The study provides a discussion about the leadership style of small businesses owner-managers at Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, Ecuador, supported on contingency theory of leadership. And adaptation of Hershey and Blanchard questionnaire was made in order to make it clear to the target population. A total of 175 owner-managers of small businesses and 1218 employees comprised the respondents of the study. The perception of leadership style of owner-managers and employees, style range, and style adaptability and perception of the maturity degree of employees were the variables involved in the hypotheses raised. In spite of totally or partially proving the hypothesis raised, findings of the study revealed mixed support to the theory which impedes giving clear recommendations about how to behave in certain organizational situations in the context of small Ecuadorian businesses. Results of the study caution owner-managers of small businesses to consider carefully the way they behave in certain situation to the enrichment of employee motivation toward work with the purpose to obtain a better performance of their enterprises; but should avoid assuming that there are more or less appropriate leader behaviors based on the results of this research. The study constitutes a starting point to focus the research related to leadership style in small companies, considering the preponderance of this type of business in the economy of Ecuador.

This study analyzes the current state of artificial intelligence (AI) adoption among micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Ecuador, with a focus on its application across core business functions. Using a stratified random sample of 385 firms from the most representative economic sectors, a survey instrument was designed to assess three dimensions: access to AI-enabling conditions, degree of AI utilization, and organizational characteristics. The results reveal that AI adoption remains limited and highly concentrated in marketing-related functions, particularly in content generation and social media automation, with minimal implementation in finance, logistics, and human resource management. The study also identifies the main barriers hindering AI adoption. The lack of qualified professionals and the unavailability of structured databases emerged as the most critical obstacles, followed by limited financial capacity. One-way ANOVA and Kruskal–Wallis tests confirmed significant differences in AI adoption levels based on company size and sector, especially in areas such as inventory optimization and design prototyping. These findings highlight a gap between the potential of AI technologies and their real-world implementation in Ecuadorian MSMEs. They underscore the need for targeted strategies focused on workforce training, digital infrastructure development, and institutional support to promote broader and more effective AI integration.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have to face the time post COVID-19. The pandemic impacted the SMEs with great force worsening the well-known situation of lack of resources and its tendency to disappear in the very early years of existence. This systemic crisis jeopardizes SMEs in many ways and it is necessary to find ways to emerge and survive from this crisis. This manuscript conducts a literature study on more than 100 manuscripts that present recommendations from McKinsey & Company for SMEs to face post-pandemic time. Through the application of the entropy-weight coefficient method this paper finds priorities from Ecuadorian SMEs out of essential elements proposed at the literature review, to introducing at the managing process to face post COVID-19 era.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly positioned as an enabler of strategic renewal and competitiveness for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in emerging economies. However, its adoption remains limited and uneven, constrained by shortages of skilled talent, weak data infrastructures, and financial barriers. This study examines Ecuadorian SMEs as a representative case within this broader context, analyzing survey data from 385 firms to diagnose AI adoption patterns and validate a structural model linking AI adoption, dynamic capabilities, and strategic innovation performance. Results from Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) confirm that AI adoption enhances innovation and competitiveness both directly and indirectly through dynamic capabilities, specifically firms’ abilities to sense opportunities, seize them through innovation, and reconfigure resources. The model explains 41% of the variance in strategic innovation performance, providing robust empirical support for the proposed AI-Driven Dynamic Capabilities Framework for Strategic Innovation and Competitiveness. The study clarifies how perceptual and contextual enablers of adoption (TAM/TOE) interact with capability-building mechanisms (RBV/DCT), offering a more integrated understanding of how SMEs assimilate AI under resource constraints. These findings demonstrate how SMEs translate early adoption into strategic advantage under conditions of uncertainty. The study also offers actionable guidance by showing that the most effective interventions for SMEs focus on strengthening foundational data and organizational capabilities rather than promoting complex AI systems beyond current readiness levels.

Entrepreneurship is an important part of any economy today regardless of its level of development. However, not in all contexts do entrepreneurs operate in the same way, nor are they motivated by the same factors. This research seeks to identify possible coincidence factors and differences between entrepreneurs that operate in different contexts from the point of view of their historical evolution, the duration of these and the economic and social model applied in the countries. Specifically, a comparative study is carried out between entrepreneurs from the republics of Ecuador and Cuba considering various variables such as: personality characteristics (attitude to failure, risk, perseverance and innovation), use of the available time fund for work in entrepreneurship; Impact of the environment in relation to: government regulations, taxes, level of competition and availability of suppliers, as well as the structure of personal expenses projected in the short and long term that entrepreneurs assume as a stimulus for their actions. For the development of the study, a description of the behavior of the variables was initially made and later, by hypothesis testing, to verify differences and similarities between both populations. The study allowed us to identify common and divergent aspects between both populations analyzed. Similarly, it showed how differences in the administrative and financial environment in which entrepreneurs operate generate changes in their priorities and projections.

The impact of self-confidence, creativity and vision on leadership performance: perceptions at Ecuadorian SMEs owner - managers