In this study I investigate the impact different director types have on firm commitments to voluntary labor regulation. Using an author-constructed dataset of eight focal firm’s boards of directors for a nineteen-year period, I examine the impacts of gender and racial diversity, as well as the inclusion of independent interlocking board members on firm commitments to voluntary labor regulation following a legitimacy crisis in the 1990s. Framing firms’ responses within a chronological approach to institutional theory, I test how trends for these three director types varied for firms most and least committed to voluntary labor regulation, as well as for firms that underwent bankruptcy, an acquisition, or split into various firms between 1996 and 2014. Findings suggest that firms view gender and racial diversity in similar ways, but independent interlocks as a separate strategy. All firms increased the number of women and racial minorities on their boards, with least committed firms having the highest percentages of both over this entire period. Use of independent interlocks increased at a moderate rate for most committed firms, decreased over time for least committed firms, and increased significantly for firms going through additional crises (bankruptcy, an acquisition, or splitting up). This study contributes to theory and research on organizational change by extending understanding of mechanisms that drive organizational change in response to crisis by analyzing internal normative mechanisms that shaped firms’ responses. It extends research on board composition by analyzing the conditions under which board diversity and interlocked board members are sought by focal firms. Understanding how and why board diversity and independent interlock membership serve as mechanisms of internal, normative change provides insight into what internal mechanisms shape organizational policies and practices, and provide a correction to the over-focus on external, coercive mechanisms in existing scholarship.

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Having pertinent information is a key to successful and profitable apparel purchasing. Fashion apparel buyers use information sources to obtain information on product characteristics and on vendor reputation. The perceived financial risk of the purchasing activity has been shown to affect ratings of importance of the need for information. Few studies have addressed how fashion apparel buyers evaluate and react to perceived financial risk in their purchasing task. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of high and low perceived risk on U.S. apparel buyers' need for information sources and for information on product characteristics and vendor reputation variables during the apparel purchasing decision making process. Data (N=110) were obtained from a random sampling of apparel buyers listed in the Million Dollar Directory (1995). The questionnaire, administered through a mail survey, contained two scenarios and demographic questions about the buyers and their firms. Based on the scenarios, respondents rated the importance of the need for information sources and for information types. Data were analyzed using matched pair t-tests, analysis of variance with post-hoc tests, multiple regression, and Pearson product moment correlations. Matched pair t-tests showed that the respondents’ importance ratings for the information sources, product characteristics, and vendor reputation variables varied in the two risk scenarios. Analysis of variance results showed that the need for the upper management and another buyer/peer information sources and for information on consumer demand, ability to meet specifications, and delivery reliability were significantly more important than the other listed information sources or types. Multiple regression analysis showed that the ratings of a chance of a financial gain or loss were negatively related to the firms' store type in both scenarios and positively related to the buyers' experience in buying imported apparel in the high perceived risk scenario. In the low risk scenario, the buyers' frequency of being confronted with such a scenario was positively related to their rated chance of a financial loss or gain. Pearson correlations revealed mostly positive correlations between information sources and types of information. The results of this study show that perceived financial risk is an important variable in the apparel purchasing decision making process. Overall, the importance ratings of information sources and types of information are consistent with the findings of related previous studies. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this research is to examine the determinants of the textile and apparel exports of India and South Korea over 1974-2001. This was addressed through an econometric analysis of the effects of several independent variables on the gross and net exports of textiles and apparel for India and South Korea. The analysis employed four linear models, which were each estimated separately for textiles and apparel for India and South Korea. The independent variables were net value of physical-capital stock, technological capital, two different levels of human capital, unit labor cost in textiles and in apparel, per-capita domestic apparel production, and domestic cotton production. The study extends that by Zhang and Dardis (1991) who analyzed the determinants of textile exports over the period 1970-1985, using a sample of 27 major textile exporting countries. Secondary data for each year over 1974-2001 were used for the variables in the analysis. The data analysis included 32 estimations using the four different linear models to test the hypothesized relationships between textile and apparel exports and the independent variables for India and South Korea separately. Model 1 examined the impact of current year values of the independent variables on current-year gross or net exports of textiles or apparel. Model 2 examined the impact of one-year lagged values of the independent variables on current-year gross or net exports of textiles or apparel. Model 3 examined the impact of changes in the current-year values of the independent variables on changes in current-year gross or net exports of textiles or apparel. Model 4 examined the impact of one-year lagged values of changes in the independent variables on changes in current-year gross or net exports of textiles or apparel. Major findings indicate that current-year net value of physical-capital stock positively impacted the gross textile exports of India and both gross and net textile exports of South Korea over 1974-2001.Although the results indicate positive effects of current-year net value of physical-capital stock on India's gross and net apparel exports, they indicate negative effects on South Korea's gross and net apparel exports. One-year lagged net values of physical-capital stock were positively related to South Korea's current-year gross and net apparel exports. A negative impact of previous-year net value of physical-capital stock was found in one instance, South Korea's current-year gross apparel exports. Technological capital measured as the number of scientists, engineers, technical personnel involved in R&D, negatively affected South Korea's gross and net apparel exports. The impact of one-year lagged technological capital was negative on both India's and South Korea's current-year gross and net apparel exports. Human capital measured by enrollment in secondary-level education showed positive impact on India's current-year gross and net exports of textile and apparel and on South Korea's current-year gross and net apparel exports. The results also showed a negative impact of current-year changes in secondary-education enrollment on current-year changes in net textile exports of India. Human capital measures by enrollment in tertiary-level education indicated a positive impact on South Korea's net textile exports and gross apparel exports. One-year lagged tertiary-education enrollment also positively affected South Korea's gross textile exports and its gross and net apparel exports. Contrary to expectations, current-year change sin tertiary-education enrollment showed a negative impact on current-year changes in India's net textile exports. Per-capita domestic apparel production showed a positive impact on India's gross and net textile exports and on South Korea's gross apparel exports. One-year lagged domestic apparel production also had a positive impact on India's current-year net textile exports and South Korea's gross apparel exports. The results of one-year lagged domestic cotton production had a positive impact on South Korea's current-year gross and net textile and apparel exports. / Master of Science

