Competitive strategies of new product development in textile and clothing manufacturing

Abstract

To achieve competitiveness in the global textile and clothing (T&C) manufacturing sectors, strategic planning is required. New product development (NPD) in a revised and updated configuration of resources can have a profound leveraging effect on business competitiveness. The strategic determinants of NPD may lead to sources of competitive advantage for T&C firms. Against this background, this study constructs a research framework, in line with the resource-based view and transaction cost theory, to explore how the strategies regarding NPD can be conceived and deployed to achieve superior competitiveness. An in-depth case study of a representative Taiwanese T&C manufacturer has been employed and examined. The manufacturer has acquired resources, various (dynamic) capabilities and knowledge through its NPD process, resulting in core competences and sources for competitive advantages. The implementation of NPD has allowed the T&C manufacturer to provide an increasing variety of new products and to upgrade its services in order to serve a wider range of buyers, and as a result, continuously capturing business opportunities in today’s dynamic markets.