This paper presents the results of a study that aimed to identify, by means of a survey in the footwear cluster of Franca, Birigui, and Jaú, the presence/lack of strategic focus on business and consistency/inconsistency between ends and means. The research procedure used was the survey. Twenty-nine companies, selected through probabilistic and random sampling, participated in the survey. The method developed by Godinho Filho and Fernandes (2009) was used. Among the main results, it was found that 69% of the footwear firms interviewed have no strategic focus and 79.3% of the respondents presented inconsistency between ends and means. Furthermore, 62.1% of those companies presented both inconsistency between ends and means and lack of strategic focus. This paper presents a contribution to the alert that there is lack of strategic focus and instances of inconsistency between ends and means in companies in the footwear industry. This information is important for the leather-footwear sector, which has a history of crisis, indicating the need for firms to restructure themselves strategically and managerially in order to survive in an increasingly dynamic and competitive business environment.
Manufacturing strategy; Footwear industry; Paradigms for manufacturing management; Strategic focus; Consistency between ends and means
