Mass Customization as Innovation Driver of International Competitiveness in Peripheral Regional SME Subcontractors

Abstract

The manufacturing literature has for long been occupied with the linking of manufacturing capabilities with the competitive advantages of the company. The dominant manufacturing content approach is concerned with the consistent set of decisions about process technology design and organizational practices that can be exploited as competitive capabilities. This paper suggests that an open network structure demands a transformation of peripheral-located SME subcontractor from traditional customized producer to mass customized producer. Mass customization as an instrument for the transformation process consisting of practical tools on many different company levels will comply with the challenges the international competition charts.