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Background: As the landscape of the fashion industry is challenged by the emergence of big data and high sustainability demands, efficient solutions for product innovation and development are required. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is generating organizational shifts in various industries, but the fashion industry is still very early in its adoption. AI shows abilities to facilitate the challenges of the industry, and its application in creative design and product development processes is estimated to hold potential. Problem: As the fashion industry is characterized by creativity and human ideation, there is a need to evaluate if AI is compatible with the values of the industry. Management’s attitudes are proven to influence the adoption of digital technologies, leaving implications to study the attitudes of professionals in design and product development towards AI as well. Further, it is relevant to understand the possibilities and limitations of utilizing generative AI in creative processes, to ensure a successful implementation. Purpose: This thesis aims to investigate the implementation of AI in creative ideation and product development within the fashion industry, particularly exploring the attitudes of fashion professionals toward the relationship between human ideation and AI to determine the industry’s current position. Method: This study utilized qualitative research design by conducting 10 semi-structured interviews with professionals working in the fields of fashion design, product development, and AI. Conclusion: The results show that AI is currently not implemented within fashion, among the interviewees. The study identified determinants, such as awareness, attitudes, data, knowledge, objectives, and competencies that influence the adoption of AI, in the early stages. The attitudes toward AI are an essential factor in the early stages of adoption.

I Sverige köps det idag 13,1 kg kläder per person och år, av dessa slängs 8 kg kläder per person och år. Cirka 60 procent av det som slängs skulle dessutom kunna användas igen. Detta är en inte en hållbar resurshantering och för att ta tillvara på kläderna behövs en omställning där kläderna ses som en resurs. Denna studie syftar till att undersöka varför svenska klädföretag arbetar med cirkulär ekonomi, hur de arbetar och vilka svårigheter som kan uppstå med arbetet. Studien genomfördes med hjälp av åtta stycken semistrukturerade intervjuer inom ett brett spektra av svenska klädföretag. De klädföretag som har intervjuats är H&M, Filippa K, Björn Borg, Myrorna, Swedish Stockings, Odd Molly, Fjällräven och Houdini. Erfarenheterna från respondenterna redovisas i fyra olika teman – kläder som resurs, beteendeförändringar, ansvar och överlevnad och förändrad marknadssyn. Det empiriska materialet ställs mot varandra och jämförs med tidigare forskning. Resultatet av studien visar att klädföretagen ser cirkulär ekonomi som deras framtida överlevnad. Det är viktigt att börja se kläderna som en resurs efter användning och det krävs mer arbete i designfasen för att verkligen göra skillnad. Det har även visat sig att det krävs beteendeförändringar för att kunna ställa om till en cirkulär ekonomi. / In Sweden people purchase 13.1 kg garments per person per year, of these garments 8 kg per person per year gets discarded. Approximately 60 percent of the discarded garments could be used again. This is not a sustainable resource management and to take advantage of the garments a transition is needed because the garments have to be seen as a resource. This study aims to investigate why Swedish clothing companies work with circular economy, how they are working with this and what difficulties may arise during the process. The study was conducted with the help of eight semi-structured interviews in a wide range of Swedish fashion companies to share their views and experiences. The clothing companies that have been interviewed are H&M, Filippa K, Björn Borg, Myrorna, Swedish Stockings, Odd Molly, Fjällräven and Houdini. The experience of the respondents are presented in four different themes - clothes as a resource, behavioural changes, responsibility and survival and change in market view. The empirical data are compared against each other and also compared with previous research. The results of the study show that the clothing companies are seeing circular economy as their future survival strategy. It shows that it is important to begin to see the clothes as a resource and further work is required in the design phase in order to really make a difference. It has also been shown that it requires behavioural changes in order to adjust to a circular economy.

