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[pt] A presente dissertação traz uma pesquisa acerca da moral evangélica que contempla o vestuário feminino como um importante elemento de distinção social. A partir da etnografia realizada em igrejas evangélicas na região metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro, procurei observar de que forma as subjetividades se manifestam nos discursos e como experiências religiosas e culturais operam nos distintos modos de vestir-se, performar-se e julgar o belo. Disso resulta que, entre o juízo de gosto e as práticas do vestir, há operações de agenciamento em que as mulheres investem na construção de uma identidade visual personalizada sem contrapor a moral evangélica, mas também evidenciando as múltiplas formas sobre como essas normas são incorporadas. Neste sentido, o diálogo entre os mecanismos de distinção e as relações entre performatividade e materialidade constroem uma ética corporal e comunal, contribuindo para o entendimento da regulação e inscrição desses corpos femininos, portadores de significados sociais. / [en] The present work brings a research about the gospel morality, which includes women s clothing as an important element of social distinction. From the ethnography in evangelical churches in the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro, I tried watching how the subjectivities are manifested in speeches and how religious and cultural experiences operating in distinct ways of dress up perform and judge the beautiful. It follows that between the judgement of taste and practices of dressing there are agency operations where women invest in constructing a personalized visual identity without opposing the evangelical morality, but also showing the multiple ways on how these norms are incorporated. In this sense, the dialogue between distinction mechanisms and the relations between performativity and materiality build a corporal and communal ethics, contributing to the understanding of the regulation and registration of these female bodies carrying social meanings.

Retailers' ultimate concern is consumers'' purchase intentions because increasing levels of purchase intention may lead to the actual purchase, which is directly related to retailers' sales and profits. Perceived risk has been proposed as one of the most important concepts for understanding how consumers make a purchase decision (Mitchell, 1999) and research findings supported that perceived risk was a significant factor affecting consumers' willingness to purchase (Heijden, Verhagen, & Creemers, 2001). Therefore, it is critical for online retailers in the apparel industry to understand consumer's perceived risk and purchase intention so that they can develop effective retail strategies and build long-term relationships with customers. Consumers use internal information to help them in the purchase decision process by retrieving risk-related information from memory. Experience and product/brand knowledge are two common types of internal information that consumers use to reduce risks and make purchase decisions (Brucks, 1985; Engel, Blackwell, & Miniard, 1995). Studies showed that experience with previous in-home shopping for apparel products significantly reduced perceived risk and increased purchase intention in buying apparel products via in-home shopping channels (Kwon, Paek, & Arzeni, 1991; Park & Stoel, 2005; Sen, Johnson, Stanforth, Lennon, & Moore, 2000). Several researchers also have investigated the relationship between the familiarity with a website's brand and the perceived of risk and purchase intention (Laroche, Kim, & Zhou, 1996; Park & Stoel, 2005). However, the brand familiarity in these studies was measured as consumer's brand knowledge through frequent exposures, such as advertisement, instead of experiences acquired through actual purchase and use of the brands. No study has examined if the purchase experience and actual usage of a specific brand are related to perceived risk when consumers shop for apparel products online. Brand image is one type of knowledge that consumers stored in their memory and may retrieve it during their decision making process. Studies showed that brand image was the most important and most frequently used tool to reduce consumers' perception of risk (Nandan, 2005). McCracken (1989) indicated that brand image helps an individual express oneself and develop one's self-identities; therefore, consumers prefer products with an image that matches their actual or ideal self-concept (Karande, Zinkhan, & Lum, 1997). Therefore, congruity between brand image and consumers' self image (brand-self image congruity) may help consumers to reduce their perceived risk and increase purchase intention in apparel online purchases. No study has examined the effect of brand-self image congruity in apparel online shopping context. The purposes of the study were to investigate (a) the relationships between consumers' experience with apparel catalog/TV shopping and their experience with apparel online shopping, (b) the effects of consumers' experience with apparel online shopping and brand-self image congruity on their experience with a specific brand, and (c) the effects of consumers' experience with a specific brand and brand-self image congruity on their perceived risk and purchase intention in apparel online shopping context. Two conceptual frameworks were developed. The first framework was for examining all participants, including participants with and without experience with a