Skilled labor migration and isomorphism in business sectors of the main Mexican cities

Abstract

Recently, the contributions regarding the organizational theory highlight the importance of the symbiotic evolution between organizations and their environment. This study addresses this relation considering skilled labor migration as an environmental element that influences in the evolution of business organizations, manifested in isomorphism. In turn, isomorphism is measured by two indicators: The level of diversification of the economic sectors, and the number of companies certified with quality standards. The effect of a greater migration of people with higher education in the indicators of isomorphism for 78 Mexican cities is estimated through econometric models, utilizing instrumental variables to control the endogeneity of the migration. The results provide evidence that skilled labor migration affects both indicators, but it is necessary to cross a threshold so that it influences the isomorphism of the companies in the Mexican cities.