Collaborative Mass Customization in the Portuguese Footwear Cluster: Expectations versus Reality

Abstract

The fashion industry market is intrinsically dynamic and mutable. Emerging trends lead consumers and industry to a mindset transformation, through a deep shift in the paradigms of creation, production, and acquisition. The footwear industry recognizes the potential of this reality, focusing on the development of innovative strategies based on collaborative mass customization. In Portugal, despite footwear being a mature industry, it is necessary to continuously invest in innovation-based competitiveness. Thus, based on two surveys, one addressed to a group of seven Portuguese manufacturers (with no mass customization experience), and the other to a group of three Portuguese experts (specialized in footwear customization), critical information about expectations versus reality was gathered. The main objective was to obtain specific and exhaustive data, based on qualitative elements. In this way, it is aimed to contribute to the theoretical reflection of the collaborative design applied to the customization of footwear based on the overview of the Portuguese industry.