Begreppet hållbarhet har på senare tid fått en allt större spridning i samhället, något som även avspeglas inom företagsvärlden där redovisning av hållbarhetsarbete blivit allt viktigare för att möta växande lagkrav och samhällsförväntningar. Efter införandet år 2015 blev FN:s globala mål för hållbar utveckling, Agenda 2030, snabbt en vanligt förekommande aspekt inom hållbarhetsredovisningar. Detta grundar sig till stor del på den legitimitet ett internationellt organ som FN besitter. Agenda 2030 var och fortsätter vara kritiserad för sin ambiguitet och svårigheten gällande den praktiska implementationen av målen. Viljan hos företag att applicera Agenda 2030 var redan från början stor men forskning på området påvisar risken att införandet stannar vid en endast symbolisk efterlevnad av målen. För att kunna avgöra om Agenda 2030 har haft en verklig inverkan på hållbarhetsredovisningar syftar denna studie till att beskriva hur hållbarhetsredovisning inom svenska modeföretag har förändrats sedan införandet av FN:s globala mål för hållbar utveckling. Detta görs genom att studera hur de globala målen har införts och utvecklats i hållbarhetsredovisningen året innan (2014), året efter (2016) samt halvvägs (2021) in i Agenda 2030. Studien är utformad som en innehållsanalys i form av en modifikation av CONI-modellen där originalmodellen är skapad av Beck et al. (2010). CONI-modellen är speciellt konstruerad för kodning samt jämförande av hållbarhetsredovisningar och består av både frekvensmätning och värdering. Kombinationen ger en djupare förståelse för hur förändringar skett mellan de valda åren och mellan de olika företagen. Att endast använda en frekvensmätning omöjliggör en kvalitativ mätning men är ändå relevant att inkludera då det ger en bild av hållbarhetsredovisningens prioriterade mål. Studien visar att samtliga företag benämner Agenda 2030 på något vis i sin hållbarhetsredovisning och fyra av fem studerade modeföretag betonar direkt sin efterlevnad av målen. Detta är att förvänta på grund av de många likheter de valda företagen innehar, något som även stöds av institutionell teori. Vidare kan institutionell teori även förklara varför det största företaget, H&M, redan från första året låg i framkant och resterande företag följer den trend som H&M stakat ut. Sammantaget visar dock årsjämförelserna att de olika företagens hållbarhetsarbete inte förändras nämnvärt efter införandet av Agenda 2030. Istället appliceras existerande hållbarhetsarbete på de Agenda 2030-mål som passar. Vissa specifika mål har förändrats avsevärt mellan olika år i värdering eller frekvens men som helhet påvisar den insamlade empirin att Agenda 2030 troligen främst införs i hållbarhetsredovisningarna av legitimerande skäl. Således stödjer denna studie den tidigare forskning som kritiserar företags användande av Agenda 2030 som en legitimerande strategi, något som gör att bidraget till måluppfyllnaden är ytterst undermålig. / The concept of sustainability has recently become increasingly widespread in society, which is also reflected in the business world where sustainability reporting has become increasingly important to meet growing legal requirements and societal expectations. After its introduction in the year 2015, the UN's global sustainable development goals, Agenda 2030, quickly became a common aspect of sustainability reporting. This is largely based on the legitimacy of an international body like the UN. Agenda 2030 was and continues to be criticized for its ambiguity and the difficulty of its practical implementation. The willingness of companies to apply Agenda 2030 was great from the beginning, but research in the field shows the risk that the implementation stops at a merely symbolic compliance with the goals. In order to determine whether Agenda 2030 has had a real impact on sustainability reporting, this study aims to study how sustainability reporting in Swedish fashion companies has changed since the introduction of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This is done by studying how the SDGs have been introduced and developed in the sustainability report in the year before (2014), the year after (2016) and halfway (2021) into Agenda 2030. The study is designed as a content analysis in the form of a modification of the CONI model where the original model is created by Beck et al. (2010). The CONI model is specially designed for coding and comparing sustainability reports and consists of both frequency measurement and valuation. The combination provides a deeper understanding of how changes have occurred between the selected years and between the different companies. Using only a frequency measurement makes a qualitative measurement impossible but is still relevant to include as it provides a picture of the sustainability report's prioritized goals. The study shows that all companies refer to the Agenda 2030 in some way in their sustainability report and four out of five fashion companies studied directly emphasize their compliance with the goals. This is to be expected due to the many similarities between the selected companies, which is also supported by institutional theory. Furthermore, institutional theory can also explain why the largest company, H&M, was at the forefront from the first year and the remaining companies follow the trend set by H&M. Overall, however, the annual comparisons show that the different companies' sustainability work did not change significantly after the introduction of the Agenda 2030. Instead, existing sustainability work is applied to the appropriate Agenda 2030 goals. Some specific goals have changed significantly between years in terms of valuation or frequency, but as a whole, the collected empirical data shows that Agenda 2030 is probably mainly introduced in the sustainability reports for legitimizing reasons. Thus, this study supports the previous research that criticizes companies' use of Agenda 2030 as a legitimizing strategy, which makes the contribution to goal achievement extremely suboptimal.

