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The fashion industry is well documented for causing significant environmental impact. Product-service systems (PSS) present a promising way to solve this challenge. PSS shift the focus toward complementary service offers, which decouples customer satisfaction from material consumption and entails dematerialization. However, PSS are not ecoefficient by nature but need to be accompanied by corporate environmental management (CEM) practices. The objective of this article is to examine the potential of PSS to contribute to the environmental sustainability of today's fashion industry by investigating if fashion firms with a positive attitude toward PSS implementation also pursue goals related to the ecological environment. For this purpose, analysis of variance (ANOVA) is conducted to analyze data of 102 fashion firms. Results reveal that the diffusion of PSS in today's fashion industry is low and few firms consider implementing PSS. Results, furthermore, demonstrate that PSS implementation is positively related to CEM. This indicates that existing structures of CEM favor PSS implementation and unlock the eco-efficient potential of implemented PSS in the fashion industry.
Due to the increasing awareness of social and environmental issues of the consumer, sustainability has become significantly important in the fashion businesses. Therefore, developing a sustainable supply chain is crucial for fashion companies to meet consumer´s consciousness. According to Bin Shen (2014), the Fast Fashion Retailer H&M is more likely to select suppliers in countries with a low score on the human wellbeing factor of the Sustainable Society Index (SSI). This paper extends the findings of Bin Shen (2014) and investigates fashion firms of different segments on their scoring at the 8 underlying categories of the SSI. This approach let the researcher assume that fashion firms of different segments which are active in sustainability are selecting their suppliers in countries with a low degree on the 8 categories of the SSI. Consequently, by utilising the SSI as a tool, the findings of this paper will be helpful to profile and compare Fashion companies of different segments in their supplier selection in regards to sustainability.
Social sustainable supply chain management in the textile and apparel industry : a literature review
(2017)
So far, a vast amount of studies on sustainability in supply chain management have been conducted by academics over the last decade. Nevertheless, socially related aspects are still neglected in the related discussion. The primary motivation of the present literature review has arisen from this shortcoming, thus the key purpose of this study is to enrich the discussion by providing a state of-the-art, focusing exclusively on social issues in sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) by considering the textile/apparel sector as the field of application. The authors conduct a literature review, including content analysis which covers 45 articles published in English peer-reviewed journals, and proposes a comprehensive map which integrates the latest findings on socially related practices in the textile/apparel industry with the dominant conceptualization in order to reveal potential research areas in the field. The results show an ongoing lack of investigation regarding the social dimension of the triple bottom line in SSCM. Findings indicate that a company’s internal orientation is the main assisting factor in sustainable supply chain management practices. Further, supplier collaboration and assessment can be interpreted as an offer for suppliers deriving from stakeholders and a focal company’s management of social risk. Nevertheless, suppliers do also face or even create huge barriers in improving their social performance. This calls for more empirical research and qualitative or quantitative survey methods, especially at the supplier level located in developing countries.
This paper explores why and how dominant international social standards used in the fashion industry are prone to implementation failures. A qualitative multiple-case study method was conducted, using purposive sampling to select 13 apparel supply chain actors. Data were collected through on-site semi-structured face-to-face interviews. The findings of the study are interpreted by using core tenets of agency theory. The case study findings clearly highlight why and how multi-tier apparel supply chains fail to implement social standards effectively. As a consequence of substantial goal conflicts and information asymmetries, sourcing agents and suppliers are driven to perform opportunistic behaviors in form of hidden characteristics, hidden intentions, and hidden actions, which significantly harm social standards. Fashion retailers need to empower their corporate social responsibility (CSR) departments by awarding an integrative role to sourcing decisions. Moreover, accurate calculation of orders, risk sharing, cost sharing, price premiums, and especially guaranteed order continuity for social compliance are critical to reduce opportunistic behaviors upstream of the supply chain. The development of social standards is highly suggested, e.g., by including novel metrics such as the assessment of buying practices or the evaluation of capacity planning at factories and the strict inclusion of subcontractors’ social performances. This paper presents evidence from multiple Vietnamese and Indonesian cases involving sourcing agents as well as Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers on a highly sensitive topic. With the development of the conceptual framework and the formulation of seven related novel propositions, this paper unveils the ineffectiveness of social standards, offers guidance for practitioners, and contributes to the neglected social dimension in sustainable supply chain management research and accountability literature.
After considering significant literature on sustainable supply chain management (SSCM), it is evident that research has neglected the social dimension and still lacks in highlighting the role of sourcing intermediaries in supply chains. The apparel supply chain has increased enormously in length and complexity, driving apparel retailers to employ sourcing intermediaries who manage their sourcing activities with suppliers from developing countries overseas. Thus, the purpose of this study is to enrich existing findings on SSCM by exploring the management of social sustainability when sourcing intermediaries are in between the focal company and the respective developing country factories. More specifically, this study aims to understand the role of apparel sourcing intermediaries for the implementation of social management strategies based on the perception of multiple supply chain actors. Qualitative data was collected through semi-structured interviews conducted in Vietnam and Europe. Ultimately ten propositions are presented, all explicitly concentrating on the apparel intermediary’s role as a significant enabler for social sustainability in apparel supply chains. The roles are social sustainability, supplier developer and coordinator, gatekeeper and safeguard, cultural broker, and social risk manager. The social sustainability roles assumed by the apparel sourcing intermediary offer great opportunities to both apparel retailers and developing country factories.