The U.S. apparel manufacturing industry includes many reputable firms, but is also believed to include many sweatshop operations. Sweatshop workers often work under sub-minimum wages, excessively long hours, and abusive management. Sweatshop establishments in the United States typically violate several U.S. labor laws. Two they commonly violate are the minimum wage under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 and the ban on hiring illegal immigrants under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. The purpose of the present research was to estimate minimum penalties that would provide no monetary incentive for the average U.S. apparel manufacturing firm to violate the minimum wage and the ban on hiring illegal immigrants. The minimum per-violation penalties that were estimated to deter violation of the minimum wage are 8 to 28 times the current maximum penalty of $1,000 per violation, and those estimated to deter the hiring of illegal immigrants are 3 to 10 times the current maximum penalty of $10,000 per violation. The estimated penalties are associated with annual probabilities of prosecution ranging from 5% to 15%. The estimated penalties primarily depend on the difference between legal and illegal wage rates. A sensitivity analysis indicated that the estimated penalties are insensitive to the value of the own-price elasticity of production labor demand, which is one of the variables used to calculate the penalties. The results suggest that current federal penalties for violating the minimum wage or the ban on hiring illegal immigrants do not deter infraction of these laws by U.S. apparel manufacturers. / Master of Science

The purpose of this study is to examine apparel manufacturers' inventory performance, which is one of the major performance indicators of supply chain management (SCM) with the consideration of company characteristics. The objectives of the study are (a) to identify the level of SCM activities of apparel manufacturers, (b) to examine the differences of apparel manufacturers' characteristics (i.e., product characteristic, production system, fabric suppliers, retail customers) according to the level of SCM activities, and (c) to illustrate how the SCM activities and apparel manufacturers' characteristics relate to the inventory management performance in terms of levels within the type (i.e., raw material, work-in-process, finished goods). Through an intensive literature review six SCM dimensions and 26 SCM activities were identified and four company characteristics selected for the study were found to influence the company performance. Inventory levels within the type were compared as a result of levels of SCM activities and company characteristics. Data were collected via a self-administered mail questionnaire sent to a random proportional stratified sample of 1,195 US apparel manufacturers in SIC 231 to 234. In the data analyses, 93 returned surveys were used with the adjusted response rate of 9.49%. Cluster analysis was used to identify the SCM activity groups who showed different levels of SCM activities. Factor analysis was used to determine the number of SCM dimensions and SCM activity scales, and to identify the SCM activity level of each cluster. ANOVA, Chi-square, Tukey-test, matched sample t-test, t-test, regression, and correlation were employed to determine the relationships between SCM activity level, company characteristics and inventory levels within the type. Statistical analyses supported the research hypotheses. Apparel manufacturers' SCM activity level differs and company characteristics are significantly related with the SCM activity level. Company characteristics and SCM activity level are significantly related with the inventory performance. Findings imply that basic goods manufacturers are more likely to see the benefits of SCM activity implementation in inventory performance. Lead-time for fashion goods procurement, production, and delivery takes longer than basic goods and is hard to be shortened. Limitations of the study and suggestions for future study were discussed. / Ph. D.

