Second Life and enterprise simulation in SME’s start up of fashion sector: the cases ETNI, KK Personal Robe and NFP

The paper analyses and discusses the use of simulated and virtual environment for the start up of fashion Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) considering the case of ETNI, KK Personal Robe (KK) and New Fashion Perspectives (NFP) created in Second Life (SL) by the Simulation Laboratory of Bologna University - Forlì Faculty of Economics. In recent years Enterprise Simulation models and Virtual Worlds (VWs) such as SL had an increasing diffusion in public and private organizations, mainly in SMEs’ start up phase, in which the visibility of products and services plays a central role. The approach WYSIWYG (What You see is what You get) mostly used in informatics assumed in the fashion sector a managerial relevance when the enterprise moves its first step with the purpose of consolidating its business promoting not only its products but also the production processes simulating the real handcraft environment. The Author, who participated to the still in progress experimentations, compares these three experiences by focusing on material assets, information and human resources identified as the main sources of innovation for an enterprise.