This case study examines how luxury fashion brands communicate their sustainability practices on the brands' sustainability page on the company's website and whether selected luxury fashion brands are greenwashing and bluewashing. The luxury brands selected for this study are Stella McCartney and Gucci, on the grounds that both brands have different types of businesses and approaches. To understand the context, this study uses the triple bottom line sustainability concept by Elkinton (1998), sustainable luxury fashion brands (Godart & Seong ,2017; Wiedmann et al., 2009; Joey et al.,2012; and Franco et al. 2019), greenwashing concept by Delmas & Burbano (2011) and bluewashing concept (Sailer et al., 2022). To conduct the analysis, this study uses textual, eco-lexicon categorization developed by Thomas (2008) and the categorization from Milanesi et al. (2022) is adapted for visual analysis and the sins of greenwashing by Terra Choice (2010) to see the potential of greenwashing. The results shows that Stella McCartney and Gucci sustainable communication serves as their marketing strategy which encourage purchase and therefore it is problematic. Both brands use vague, ambiguous words, terms, and certifications and lack of transparency. While the images are not yet seen as a potential tool to communicate sustainability initiatives. Even though the brands are known as sustainable fashion brands, the result demonstrates brands show irrelevancies and paradoxes between what the brands communicate and their actual practices ; therefore show potential greenwashing and bluewashing.

The Swedish fashion industry is one of the fastest growing export industries and in recent years the Swedish fashion companies have been praised for their international expansion. For companies with niche products in smaller markets like Sweden internationalization is important but since the industry is constantly changing the internationalization process is quite challenging. Previous studies show that internationalization can be profitable for fashion companies but there is no unified view among researchers as to which way is the right way for the companies to internationalize. Most studies come to the general conclusion that companies seem to follow different paths. The purpose of this study is to contribute to the knowledge development of internationalization for small and medium-sized Swedish fashion companies based on established theories of internationalization. A qualitative study has been conducted based on a multiple case study design with 12 participating Swedish fashion companies. The study has a deductive approach since it has its starting point is from a well-established theoretical model: The Business Network Internationalization Process Model which has also worked as a foundation for the study’s analytical model. The analysis is however partly inductive since findings in the result have been fed back into a modified theoretical model, suitable and applicable for Swedish fashion companies’ internationalization processes. In conclusion the findings indicate that there are several important knowledge-bases for the fashion companies that motivate them to start an internationalization process, mainly their design-driven vision of becoming an international brand and the management’s risk-taking business mindset, founded in their entrepreneurial skills and previous knowledge. The result also shows that relationships with different industry actors are of high importance for the companies and in many cases the only way to internationalize. In addition the results show not only that the established theoretical model on internationalization is applicable to Swedish fashion companies but that there also are tendencies that show that the Swedish companies follow a more chronological path in their processes.