Customer needs and requirements are getting increasingly diverse and consumers more and more want to express their individuality with the products they buy. Due to the emergence of the internet and possibilities given, customers no longer only play a passive role, but are actually enabled to determine what they are purchasing. Therefore customisation or personlisation approaches like the miadidas concept from adidas, providing customised performance shoes or sneakers are more popular than ever. The prosumer concept already plays an important role trying to satisfy the demands of customers in future. As apparel for outdoor activities represents the largest and most important part of the sports good market in Germany and is yet still expected to grow, the purpose of this study is, on the one hand to identify diverse prosumer concepts existing and on the other hand to examine to what extent companies of the outdoor industry already have implemented prosumer concepts. A content analysis of homepages and online shops of 30 different European and North American outdoor brands was conducted. Results show, that companies of the outdoor industry have already implemented several prosumer concepts, but most of them are mainly concentrating on one prosumer approach and the involvement of professional users of their products.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate online German fashion shopping websites from a customer perspective, based on a two-dimensional conceptual framework covering
shopping experience and shopping quality. As the research methodology, an exploratory mystery shopping approach was used in order to compare online shops. The results were as follows. First, four categories of online shops were identified: heroes, marketing winners, process winners, and underperformers. Second, three main levers for improvement were elaborated: emotionality of websites, reducing complexity, and the introduction of an industry standard of payments. From These results, it is possible to analyze and benchmark websites and to adapt online Marketing decisions as well as general management strategies for online fashion Shopping companies. The study has originality and value as it is the first time that an Evaluation of websites has combined the consumer´s perspective before the purchase and its fulfillment (e.g. delivery) after the online purchase.
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to find out the influences of sustainability labels on fashion buying behaviour. Despite key information about Fair Trade is provided in all stores of the sample company, customers seem not to be aware of the Fair Trade concept. Therefore this paper aims to give recommendations for a fashion retailer in terms of elucidation about Fair Trade by answering the following research questions: Which influences do sustainability labels wield on customer´s buying behaviour? Are consumers of textile products aware of the function and backgrounds of the Fair Trade label?
Design/methodology/approach: A paper-based questionnaire was administered to 128 customers of a German fashion retailer "Adler Modemärkte AG" in four city stores from which 127 were correctly completed. Additionally an adjusted self-completion questionnaire administered to 50.000 customers online from which a total of 1.712 were correctly completed. Descriptive analysis and cross tabulations were applied to abstract the main research findings and evaluate the hypotheses.
Findings: Key findings suggest that Adler should either enhance their communication strategy regarding Fair Trade or remove Fair Trade products from the assortment, as the majority of respondents are not aware of Adlers´ Fair Trade products. The Fair Trade label could neither be identified as consumer-barrier nor sales support. Further findings revealed participants have more knowledge about Fair Trade than initially assumed.
Research limitations/implications: Majorly women aged between 56 and 75 participated in the survey. Findings are limited to geography, the target group of the fashion retailer Adler, gender, age group and the research method questionnaire.
Impact of brand and country image on the perception of sustainability in the fashion business
(2015)
The fashion and textile industry is presently confronted to participate in the sustainability movement and society demands corporate social responsibility. Today, it is crucial for fashion companies to be able to measure, monitor and improve environmental and social performance, due to the fact that there is a heightened awareness of sustainable practices by stakeholders. The purpose of this study is to investigate fashion consumers on their sustainable perception of a fashion company. More specifically, the objective of this study is to highlight the fashion consumer`s awareness in regards to the sustainable practices of a fashion company by considering the brand and country image factors. An experimental research design was utilized for the study and the researcher surveyed 120 fashion students. The basis of the surveys within the experiment is the present sustainable practice of the fashion brand H&M. This research aims to understand, if and how fashion consumers are influenced by a fashion brand image or its souring practices, when it comes to evaluate the sustainable performance of a fashion company. Results show that participants have significantly different perceptions when considering the fashion brand image of H&M on the one hand and the sourcing countries of H&M on the other. The result of this research provides useful information about the actual state of affairs in sustainable knowledge of the consumer and the related power of a brand's image and its sourcing strategies.
The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between the consumers’ perception of sustainability and the application of a QR-code in stores with the focus on the information searching behavior regarding sustainable aspects. An online questionnaire was conducted with fashion students at Reutlingen University: in total, 65 students participated in the survey. Paired samples t-test and other statistical analyses were applied to test research questions. Apart from this, the research paper is based on a literature review. Furthermore, the decision was taken to use a projective method in the form of a dummy fashion fTRACE website. Key findings of the survey are that participants give sustainable aspects a higher importance with a QR-code than without one. Participants who prefer a product with detailed information experience a “positive shopping feeling” when provided with transparency via a QR-code. “Origin”, “production” and “quality” were rated of higher importance by those participants. These findings suggest that, transparency provided through the application of a QR-Code in stores influences the consumers’ perception of sustainability. Due to the small sample size of participants (65) in the study, findings of this research not generalizable to a larger population. This paper focused on the consumers’ information searching behavior regarding sustainable aspects, limiting its findings to impacts on perception of sustainability. Further research is therefore recommended.
