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

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