Innovation Strategies in the Portuguese Footwear Industry

Background. There are several studies focusing on different issues of innovation, however few of them study the footwear industry. With innovation being a key element for success, and while the Portuguese footwear industry enjoys a period of growth and international recognition (second most expensive in the world) it seems relevant to better understand the engagement of this industry with innovation. Research aims. This paper addresses the issue of innovation in the Portuguese footwear industry. Method. In order to develop this study data from the Community Innovation Survey (CIS) carried out in Portugal during the period 2008 to 2010 was used. CIS is a survey that is carried in most EU countries, and explores company innovation in the product, process, marketing and organization dimensions. Key findings. With the results from this survey, obtained from Statistics Portugal, the different dimensions of innovation were analysed individually and paired. As a main achievement, a lack of an innovative culture was identified. When innovation was identified it was mainly in product and process dimensions. It was also verified that when companies adopt an innovation strategy, it is normally present in more than one dimension