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Customization 4.0 pp 657–669Cite as

Mass Customization Practices of Malaysian SMEs Apparel Sector: An Exploratory Survey

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Abstract

Mass customization (MC) is one of the business methods, which combines the flexibility and custom-made products, associated with mass production. Recently, this business strategy has received vast attention from industries and the academic world, but the approach is still inadequate in Malaysia especially the SMEs apparel sector. The aim of this study is to examine the MC practices in Malaysia’s SMEs apparel sector besides to carry out the fundamental overview concerning the factors of MC implementation, in collaboration with the Malaysia SMEs apparel sector. The method used was survey (open-ended questionnaire) and involved participation from 343 SMEs. The preliminary analysis demonstrates that the Malaysia SMEs apparel are motivated and have intention to implement MC approach, but the overall competency of MC approach is still missing. However, the overall finding shows that the knowledge of MC significantly predicted the readiness factors p < 0.05, while the manufacturing process flow becomes the key indicator to look at for the MC implementation. Besides, respondents also did not see any financial issues as a major barrier for MC implementation. This will give positive prospect to emphasize this method among the entrepreneurs. Briefly, this study provides an overview in understanding the requirement, execution, and future challenges for MC implementation. It also discusses the advantages in implementing MC in the Malaysia SMEs apparel sector. Furthermore, the implementation of MC as their business strategy will encourage the companies to become more competitive.

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Acknowledgment

The authors would like to acknowledge Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) for their financial support through this PhD research and the Faculty of Information Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) for supporting this research with invaluable information. Furthermore, the researcher would like to thank all SMEs participants for their cooperation and valuable input.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia

    Rohana Zur

  2. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

    Syaimak Abdul Syukor

Authors
  1. Rohana Zur
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  2. Syaimak Abdul Syukor
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Rohana Zur or Syaimak Abdul Syukor .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

    Stephan Hankammer

  2. Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark

    Kjeld Nielsen

  3. RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

    Frank T. Piller

  4. RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

    Günther Schuh

  5. RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

    Ning Wang

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Zur, R., Syukor, S.A. (2018). Mass Customization Practices of Malaysian SMEs Apparel Sector: An Exploratory Survey. In: Hankammer, S., Nielsen, K., Piller, F., Schuh, G., Wang, N. (eds) Customization 4.0. Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77556-2_42

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