Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1992. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 129-133). Also available via the Internet.

The awareness of social and environmental responsibility has increased among companies over the years. It has become increasingly important for companies to show the world that they are committed and do take responsibility towards communities. The clothing industry is sensitive to public opinion and has gotten critiqued for their negative impact on the environment and societies. Many companies have published their sustainability reports and disclose their sustainability activities.  Previous research is divided on why the companies voluntarily report on their sustainability. Why do companies in the clothing industry voluntarily publish their sustainability reports? What are the underlying motivations of the companies? Our suspicion was that the companies wanted to legitimize their business by imitating the competitors' sustainability activities in order to obtain legitimacy from their stakeholders. Through three interviews with sustainability managers from MQ Retail AB, Gina Tricot AB and Ellos Group AB, and content analysis of the three companies' sustainability reports, we found that the primary reason why companies choose to report on their sustainability is because they want to legitimize their business. / Medvetenheten om ett socialt och miljömässigt ansvar har ökat bland företagen genom åren. Det har blivit allt viktigare för företagen att kunna visa omvärlden att det är ett engagerat företag som tar sitt ansvar gentemot samhällen. Klädindustrin är känslig för kritik från samhälle som har kritiserats företagen för deras negativa inverkan på miljön och samhället. Många företag har publicerat hållbarhetsredovisningar som beskriver deras hållbarhetsarbete. Tidigare forskning är splittrad på vad som egentligen är anledningen att företag hållbarhetsredovisar. Varför väljer företagen inom klädåterförsäljare industri att frivilligt utföra samt publicera hållbarhetsredovisning? Vilka underliggande motiv finns det hos företagen? Våra misstankar kretsade kring att företagen vill legitimera sin verksamhet genom att imitera konkurrenternas hållbarhets praxis för att erhålla legitimitet från sina intressenter. Genom tre intervjuer med hållbarhetsansvariga från MQ Retail AB, Gina Tricot AB och Ellos Group AB samt en innehållsanalys av de tre företagens hållbarhetsrapporter kom vi fram till att främsta anledningen till att företagen väljer att hållbarhetsredovisa är för att de vill legitimera sin verksamhet.

This research paper focuses on Thailand’s textile and clothing industry since its liberalisation in 1995. The industry used to be the number one generator of export income for Thailand. As exports strongly declined in the late 1990s, the Thai government employed ‘industrial policy’ to reignite the industry in 2003 and 2007. However, the policies have had little effect on the export pattern. We argue that the way government sees the industry is inappropriate and leads to ineffective industrial policy.The research findings illustrate that industrial analysis at ‘macro’ or ‘aggregate’ level is weak and impractical. These high-level analyses do not give policy makers and government a clear understanding of the industry, structure or drivers of performance. Furthermore, we are unable to identify common factors that differentiate well-performing firms from poorly performing firms. The aggregate level data make it difficult for policy makers or government to see what key success factors to focus on in this complex and dynamic business environment. There is no obvious ‘model’ that distinguishes those firms or sectors that do well and grow, against those which do not. So rather than focus on aggregate level, government and policy makers should focus on firm-specific characteristics, strategies or business models that differentiate them from others. Government needs to understand in depth the specific industry structure of the sector and the relationship between key players. This will help it to understand its role and the measures it can use to support the private sector. This new method may consume more time and require better skills and knowledge from researchers and policy makers. The approach requires committed researchers with strong strategic and analytical skills who can divide or dissect the industry into various sub-groups, and policy makers with better mindsets. But most importantly, problematic policy is a result of a fragmented policymaking process that stems from poor economic governance.

Magister Commercii - MCom / How entrepreneurs learn to cope and survive in the South African clothing sector, with its high levels of macro-environment turbulence, may engender particular lessons for entrepreneurial learning and related outcomes such as business innovation. Although SME support measures worldwide offer mentorship to assist firm survival and growth, little is known about how entrepreneurs learn under the guidance of a mentor. Formal mentorship is employed with increased frequency as a training intervention suited to entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurial learning is linked to experiential learning in the personal development of the entrepreneur and development of the business venture. Formal mentorship as a medium to enhance entrepreneurial learning is the focus of this study. Past research does not adequately address entrepreneurial learning in the context of prolonged turbulent competitive environments, and the role of formal mentorship as a significant contributor to entrepreneurial learning. This qualitative case study is set within the clothing industry of the Western Cape, which is affected by high levels of competitive turbulence. Entrepreneurs and their mentor’s accounts are collected through unstructured and semi-structured personal interviews and analysed using thematic analysis. The mentors are contracted to an organisation that provides business development support to SMEs within the clothing sector. Key participants within this organisation, and their sponsor, are interviewed to study strategic influences on formal mentorship. This constitutes the case and a purposive-snowball sampling strategy was employed. The research shows how strategic sponsorship agreements influence the functions and roles that mentors adopt within a top-down approach to mentoring. While formal mentorship provides a valuable intervention as a training mechanism in the SME sector, a propensity for technically driven mentoring outcomes is specific to the clothing industry case. While entrepreneurial learning is associated with formal mentorship, it does not necessarily influence business innovation.

