Sustaining Micro-Enterprises: Cybernetic Insights into Nanostore Identity and Transformation

Nanostores—micro, independent grocery retailers—are often narrowly defined, overlooking their socioeconomic roles and relational significance in favour of primary functional aspects. To close this gap, this study adopts a systemic perspective to examine how multiple stakeholders (such as owners, customers, and suppliers) shape nanostore identity. Accordingly, this study proposes a framework of X-Y-Z identity statements alongside the TASCOI tool to examine nanostore descriptions and map roles, expectations, and transformation processes. This systemic framework, rooted in management cybernetics, enabled the collection and analysis of 178 survey responses from 34 stores in Mexico City. The results show that nanostore identities are varied and context-dependent, operating as grocery stores, family projects, community anchors, economic lifelines, and competitors. This diversity influences stakeholder engagement, resource utilisation, and operational decisions. Overall, this study provides a transferable framework for analysing micro-business identity and transformation, with implications for problem-solving, decision-making, and policy development. Limitations include its geographical cross-sectional design, limited sampling method, reliance on self-reported perceptions, and lack of generalisability to other populations. Future research will involve exploring other urban contexts, utilising longitudinal data, expanding the sample, and adopting a participatory research approach to gain a deeper understanding of identity dynamics and their implications for nanostore resilience and survivability.