Corporate digital capabilities in textile companies in the Central Valleys of Oaxaca

Abstract

This article analyzes the conceptual foundations and empirical evidence on the relationship between business digital capabilities and economic performance in order to develop a framework applicable to textile firms in the Central Valleys of Oaxaca. A documentary analysis of academic and institutional literature on digital transformation, dynamic capabilities, SME digitalization, business performance, and artisanal textile production is conducted. The literature distinguishes simple technology adoption from the organizational ability to select, integrate, use, and adapt digital resources in commercial and administrative processes. Based on this distinction, four analytical dimensions are proposed: digital commercial capability, digital management capability, information and data capability, and digital integration and adaptation capability. The reviewed evidence generally reports favorable associations between digitalization, digital capabilities, and several performance indicators; however, it also documents indirect, nonlinear, and context-dependent relationships shaped by skills, resources, strategic coherence, and digital maturity. Six territories are delimited for future empirical testing in the Central Valleys: Teotitlán del Valle, Santa Ana del Valle, San Miguel del Valle, San Pablo Villa de Mitla, Santo Tomás Jalieza, and San Antonino Castillo Velasco. The proposed model does not assume that the possession of social media accounts or digital tools automatically produces better economic results; rather, it argues that effects depend on the firm’s ability to embed digital resources in business routines and convert information, connectivity, and platforms into managerial and commercial action.