The aim of the study was to investigate and describe how the South African clothing industry ensures well-fitting garments to their target consumers. The study was approached from the viewpoint that, if body measurements of the population are not current and accurate, all other aspects such as block patterns, sizing systems, and fit and wear testing cannot contribute to the achievement of an acceptable or proper fit. The following procedures were followed: <ul> <li> Literature and research on body measurements and sizing systems were studied.</li> <li> A survey was conducted among clothing and footwear manufacturers and retailers in South Africa, to determine the use of body measurements, problems experienced with body measurements, and knowledge of body measurement descriptions, what the South African sizing system entails, how block patterns are generated and how fit and wear testing is done.</li> <li>The research strategy consisted of postal questionnaires to all respondents and structured interviews with selected respondents.</li> <li>A comparison was made between the international and the respondents’descriptions of body measurements, with regard to consensus among the different descriptions.</li> <li>The findings conclude that various outdated and unscientific practices result in many problems being experienced by the industry. A wide variety of body measurements are needed and are used in the South African clothing industry and an alarming number of problems exist with regard to these measurements, probably resulting in the lack of well-fitting garments that satisfy the South African consumer. The problems experienced with the key dimensions are particularly alarming because these measurements are so important in achieving good fit. The supply of good quality garments to their target customers seemed to be a very important consideration to the retailers and manufacturers, but they need help in solving the problems identified.</li> <li> Recommendations include the establishment of a national standard for identifying landmarks and exact methods of how the measurements should be taken on the body, before a much needed survey of the South African population can be undertaken.</li></ul> Copyright / Dissertation (MConsSc)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Consumer Science / unrestricted

Background: Digitalization and sustainability are two of the most impactful topics concerning businesses today which pose a nascent research field. Sustainability presents businesses with massive challenges in order to find new business models, improve processes, utilize resources more efficiently, and change their interactions with suppliers and other stakeholders. Simultaneously, digitalization is often characterized by its disruptive nature and the ways in which it creates new avenues for creating and capturing value and changes relationships. Furthermore, there are few industries in need of new ways to become more sustainable than the clothing industry.   Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the facilitating opportunities that digitalization presents for the clothing industry to achieve sustainability goals. The findings of this study are expected to contribute beneficial knowledge and concrete examples that managers, decision-makers, and IT personnel can use to better understand the existing prospects that digital transformation poses for their various sustainability goals.    Method: A qualitative design has been employed to perform this study. Five semi-structured interviews were conducted with various individuals representing Swedish clothing brands. An inductive approach was utilized alongside a grounded theory design.   Conclusion: The results show that there are many opportunities for digitalization to facilitate clothing companies’ sustainability goals. This comes in the form of enabling effects with their downstream suppliers through: improved environmental traceability, shifting supplier relationships, and improving working condition transparency. Moreover, upstream effects are observed in adaptions to new business models and relationship improvements with consumers. Finally, within the firm, improving processes and shifting capability requirements are changing the way that firms operate, and the knowledge sets needed to function. These findings were developed into a framework presented on page 40.

No / In this article we examine how processes of globalization and the nature of emerging inter-firm relationships influence the organization of production in a post-socialist region, using the case of the clothing industry in Transcarpathia, Western Ukraine. We combine insights from two perspectives, the global commodity chain approach and the new regionalism. The focus on both institutional setting and interfirm relationships is essential in regions undergoing rapid change. In the article we also use Burt's concept of structural holes and the idea of a competence-difficulty gap to examine the nature of relationships within networks of firms, arguing that global integration can be viewed as a bridging process. The evidence comes from surveys and fieldwork conducted between 1997 and 2004, providing a longitudinal analysis of the same firms. Among other findings, we show that the difficulty of doing business locally may make relationships more stable. With respect to industrial structure, international subcontracting and joint-venture arrangements enable technological modernization in assembly and parts of preassembly, but also result in the demise of high-value added competences.

