Competencies of Women Mezcal Producers in Oaxaca: A View from McClelland’s Approach and Knowledge Management

Abstract

In Oaxaca, women involved in the production of artisanal and ancestral mezcal face gender inequalities, limited formal recognition, and barriers to accessing technological and financial resources, conditions that restrict their full participation in the value chain. This study identifies and analyzes the skills that are built and displayed in a context where tradition, cultural subordination, and productive innovation converge. The theoretical framework integrates David McClelland's competency approach (iceberg model) and the SECI knowledge management model, in order to understand individual attributes and social dynamics of knowledge generation and transfer. The study reports progress through five phases of an eight-phase methodological path, including documentary research, a panel of 30 master mezcal producers in San Luis del Río, and three critical incident interviews with a female distiller and master mezcal producers. The results identify key cross-cutting skills (goal orientation, self-confidence, organization and quality, influence, analytical and conceptual thinking, initiative) and emerging skills linked to passion for the craft and ecological awareness. It is concluded that strengthening these skills requires an inter- and transdisciplinary approach that integrates productive, cultural, and gender dimensions to promote sustainable innovation, recognition, and visibility for mezcal women producers. It's important to mention that the barriers are documented in recent literature.