“…The apparel industry is creative; however, design as a strategic resource is underutilized due to limited human and financial resources, as well as the informal process of developing and innovating apparel within SMEs [9,10]. The managerial role of the owner, as well as informality of interpersonal relationships and communication processes in SMEs, can, also, be added to this set of specific aspects [11]. The problems encountered by SMEs in the apparel industry in the surveyed countries are reflected in the lack of skilled personnel, batch size, type of assortment, production subcontracting or "lohn" production, cheap labor, and poor information, among others [12].…”