Microentrepreneur profile in the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Micro, small and medium-sized businesses generate between 60% and 70% of employment and 50% of the Gross Domestic Product worldwide. The role played by the leaders of this type of company is essential for their permanence in the market. This research analyzes the profile of the leader in decision-making during the pandemic, from the perspective of agency theory. It is a quantitative study based on a sample of 275 micro and small commercial companies located in the Municipality of Ciudad Ixtepec, Oaxaca, Mexico, considered one of the ten development poles of the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Of the total managers interviewed, 78% are owners and 22% are administrators; 38% are over 50 years old; 64% are women; 38% completed high school. The results of the logistic regression analysis show that the age and sex of the manager, the age of the company and the decisions taken due to the pandemic are the main variables that allowed differentiating the decisions of the managers versus the owners of the companies and that in both cases they were oriented to try to maintain their operation and continuity. It is concluded that property status in combination with gender were the main variables that determined the survival of micro and small businesses in the commercial sector in Ciudad Ixtepec, Oaxaca in the region of the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec during the pandemic period. by Covid-19.