The textile industry, in its current form, is characterized by short use phases and large amounts of textile waste. One of the many approaches needed to address these issues is repair. By extending the life cycle of textiles, their environmental impact has potential to be reduced and a contribution toward a circular economy can be made. One branch of the textile industry pioneering repair services are brands and retailers selling outdoor products. The purpose of this research is to investigate repair services for outdoor brands and retailers in the textiles industry to gain insight from an organizational management perspective by focusing on how outdoor companies manage complexities to offer repair services. This paper employs a qualitative approach. Empirical data was collected through semi-structured interviews, as well as company websites and reports. To analyze the material, a configurational lens was taken to view and analyze repair service offerings from a holistic perspective. Three repair service archetypes were identified. By applying a strategy-structure-environment framework, 12 factors influencing the organization of repair service offerings by outdoor textile companies were derived. Further, four complexities based on configurations of those factors were identified and discussed in relation to how outdoor brands manage the observed complexities. The practical implication of this research includes a detailed delivery of repair service offerings in the outdoor textile industry, which adds depth to the knowledge base for managers, repair technicians, and sustainability teams making decisions about adopting or continuing to develop their repair services. Further, an increase in repair services contributes to greater circularity. Beyond the scope of this research is a quantified evaluation of factors and their interrelation which would allow for recommendations of best practices. This research is foundational for such further research.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:hb-28072 |
| Date | January 2022 |
| Creators | Case, Sarah, Krönert, Mirjam |
| Publisher | Högskolan i Borås, Akademin för textil, teknik och ekonomi |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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