Conference Agenda

This article analyzes whether innovation enablers, digitalization, R&D effort, financial deepening, and advanced human capital are associated with Total Factor Productivity (TFP) growth in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador during 2000–2022. An annual panel is constructed using the Penn World Table (TFP is measured as a logarithmic annual change) and World Development Indicators (internet users, private credit, tertiary enrollment, and R&D where available). The base model is a country-fixed effects model with robust standard errors and robustness tests (lags and exclusion of pandemic years). The results are consistent with a significant negative association of private credit with TFP growth, suggesting potential problems in the allocation of financing. In contrast, digitalization, tertiary enrollment, and R&D show positive signs but less statistical robustness, consistent with an “adoption without absorption” dynamic. Policy implications for improving credit quality, strengthening university-industry linkages, and developing complementary organizational capacities are discussed.

Sustainable coastal destinations offer a wide range of activities related to nature and culture. This study pursues the following objectives: (a) to identify the motivational dimensions of demand in a coastal destination; (b) to determine the relationship between sociodemographic variables and the motivational factors influencing demand in a coastal destination; and (c) to analyze the relationship between sociodemographic variables and loyalty in coastal destinations. The research was conducted in Montañita, a surf-oriented coastal town in Ecuador characterized by its sustainability and water-based sports. A quantitative approach was adopted, using a sample of 380 valid questionnaires collected in situ. Data analysis was performed using Factor Analysis and Multiple Regression techniques. The results reveal five motivational dimensions in sustainable coastal destinations. Furthermore, visitors’ age significantly influences motivations related to culture and nature, sports activities, and return intentions. Younger tourists show stronger motivations toward nature and cultural experiences, as well as coastal sports, and they also exhibit a higher intention to revisit the destination. These findings contribute to the academic literature on coastal destinations and provide practical management guidelines for companies involved in the development, commercialization, and promotion of tourism products and services

The study aimed to analyze the influence of entrepreneurial education and self-motivation on entrepreneurial intention among university students in Loja (Ecuador), incorporating entrepreneurial self-efficacy as a mediating variable. The methodology was developed through structural equation modeling (SEM) using a cross-sectional design and a Likert-type questionnaire applied in January 2026 to a refined sample of 379 students. The measurement model was properly evaluated; in the structural model, entrepreneurial education did not exhibit a significant direct effect on intention (β=0.061; p=0.297), whereas self-motivation showed a relevant direct effect (β=0.437; p<0.001). Significant mediating effects of self-efficacy were confirmed both between education and intention (β_ind=0.081; p=0.002) and between self-motivation and intention (β_ind=0.309; p<0.001), the latter representing the strongest pathway. It was concluded that entrepreneurial intention was mainly explained by a psychological pathway in which self-motivation fostered self-efficacy, which in turn translated educational and self-regulatory resources into entrepreneurial disposition.

This study focused on pilgrimages as a form of religious tourism and aimed to achieve the following objectives: (i) to identify the main motivational factors of religious events centered on pilgrimages; (ii) to analyze the motivational dimensions that predict satisfaction in pilgrimage-based religious events; and (iii) to examine the motivational dimensions that predict loyalty in pilgrimage-based religious events. The study was conducted during the pilgrimage to the Virgin of Chaguaya in Bolivia. The sample consisted of 384 tourists surveyed in situ. The statistical techniques used included Factor Analysis and Multiple Regression. The results revealed four motivational dimensions: Tourism and Escape, Religious Experience, Belief Experience, and Shopping. In addition, specific motivations influencing satisfaction and loyalty among participants in religious events such as pilgrimages were identified, particularly the motivational dimensions of Religious Experience and Belief Experience. These findings contribute to planning and management guidelines for organizers of religious events and provide insights for academic literature

This study explores the influence of personal values on export success, focusing on SMEs. Under a qualitative methodology of analysis of five cases of SME companies, it is possible to analyze, through the perception of those in charge of exports, the relationship between managers' personality and their export performance. It was identified that in the studied companies, there is a positive association between the increase in exports and the expansion or maintenance of the destination markets, within personal values, ambition is selected as one of the most important, and it is also identified that for the success of the internationalization processes the most influential values are responsibility, honesty, and good manners.

SMEs are central to employment and productivity, yet they exhibit highly uneven performance trajectories. This paper proposes a comparative conceptual framework, grounded in a configurational perspective, that interprets success and lagging performance as coherent (or misaligned) combinations of internal factors—leadership, adaptation, innovation, learning, and financial sustainability—and external factors—institutions, financing, competition, technological environment, and macroeconomic conditions—based on academic and institutional evidence. The comparison across developed economies, Latin America, and emerging Asia reveals distinct regional configurations and supports a four-archetype typology: systemic champions, resilient strugglers, local comfort, and chronic laggards.

This study analyzes the implementation of Innovathon as an educational intervention aimed at developing entrepreneurial skills in university students from a multidisciplinary context. The model integrated participatory dynamics and innovation tools (design thinking, social business canvas, and triple impact matrix) to guide teams from problem identification to proposal structuring and communication. The evaluation was conducted using a mixed-method approach. Due to the anonymity of the survey, the quantitative analysis was approached as a cross-sectional post-Innovathon design, with qualitative evidence through direct observation and field notes.

The results suggest that the Innovathon functions as an effective experiential learning environment, where the use of design thinking, social business canvas, and triple impact facilitates the understanding of real problems and the proposal of innovative and comprehensive solutions. Similarly, the practical, collaborative, and high-pressure experience was associated with the development of soft skills such as decision-making, effective communication, teamwork, and tolerance for error. Finally, methodological limitations are reported, and improvements are proposed to increase the validity, monitoring, and scalability of the model.