by So Oi-kwan, Christina. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1988. / Bibliography: leaves 71-72.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-25T20:19:55Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Joanice Maria Barreto.pdf: 814434 bytes, checksum: a106fc861500dc77875626564c0f8817 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-11-19 / The central research question is related to the activities of the seamstresses, sewing women in Divinópolis, MG, whose work is considered a domestic order, a natural aptitude and subject to lower wages. However, by sewing, women ensure the maintenance of home and family, break down stigma in relation to paid work and their role in society. One of the main objectives would be to show that sewing women who are in clothing industries or subcontracting for sewing services, play an important role in the process of economic development of the town, one of the poles of clothing production in the country. To write this dissertation were analyzed published reports in newspapers from the town and nearby region. Apart from written sources, there were made twelve interviews with a group of seamstresses who work in the clothing industry and others who worked in their homes, the professionals who work with subcontracting for sewing services. The collapse of the steel industry in the town and region in 1960 was one of the factors that contributed to women taking over leadership of the economy, trying to reverse the disastrous situation. Considering the situation of many unemployed men, women become visible in the job market through the sewing know-how that was successfully passed from generation to generation. The conquest of women barely changes its position inside and outside their homes. Besides there is a sexual division of labor unfairly and unequally, which still claims that women are responsible for almost all tasks and household chores / A questão central da pesquisa se relaciona às atividades das costureiras em Divinópolis, MG, cujo trabalho é considerado de ordem doméstica, uma aptidão natural e está sujeito a remunerações inferiores. No entanto, através da costura, as mulheres garantem a manutenção da casa e da família, rompem estigmas em relação ao trabalho assalariado e ao papel delas na sociedade. Um dos principais objetivos seria mostrar que as mulheres costureiras, que estão nas indústrias de confecções ou facções, desempenham um papel importante no processo de desenvolvimento econômico da cidade, um dos polos de confecção do país. Para escrever esta dissertação foram analisados jornais e relatórios publicados na cidade e região. Além das fontes escritas, foram realizadas, doze entrevistas com um grupo de costureiras, que trabalham na indústria de confecção e outras que trabalhavam em suas casas, nas chamadas facções. A quebra do setor siderúrgico na cidade e região nos anos de 1960 foi um dos fatores que colaborou para que as mulheres assumissem a liderança da economia, tentando reverter a situação desastrosa. Com os homens desempregados, as mulheres se tornam visíveis no mercado de emprego através do saber fazer que foi passado de gerações a gerações com êxito através da costura. A conquista das mulheres pouco modifica a sua posição dentro e fora das suas casas. Além de ocorrer uma divisão sexual do trabalho de forma injusta e desigual, ainda cabe às mulheres a responsabilidade quase exclusiva, das tarefas e atividades domésticas

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T14:52:36Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Joanice Maria Barreto.pdf: 814434 bytes, checksum: a106fc861500dc77875626564c0f8817 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-11-19 / The central research question is related to the activities of the seamstresses, sewing women in Divinópolis, MG, whose work is considered a domestic order, a natural aptitude and subject to lower wages. However, by sewing, women ensure the maintenance of home and family, break down stigma in relation to paid work and their role in society. One of the main objectives would be to show that sewing women who are in clothing industries or subcontracting for sewing services, play an important role in the process of economic development of the town, one of the poles of clothing production in the country. To write this dissertation were analyzed published reports in newspapers from the town and nearby region. Apart from written sources, there were made twelve interviews with a group of seamstresses who work in the clothing industry and others who worked in their homes, the professionals who work with subcontracting for sewing services. The collapse of the steel industry in the town and region in 1960 was one of the factors that contributed to women taking over leadership of the economy, trying to reverse the disastrous situation. Considering the situation of many unemployed men, women become visible in the job market through the sewing know-how that was successfully passed from generation to generation. The conquest of women barely changes its position inside and outside their homes. Besides there is a sexual division of labor unfairly and unequally, which still claims that women are responsible for almost all tasks and household chores / A questão central da pesquisa se relaciona às atividades das costureiras em Divinópolis, MG, cujo trabalho é considerado de ordem doméstica, uma aptidão natural e está sujeito a remunerações inferiores. No entanto, através da costura, as mulheres garantem a manutenção da casa e da família, rompem estigmas em relação ao trabalho assalariado e ao papel delas na sociedade. Um dos principais objetivos seria mostrar que as mulheres costureiras, que estão nas indústrias de confecções ou facções, desempenham um papel importante no processo de desenvolvimento econômico da cidade, um dos polos de confecção do país. Para escrever esta dissertação foram analisados jornais e relatórios publicados na cidade e região. Além das fontes escritas, foram realizadas, doze entrevistas com um grupo de costureiras, que trabalham na indústria de confecção e outras que trabalhavam em suas casas, nas chamadas facções. A quebra do setor siderúrgico na cidade e região nos anos de 1960 foi um dos fatores que colaborou para que as mulheres assumissem a liderança da economia, tentando reverter a situação desastrosa. Com os homens desempregados, as mulheres se tornam visíveis no mercado de emprego através do saber fazer que foi passado de gerações a gerações com êxito através da costura. A conquista das mulheres pouco modifica a sua posição dentro e fora das suas casas. Além de ocorrer uma divisão sexual do trabalho de forma injusta e desigual, ainda cabe às mulheres a responsabilidade quase exclusiva, das tarefas e atividades domésticas