Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • September 6, 2022
  • Article
  • Frontiers in Research Metrics and Analytics

Creating a Platform for Costless Personalization in Clothing

By: Shane Greenstein
  • Format:Electronic
ShareBar

Abstract

This study analyzes the role of co-invention in the creation of a platform for print-on-demand-clothing, or PODC. Co-invention is the invention of a new business process to complement new technology, and turn it into a valuable commercial service. PODC copies a design onto clothing with immaterial effect on the cost, and irrespective of the scale of the batch. In its modern form, PODC extends to more than two dozen different pieces of clothing and other items, enabling buyers to personalize clothing with any art. The digital printing machines used in PODC contain numerous technical inventions, while the electronic commerce platform contains the important business processes. The study examines a pioneering PODC platform from Threadless, and analyzes how this new platform emerged from a sequence of co-inventions. The study highlights the level of discretion given to graphic artists to foster trust with the platform, and it shows how a hierarchy of business process co-inventions overcame the coordination issues inherent in building a large scale and new multi-sided platform.

Keywords

Print-on-demand-clothing; Customization and Personalization; Digital Platforms; Apparel and Accessories Industry

Citation

Greenstein, Shane. "Creating a Platform for Costless Personalization in Clothing." Frontiers in Research Metrics and Analytics (September 6, 2022).
  • Read Now

About The Author

Shane M. Greenstein

Technology and Operations Management
→More Publications

More from the Author

    • November 2022 (Revised January 2023)
    • Faculty Research

    Hugging Face: Serving AI on a Platform

    By: Shane Greenstein, Daniel Yue, Kerry Herman and Sarah Gulick
    • August 2022
    • AEI Digital Platforms and American Life Project

    The U.S. Approach to Antitrust Policy in Technology Markets

    By: Shane Greenstein
    • May 2022 (Revised July 2022)
    • Faculty Research

    AWS and Amazon SageMaker (C): The Commercialization of Machine Learning Services

    By: Karim R. Lakhani, Shane Greenstein and Kerry Herman
More from the Author
  • Hugging Face: Serving AI on a Platform By: Shane Greenstein, Daniel Yue, Kerry Herman and Sarah Gulick
  • The U.S. Approach to Antitrust Policy in Technology Markets By: Shane Greenstein
  • AWS and Amazon SageMaker (C): The Commercialization of Machine Learning Services By: Karim R. Lakhani, Shane Greenstein and Kerry Herman
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College