Objective:

The study examine the impacts of PEI program in Sonora state by means of the construction of a model that allows to evaluate the moderating weight of factors related to firm´s characteristics and project´s characteristics.

Methodology:

With the information obtained from an own survey applied to a sample of 39 beneficiary companies of the program, located in the city of Hermosillo, Sonora, a multiple linear regression model is designed to demonstrates the effect of a series of variables that act as moderators of the impact of the program on firm´s innovation and competitiveness. For the selection of the model, the Akaike information criterion is used.

Results:

The net impact of the program on innovation inputs is defined by the quality of the proposals and the cability to assimilate knowledge, mainly; while the net effects on the products are moderated by the existence of an internal R & D department, the linkage, the quality of the projects and the capacity to absorb knowledge.

Limitations:

The sample´s size is very small, which has implications on the level of generalization of the findings; data are based on the perception of the beneficiaries, for which they may be subject to biases; the model does not include variables of a contextual type, such as the technological intensity of the sectors.

Conclusions:

There was evidence of a net contribution effect of the subsidies granted by the PEI to the R&D&I resources of the beneficiary companies, on the one hand, and to indicators of business performance and performance in innovation, on the other. This effect is moderated by factors such as internal R&D, size of the company, absorptive capacity, innovation capacity, proposals´ quality and links with universities and research centers.