Within the last few years, retail sales have averaged an annual growth of about 4% with electronic commerce retail sales averaging an increase of over 20% per year (U.S Census Bureau, 2008). The e-commerce retail sector of apparel, accessories, and footwear reached $18.3 billion in sales and ranked as a top selling category (Shop.org, 2007). A growing apparel market with strong buying power is the plus-size clothing industry with approximately $32 billion in sales in 2005, and an average of about a 10% growth rate each year (Yadegaran, 2006). Despite the growth in the industry, little empirical research has been conducted regarding plus-size Internet apparel shoppers. Additionally the field lacks research that focuses on garment fit for the plus-size market. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of product presentation factors, visual fit information (size of model photographed) and written fit information (fit related product description), on plus-size women's perceived fit risk, purchase intention, and loyalty intentions in Internet apparel shopping. This study employed a 2 x 2 between subjects' factorial design: visual fit information (plus-size model vs. non plus-size model) by written fit information (more elaborate vs. less elaborate). Four mock web pages were created to closely mimic the design of a true plus-size Internet apparel retailer. Each web page presented a model wearing the same dress for plus-size women and a written product description. The stimuli consisted of an identical dress in color and style, presented on both a plus-size model and a non plus-size model, and similar written fit information with more detailed information about garment style, garment dimensions, and fit editorial presentation for more elaborate stimuli. One hundred fourteen women between the ages of 19 and 64 participated in this study for incentives such as a free plus-size apparel gift-card, using snowball sampling method. Using descriptive statistics, multivariate analyses of variance and univariate analyses of variance, the present research showed (1) no main effects of visual fit information on perceived fit risk, purchase intention, and loyalty intention, and (2) no main effects of written fit information on perceived fit risk, purchase intention and loyalty intention. The study added valuable empirical findings to the literature on the relationship between fit related information and perceived fit risk, purchase intention and loyalty intention among plus-size Internet apparel shoppers. / Master of Science

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Apparel, Textiles, and Interior Design / Kim Hiller Connell / With apparel production finding itself a leading cause of harm to the environment, the call to action to influence purchase intention for environmentally sustainable apparel (ESA) is pertinent for the current and future well-being of both the environment and humankind. Supplying a base of knowledge to consumers is crucial to enable them to understand the consequences the AT industry has on the environment. This knowledge can potentially lead to a change of attitude and change in purchase intention. However, reaching the populous and changing consumer knowledge of and attitudes towards environmentally sustainable apparel is challenging. This study considers social networking sites (SNS) a feasible strategy regarding this issue because they not only rapidly communicate to consumers but SNS also convey the attitudes and opinions of users’ online referent groups. This study better understands the variances among consumer characteristics and their knowledge of environmental issues in the apparel and textile industry. The purpose of this exploratory study is to initiate the investigation as to whether or not SNS may be a potential mechanism for increasing purchase intention for environmentally sustainable apparel. This exploration focuses on identifying consumer characteristics of social networking site users and investigating whether differences in consumer knowledge about environmental issues in apparel production leads to differences in attitudes about and ultimately purchase intentions of ESA. This study also examines whether or not the presence of social influence on SNS may serve as a mechanism to overcome the barriers (knowledge and attitudes) limiting purchase intention for ESA. An online national survey of 783 participants was conducted utilizing six scales. Simple bivariate correlations, ANOVA, and a hierarchial regression was conducted to understand if adding social influence of SNS as an additional component to Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) provides greater predictive power for ESA behavior intentions. Findings from the study indicate that SNS influence and subjective norm are not stronger predictors of ESA purchase intention above knowledge and attitudes but they do contribute to the TRA and increasing the probability of purchase intention.

Background and problem: As one of the major emerging markets, China has alarge population, stable growth in GDP and increased consumer spending powerwhich has attracted the whole world’s retail business. Many international clothingbrands have increased investment or speeded up the pace into the China’s market (Chen et al., 2007; Cui 2000).However, because of the differences in economy, policy and culture, it sometimesresults in difficulties in meeting standards and accessing the market with effectivestrategies (Cui, 2000). Numbers of clothing brands have been found not reach theChinese standards of textile and apparel. These problems force the brandswithdraw their substandard products from shelves, pay fines, and exposed by themedia, therefore the brands suffer not only economic losses, but also the damageof their images and reputations.The identified problem corresponds to two research questions:• What are the main challenges for apparel companies to conform withChinese standards?• How have the Swedish textiles retail companies responded to thesestandards?Methodology: A qualitative research approach was taken to collect relevant data.In the first phase, literature review was used to collect information related topicsof the thesis. Because this paper was addressed on China’s market as the focus ofthe investigation, both China’s and Swedish academic databases were utilized. Inthe second phase, the author developed the work by doing an interview withKlaus Ziegler, the founder and owner of the Quality Partnership LLC in China; anin-depth international laboratory located in China identified the impact of theChina’s standards and regulations and two email interviews with the managers oftwo Swedish apparel retail companies. Moreover, few informal interviews withprofessors in the Swedish School of Textiles and experts from Business Swedenwere made to reach better understanding of thesis topic.Conclusions: Findings provide insight on Chinese highly growing standardsregarding quality and service; International exporters face a lack of understandingof these standards in China’s textile market; The research of two retail companiesindicate that the companies can conduct better conformity of Chinese standards bysetting specific requirements to control the production, paying attention tolabeling related rules, cooperating with developed export agents, professionalthird-party laboratory, and so on.