Strategic Positions of Actors Related to the Defense Industry in Ecuador

The development of any economic or social activity requires the understanding of the involvement and ownership of those involved and affected. For this reason, it is so important to analyze the strategic positions of interest groups or actors which will allow an effective mobilization towards future objectives. In the present work, the application of the actor strategy analysis method related to the defense industry in Ecuador was carried out, considering the previous works of the authors in which key variables associated with it were defined. Nine national and foreign experts, previously selected, participated in the exercise, and the MACTOR prospective software was applied, establishing the relationships between actors and of these the identified strategic objectives. It was determined that the strongest actors are those linked to the Security and Defense sector, which will have more possibilities of establishing alliances in the future; while the weakest are those in the civil and academic spheres. The main differences are between the government and the academy. Three strategic groups associated with the development of the future defense industry in the country were identified: the Security and Defense system; the Government and Civil; and, finally, the Productive and Academic System. The results of this stage of actor analysis will allow decision-makers to implement actions aimed at strengthening alliances between organizations, institutions, and companies, and minimizing future problems in relation to the development of the Ecuadorian defense industry.