage innovation, 83% agreeing to invest in new equipment and methods, and 83% in favor of their participation in markets. Moreover, the correlation between the indicators to determine the influence of sustainable innovation management is significant at 0.69 and 0.86.