The present thesis aims to investigate students’ willingness to share customer data in the fashion e-commerce. Special attention is given to the way trust, benefits and law regulations are discussed in this context. An inductive approach was applied utilizing focus group discussions. The goal of the empirical study was to gain insights in the way students argue about customer data and which feelings are involved. The study highlights findings in the key areas trust, benefits and law regulations. A shift of customer trust from brands to recommendations could be observed. In terms of benefits, focus group participants tend to choose value exchange over traditional rewards. Findings regarding law regulations suggest that the General Data Protection Regulation of the European Union can provide control of customer data but no security. Furthermore, consumer behavior plays an important role when it comes to data sharing attitudes. The experiences and observations of the participants may not be applicable to other studies. Furthermore, the study findings are bounded to the European Union. The findings suggest that trust, benefits and law regulations can influence students’ willingness to share customer data in the fashion e-commerce. The study is unique of its kind as it investigates the willingness to share customer data with the focus on students and fashion e-commerce. Hence, this research paper fills a gap in scientific literature and is valuable for businesses operating in the fashion e-commerce.

Online retailing has grown rapidly and nowadays consumers’ needs become more and more demanding. Mass customization satisfies the need of customers for individuality. However, in order for retailers to offer a satisfying shopping experience, they need to take into account their retail environment. In online retailing, atmospherics play a significant role in consumers’ attitudes towards the store. The present study aims to analyze the role of high task-relevant atmospheric cues, thus those atmospherics that are strongly connected with the shopping goal, such as verbal content, display methods and navigation aids. Furthermore, the author will analyze the effect of the above atmospherics on consumers’ response towards the online mass customization environment. In order for the purpose to be fulfilled, semi-structured interviews were conducted in a purposive sample of ten participants. The results were analyzed based on the Stimulus-Organism-Response model. Finally, high task-relevant atmospheric cues are strongly related to the consumers’ final response by provoking either positive or negative emotions. More specifically, verbal content and display methods have a crucial effect on consumers’ end response. On the other hand, navigation aids contribute to a pleasant online experience but they do not affect final consumers; response significantly. Conclusively, the present study aims to be considered as a useful tool for marketing purposes as it can provide knowledge on how consumers behave in a mass customization online environment in the fashion industry. Such knowledge may appear crucial for professionals who want to meet their customers’ needs directly and effectively.

Denna studie syftar till att ge en överblick och förståelse kring hur modeföretag arbetar med varumärkesbyggande via event. Studien syftar också till att undersöka och tillföra en djupare förståelse om varumärken och event som fenomen. Varumärken används ofta av människor för att visa en tillhörighet och ekonomisk status, inte minst inom modebranschen. Den påverkan event har på varumärken har tidigare studerats i förhållande till sportevent, medan forskningen kring modebranschen är begränsad. Detta trots att event ofta förekommer inom modebranschen. Därmed skrivs denna uppsats för att tillföra mer kunskap inom denna forskningslucka. En studie genomfördes baserat på intervjuer med flera modeföretag och varumärkesexperter i Sverige och USA. Svaren från intervjuerna analyserades sedan i förhållande till de valda teorierna som rör både event och varumärken. Teorierna som använts är eventmarknadsföring, varumärkesupplevelse, organisationsidentitet, konsumentbaserat varumärkesvärde och översättningsteori. De resultat som framkom av studien presenteras i en modell med de nyckelfaktorer som framkommit vara viktiga för ett lyckat event. För att besvara frågeställningen är slutsatsen som presenteras att event kan påverka varumärkesbyggande, men vilket sätt det förstärks på är svårt och resurskrävande att mäta. Vid slutet av denna uppsats kommer läsaren att ha en starkare kunskap och förståelse om varumärken och event, samt en övergripande bild kring hur dessa två fenomen är anslutna. / This study aims to give an overview and understanding of how the fashion companies are working with brand building through events. The study also aims to examine and provide a deeper understanding of brands and events as phenomenon. Brands are often used by people to show belonging and economic status, not least in the fashion industry. The impact event has on brands has previously been studied in relation to sporting events, while research in the fashion industry is limited. This despite the fact that the events often occur in the fashion industry. Thereby this paper is written to provide more knowledge in this research gap. A study was conducted based on interviews with several fashion companies and brand experts in Sweden and the USA. The responses from the interviews were later analysed in relation to the chosen theories concerning both the events and brands. The theories that have been used are event marketing, brand value, organizational identity, consumer based brand equity and translation theory. The findings from the study are presented in a model with the key factors emerged as important for a successful event. To answer this paper’s question, the conclusion is presented that events can affect brand building, but how it is strengthen is difficult and resource-demanding to measure. By the end of this paper, the reader will have a greater knowledge and understanding of brands and events, as well as an overview of how these two phenomena are connected.

