"Innovation Beyond Products:the Impact Of Internet Along The Value Chain In The Fashion Industry"

Fashion companies have been able to implement the Web along their value chains at several stages, however online pure-plays is more difficult in this industry than in other retail categories.The relationship between Internet-based innovation and companies depends on their positions along the lifecycle:if new entrants demonstrated high innovation capabilities, still incumbents did a little. Moreover, there are different approaches among the levels of the fashion pyramid:if mass market brands well established their online presence, high-end fashion designers still focus on more conservative business models.This research tries to answer questions such as How do fashion companies successfully innovate themselves through the Internet? Why do fashion companies focus their innovation efforts mostly on products and communication? What are the barriers to innovate completely their value chain?The intended contribution of the analysis is fourfold. Firstly, through several case studies, to gain a profound understanding of successful implementation of Internet-based innovations in different areas of business.Secondly, to understand the main barriers to innovate within a company, and in particular in the fashion industry, given the peculiarities of this sector.Thirdly, with a sample of210fashion companies, to conduct a quantitative analysis and to create the Digital Fashion Index, a tool that measures their level of "digitalization".Finally, the research brings the evidence that, in the fashion industry, a successful model with Internet implementation along the whole value chain can be created, even if a well-managed multi-channel strategy would be the most suitable solution.