Alignment between product innovation and competitive priorities

This paper deals with the alignment between competitive priorities and product innovation. The literature review carried out determined that product innovating companies should have specific competitive priorities in their manufacturing strategies. We propose that innovative companies follow a different set of competitive priorities compared to non-innovative companies because of the emphasis placed on flexibility and quality capabilities. In order to illustrate this proposition, we carried out two case studies in the Spanish ceramic tile industry. The first case study refers to a product innovator and the second to a non-product innovator.