Title: Mass customisation for a sustainable competitive advantage in the footwear industry

Authors: Peter Fatur

Addresses: Faculty of Management Koper, University of Primorska, Cankarjeva 5, Koper SI-6000, Slovenia

Abstract: The present competitive situation in a number of industries is changing because buyers demand an increasing variety of product choice with low or even no price premiums charged. In case of traditional labour-intensive industries, such as footwear, high-labour costs, a progressive reduction in the size of production batches and a demand for minimising delivery times further reduce the long-term competitiveness. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the socioeconomic framework that the manufacturers of high-cost traditional footwear producing countries are facing and to investigate some possible options for provision of a sustainable competitive advantage.

Keywords: mass customisation; sustainability; footwear industry; form postponement; product development; process development; sustainable competitive advantage; sustainable economy; socioeconomic framework; shoe production.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSE.2010.030757

International Journal of Sustainable Economy, 2010 Vol.2 No.2, pp.164 - 179

Published online: 03 Jan 2010 *

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