specific brand. The valence of experience with a specific brand was excluded in this framework. The second framework, including the valence of the experience with a specific brand, was for examining participants who had experience with a specific brand. Fifteen research hypotheses were generated with respect to the specific relationships proposed in the conceptual frameworks. A 2 x 2 quasi-experimental between subjects design was used in this study to examine if experience with a specific brand (Experience vs. No Experience) and brand-self image congruity (Consistent vs. Inconsistent) were the antecedents of perceived risk and purchase intention in apparel online shopping context. In addition to the quasi-experimental design, a survey design was also used to examine the relationships among experiences with catalog, TV, and online shopping for apparel products and the relationships among experience with apparel online shopping, perceived risk and purchase intention. Data was collected by online surveys using a national sample, and 455 apparel online shoppers living in the U.S. participated. Factor analysis results showed that the valence and extent of the experiences were two different constructs, and therefore, the two aspects of experience were included in the study. The extent of the experience is about how often consumers buy products, how much money they spend, and how many items they buy (Klopping & McKinney, 2006; Seock, 2003; Ward, 2001). The feelings experienced are called the valence of the experience, and these feelings are usually described in the literature as good/bad, enjoyed/not enjoyed, or satisfied/ dissatisfied with the experience (Chen & Dubinsky, 2003; Folkes & Patrick, 2003; Mano & Oliver, 1993; Raghubir & Menon, 2005). The first purpose of the study was to investigate the relationships between consumers' experience with apparel catalog/TV shopping and their experience with apparel online shopping. The results showed that participants who had more experiences and who had a positive feeling about their experience with buying apparel products from catalogs had more experiences with apparel online shopping. However, participants' TV shopping experiences did not have significant relationships with apparel online shopping. Participants who had more positive feelings about their experience with buying apparel products online purchased apparel product more frequently, bought more apparel items, and spent greater amount of money on apparel products online. The second purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of consumers' experience with apparel online shopping and brand-self image congruity on their experience with a specific brand. The results showed that participants who had more experiences with buying apparel products online and who perceived the image of a specific brand as more consistent with their self image had more experiences with a specific brand, indicating that they purchased apparel product of the brand more frequently, bought more items of the brand, and spent greater amount of money on the brand. The third purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of consumers' experience with a specific brand and brand-self image congruity on their perceived risk and purchase intention in buying a specific brand online. The results of perceived risk showed that for all participants, including those with and without experience with a specific brand, those had more experiences with a specific brand and those perceived the image of a specific brand as more consistent with their self-image perceived less risk in buying the apparel products of the brand online. However, participants who already had experience with a specific brand perceived less risk in buying the brand online if they had positive feeling about their experience with the brand despite of the frequency of previous experience (i.e., the extent of the experience with a specific brand). In the results of purchase intention, similar results to that of perceived risk were found for all participants. Those had more experiences with a specific brand and those perceived the image of a specific brand as more consistent with their self-image had higher purchase intention in buying the apparel products of the brand online. However, among the participants who had experience with the specific brand, only brand-self image congruity influenced their perceived risk and purchase intention. Either the extent or valence of the experience with the brand did not directly influence their purchase intention in buying the brand online. Instead, these experiences indirectly influenced the purchase intention through perceived risk. In conclusion, participants' experience with apparel online shopping and brand-self image congruity were significant factors on their perceived risk and purchase intention in apparel online shopping context. Participants who had more and positive experience with apparel online shopping and those whose self image was more consistent with the brand image perceived less risk and had higher purchase intention in buying apparel products of the brand online. This study extends the understanding of consumers' apparel online shopping behavior by identifying the roles of experiences and brand-self image congruity in apparel online shopping context. Based on the findings, suggestions for marketing strategies in apparel online shopping were provided. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study was to generalize the findings about market orientation, learning orientation, innovation and performance to the textile and apparel context in South Korea, specifically to SMEs, and, in addition, to investigate the role of informal relationships in SMEs within the presence of these other variables. This study postulates that market orientation, learning orientation, and innovation are related to performance. This study conducted a survey in South Korea, using a paper-and-pencil questionnaire, to determine the relationship of various management related variables with the SMEs' performance. Of the 200 questionnaires that were distributed, 183 were returned and178 were completed and usable for the research. Results of this study showed that components of market orientation and learning orientation were both significantly related to innovation and some components along with innovation were significantly related to South Korean apparel SMEs' performance. The proposed relationship of these factors to performance could be generalized to SMEs in the apparel industry, within the context of South Korea. / Master of Science

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of environmental factors on business strategies for U.S. apparel manufacturing companies. Three research objectives were established to achieve this study purpose: (a) to explore the business environment of the U.S. apparel manufacturing industry from 1970 to 2005, (b) to investigate the business strategies for selected major U.S. apparel manufacturing companies in response to the environment from 1970 to 2005, and (c) to determine if patterns or themes are found in changes of the business strategies for the selected U.S. apparel manufacturing companies. Two theories were used as a framework for this study: organizational interpretation process (e.g., Daft & Weick, 1984; Milliken, 1990) and organizational adaptation theory (e.g., Miles & Snow, 1978; Zeithaml & Zeithaml, 1984). Qualitative analysis was conducted for data analysis. Part 1 of data analysis was the in-depth exploration of the business environment for the apparel manufacturing industry in terms of globalization, technology, and consumer; and apparel firms' business strategies that have been implemented in response to these environments, from 1970 to 2005. Part 2 of data analysis was the case studies of two sample apparel companies (i.e., Nike, Inc., VF Corporation). The business strategies of the two companies in response to their business environments from 1970 to 2005 were investigated. The in-depth exploration of general business strategies of the U.S. apparel industry and the case studies of two sample companies' specific business strategies revealed that U.S. apparel manufacturing companies have gone through the process that was proposed in the model of the study; they have been significantly affected by the environmental changes and have made changes to their business strategies in order to survive. These changes did vary between the two companies in the case study and were related to the original organization of the companies showing a variation in interpretation of the information. / Master of Science

A historical study of women's costumes for selected periods as a reflection of the culture in Virginia was designed to gain some understanding of the costumes worn, to observe the role that clothing played in the lives of the settlers and of the influences that brought about changes in costume. Much information pertaining to this subject was found in books on history. The researcher conducted this study by visiting various museums, reviewing related books and studying historical portraits. The researcher found that most of the information that is recorded about clothing belonged to persons of some wealth and station of life. The costumes, fabrics, shoes, and other apparel still in existence are relics of past days. Thirty-eight illustrations on costumes have been included in this study. / Master of Science

Abstract  Background: Online marketing has transformed how businesses engage with consumers, largely through the rise of social media and ephemeral content within. These platforms facilitate direct communication and engagement by providing short-lasting content that captures the consumers’ attention in a quick manner, tapping into consumers’ fear of missing out. Despite increased use of said marketing tactics and content, ephemeral marketing impact on consumer perception and engagement is largely under-researched, specifically with an industry emphasis, in this case the fitness apparel industry. Purpose: The main goal of the study is to find out how Gen Z consumers of the fitness apparel industry perceive and engage with ephemeral marketing, and the variables which have an effect on these. Method: A qualitative method with a deductive approach through two focus groups consisting of Gen Z consumers from Jönköping University. Primary data was analysed through a deductive thematic analysis using a conceptual framework derived from the Elaboration Likelihood Model. Conclusion: A thorough interpretation and analysis of the empirical findings provided a proper understanding of consumers perception and engagement with ephemeral marketing, emphasising the importance of different elements in the ephemeral content. Furthermore, there were new findings regarding the influential factor FOMO, which demonstrated the potential to be an element alongside WOM and eWOM, playing a role in both central and peripheral routes. Thus, a final reconceptualization of the conceptual model is presented.