How ICT usage affect frugal innovation in Mexican small firms. The mediating role of entrepreneurial orientation

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) usage is a key strategy to stimulate innovation and firm performance. There is a gap in the literature in terms of the full understanding of the simultaneous relationship among ICT usage, entrepreneurial orientation and frugal innovation. For this reason, empirical research with quantitative approach and crosssectional design was applied through Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), to analyse how ICT usage affect frugal innovation and entrepreneurial orientation of small- and medium-sized firms where mediating effects were assessed. Using a simple random sampling technique and a self-administered questionnaire to gather data from a sample of 200 business owners in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico. The results indicate that ICT usage has a significant influence on both entrepreneurial orientation and frugal innovation. Moreover, entrepreneurial orientation plays a significant partial mediating role in the relationship between ICT usage and frugal innovation. (C) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V.