Submitted by Silvana Teresinha Dornelles Studzinski (sstudzinski) on 2015-07-03T17:08:53Z No. of bitstreams: 1 ThomasHenriquePetryLipp.pdf: 1346106 bytes, checksum: fa7a6c302f90e6f74aa4911a4a23b697 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-07-03T17:08:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 ThomasHenriquePetryLipp.pdf: 1346106 bytes, checksum: fa7a6c302f90e6f74aa4911a4a23b697 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-05-16 / Banco Santander / Banespa / Uma das principais estratégias que vem sendo utilizada pela indústria da moda é a terceirização da produção para países que ofereçam baixos custos de produção. Uma das desvantagens atribuídas a esta estratégia é o elevado lead time de suprimento e de reposição, ocasionado pela distância geográfica existente. Deste modo, a terceirização de produtos de moda oriunda de países com baixo custo de fabricação traz consigo um trade-off entre obter vantagens econômicas e aumentar a inflexibilidade das operações logísticas, o que pode gerar elevados riscos por perdas oriundas de previsões de demanda não assertivas. Uma alternativa de abordagem a este trade-off é o uso de opções flexíveis de suprimento. Neste contexto, a presente pesquisa realiza um estudo de caso em uma empresa de do setor de moda brasileira situada no Vale do Rio dos Sinos, visando a identificar quais os processos necessários para a implementação de tal abordagem e se os processos identificados na empresa estariam aptos a prover tal suporte. O método de pesquisa, baseado na estratégia de estudo de caso, foi instrumentado por técnicas de observação participante, construção de mapas conceituais e análise documental. Como contribuição, do ponto de vista da empresa, identificou-se que os processos analisados na empresa estariam aptos a prover abordagem como opções flexíveis de suprimento, porém se faz necessário que alguns destes sejam melhores estruturados. Para tanto, algumas recomendações foram propostas. Do ponto de vista de pesquisa, entende-se que a contribuição se deu em buscar estabelecer o adequado suporte processual e decisório a abordagens em opções flexíveis de suprimento, bem como contribuir com subsídios para a discussão e a construção de bases teóricas sobre o tema de opções flexíveis de suprimento. / A key strategy which is used by the fashion industry is the production’s outsourcing to countries that offer lower costs. One of the draw backs attributed to this strategy is the large lead time for procurement and replacement, caused by geographical distance. Thus, the fashion products´ outsourcing from countries with lower manufacturing cost carries a tradeoff between economic gain and increase the inflexibility of logistics operations, which can generate high risks for losses arising from not assertive demand forecasts. An alternative approach to this trade-off is the use of flexible supply options. In this context, the present research conducts a case study in a company of the Brazilian fashion industry, located in Vale do Rio dos Sinos. The study aims to identify the processes needed to implement this approach and whether the processes identified in the company would be able to provide such support. The research method, based on case study strategy was instrumented by techniques of participant observation, construction of concept maps, and document analysis. As contributions, from the viewpoint of the company, the study identified that the analysed processes in the company would be able to provide support for a flexible supply options approach, but that some of these processes need to be better structured. In order to do so, some recommendations were presented. From the viewpoint of research, it is understood that the contribution was in the seek for establish the appropriate procedure and decision support approaches for flexible supply options, as well as to provide insights for the discussion and for the building of theoretical foundations on the issue of flexible supply options.