In recent years the share economy has gained widespread success across different industries. Since small firms and new ventures obtain fewer resources, an increased focus on service allows them to differentiate and compete with cost pressure in traditionally manufacturing based industries. There still is a lack of understanding how these firms manage to successfully shift towards service-oriented business models. This paper adopts a dynamic capabilities approach to examine the particular microfoundations that underlie sensing, seizing and reconfiguring dynamic capabilities of early-stage service firms within a traditional retail market. The context of this study is the fashion industry. It is an ideal setting since it is characterized by severe competition, short life cycles, strong cost pressure and high volatility. There are few but increasing examples of entrepreneurial initiatives that try to compete by providing offers to resell, rent or swap clothes. Qualitative data of five early stage fashion ventures is analyzed. Findings reveal that the ability to develop and maintain long-term relationships is essential. It has also been found crucial to acquire knowledge from external network partners, delegate tasks and share information. Furthermore, skills for interacting with customers and adopting consumer feedback are critical. This study provides empirical evidence of dynamic capabilities of early-stage firms and contributes to knowledge on the factors that facilitate servitization in traditionally manufacturing based industries. For practitioners, the presented microfoundations provide a framework of critical tasks that allow them to develop and maintain a service oriented business model.
Defining the antecedents of experience co-creation as applied to alternative consumption models
(2019)
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual framework of experience co-creation that captures the multi-dimensionality of this construct, as well as a research process for defining of the antecedents of experience co-creation.
Design/methodology/approach – The framework of experience co-creation was conceptualized by means of a literature review. Subsequently, this framework was used as the conceptual basis for a qualitative content analysis of 66 empirical papers investigating alternative consumption models (ACMs), such as renting, remanufacturing, and second-hand models.
Findings – The qualitative content analysis resulted in 12 categories related to the consumer and 9 related to the ACM offerings that represent the antecedents of experience co-creation. These categories provide evidence that, to a large extent, the developed conceptual framework allows one to capture the multi-dimensionality of the experience co-creation construct.
Research limitations/implications – This study underscores the understanding of experience co-creation as a function of the characteristics of the offering – which are, in turn, a function of the consumers’ motives as determined by their lifeworlds – as well as to service design as an iterative approach to finding, creating and refining service offerings.
Practical implications – The investigation of the antecedents of experience co-creation can enable service providers to determine significant consumer market conditions for forecasting the suitability and viability of their offerings and to adjust their service designs accordingly.
Originality/value – This paper provides a step toward the operationalization of the dimension-related experience co creation construct and presents an approach to defining the antecedents of experience co-creation by considering different research perspectives that can enhance service design research.
For the widespread establishment of a circular economy, the acceptance of used products among consumers is a prerequisite. This paper investigates the customer experience of product service systems related to used products (PSSuP), such as renting, remanufacturing, and second-hand models, and aims to point out the offering characteristics that effect customer response and customer engagement. This study was conducted by means of a content analysis-based literature review of 69 empirical PSSuP studies. A frequency analysis of the categories that determine customer experience creation was conducted, as well as a contingency analysis to reveal the interrelationship between these categories. On this basis, the different PSSuP types were compared, and four strategic orientations of customer experience creation in PSSuP are pointed out: price, confidence, convenience, and delight orientation. For each of these strategic orientations, supportive PSSuP offering characteristics are specified. Building on the findings of this study, theoretical and managerial implications for product–service systems marketing are pointed out, and the need for research on the role of information and communication technology as an enabler of customer experience creation in PSSuP is highlighted.
The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the communication of sustainability of fashion retailers via their websites with a focus on the involvement of the consumer and the varying communication processes, based on the sender-receiver model. For the empirical study, 10 fashion retailers were analyzed in terms of their communication of sustainability via their websites, with a focus on the consumer involvement. The results of empirical study were applied to the theoretical communication process model and illustrate the varying communication processes among the ten fashion retailers. The communication of sustainability via the Fashion retailer´s websites varied strongly. Only one fashion retailer communicated environmental- and social as well as all consumer-related aspects. As a result, the loop of the communication process has only been closed for one fashion retailer. Accordingly, these findings confirm that there is a need for fashion retailers to inform consumers in a holistic way about sustainability, especially in terms of sustainable fashion consumption when communicating sustainability via websites.
The strong demand for a transformation of the textile and fashion industry towards sustainability requires a continuous implementation of the guiding principle of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in education and industry [1, 2]. In a first step of the European research project "Sustainable fashion curriculum at textile Universities in Europe - Development, Implementation and Evaluation of a Teaching Module for Educators" (Fashion DIET) a continuing education module shall be created to implement ESD as a guiding principle in university teaching. The research-based teaching and learning materials are delivered through an e-learning portal.