Attitudes towards computer technology: comparison of retail buyers and apparel manufacturers in the U.S.A.

Apparel retailers and manufacturers are incorporating advanced technologies such as CAD/CAM systems and electronic data interchange into their businesses. Attitudes held by key personnel toward these new technologies can enhance or hinder implementation. This study was designed to investigate and compare the attitudes of manufacturers and buyers towards computer technology. Fifteen Likert-type attitude statements were developed by the researchers. A pilot test of the instrument resulted in minor changes. A total of 105 usable questionnaires were returned: 57 from manufacturers and 48 from retail buyers. t-test results indicated that buyers' and manufacturers' attitudes differed significantly on five of the 15 attitude statements. A discriminant analysis showed that the same five statements significantly discriminated buyers from manufacturers. Manufacturers' responses were more positive than buyers' on four of these statements. Overall, the results indicated that apparel manufacturers and retail buyers held favourable attitudes towards computer technology.