The impact of environmental management systems on financial performance in fashion and textiles industries

With rising environmental concerns from consumers and stakeholder groups, environmental management has become an important responsibility for today's fashion and textiles manufacturers. The production of fashion and textiles related products often requires high levels of energy and water consumption, and emits large quantities of pollutants to the environment. Therefore, the adoption of environmental management systems (EMSs) is important and could have a significant impact on these firms' operational performance. This study presents empirical evidence on the performance impact of EMS adoption in the fashion and textiles related industries (FTIs). Although EMSs have emerged as a passport to business in the FTIs, their actual impacts on firms' financial performance have not been explored. We reveal that the adoption of ISO 14000, the most popular EMS, improves manufacturers' profitability in the FTIs over a three-year period as measured by return-on-assets (ROA). Based on our sample, we find that profitability improvement started during the implementation stage and continued at least one year after the firm obtained ISO 14000 certification. We also find that profitability improvement is mainly due to improvement in cost efficiency, measured by return-on-sales (ROS). Specifically, certified firms improved up to 2.9% in ROA and 3.3% in ROS over the three-year period since they implemented ISO 14000. We conclude that there is a positive impact of EMS adoption on firms' financial performance in the FTIs.     

Dual sourcing of a newsvendor with exponential utility of profit

Dual sourcing strategies supplement inflexible, low-cost country sourcing with quick response manufacturing. Due to short product life cycles, combined with uncertain demand, dual sourcing strategies are very common in several industries, in particular in the sporting goods or fashion industries.Even though scholars have given some attention to the analysis of dual sourcing strategies, the importance of the decision-maker’s risk preferences has not been covered yet.In this paper we analyse dual sourcing strategies using an extended single-product newsvendor model with two order points. Different risk preferences will be modelled using an exponential utility function. Within realistic parameter ranges, the optimal order quantities can only be numerically computed. The findings of this paper show that dual sourcing strategies are always preferable to an exclusive offshore approach, as long as the onshore ordering costs are smaller than the selling price of the considered product. The more risk-averse the decision-maker, the smaller the offshore order quantity will be.     

浅析情感因素对服装设计的影响

服装设计如同艺术表现,是一种情感的物质化表现。论文通过对情感的内涵特征、影响因素、作用意义等方面进行分析,探讨服装设计中基本的色彩、形态、材质含有的"情感因素"的作用,来了解和把握有关服装设计中"情感"的效能运用及表达。同时通过对一些著名服装设计师作品中存在的情感因素的运用与把握,进一步概述了现代流行服装中的各种情感因素的表达。     

Consumer responses to trade-offs in eco-friendly clothing: The moderating effects of fashion leadership and regulatory focus

Consumers of eco-friendly clothing often face trade-offs between eco-friendliness and other product attributes. Across two experiments, we investigate the moderating role of fashion leadership and regulatory focus in such trade-off situations. Our results suggest that while non-fashion leaders are willing to trade-off hedonic attributes for eco-friendliness, fashion leaders are not willing to trade-off either hedonic or utilitarian attributes. It is also suggested that prevention-focused fashion leaders are more likely than promotion-focused fashion leaders to trade-off hedonic attributes for eco-friendliness. Implications for practitioners as well as directions for future research are discussed.     

How do customers meet their needs in in-store and online fashion shopping? A comparative study based on the jobs-to-be-done theory

Understanding customer needs is key for fashion retailers to stay competitive and innovative. Surprisingly, however, extant literature mainly explores customer needs in terms of a garment and its attributes rather than viewing shopping as a problem-solving process to meet customer needs. Moreover, these studies fail to address how customers meet their needs in-store (ISFR) and online fashion retailing (OFR). To fill this research gap, we empirically investigate customers' personal and social needs and how they can be met through the jobs-to-be-done theory. Findings reveal that, beyond the purchase of a garment, customer needs can be fulfilled through different ways, such as smart technology or a person's high interaction with social others in ISFR and the online shop experience or a social linkage without social interaction in OFR. Additionally, our findings offer potential service innovations for fashion retailing managers.     

Factors influencing buying behavior of Lebanese consumers towards fashion brands during economic crisis: A qualitative study

The purpose of this article is to contribute to an understanding of the impact of the Lebanese economic crisis on fashion buying behavior. It uses a qualitative approach by conducting semi-structured interviews with 29 Lebanese consumers. The study reveals that consumer fashion purchases are motivated by emotional, social, and functional drivers. It also indicates that subjective norms, such as societal and cultural values dictate buying behaviors. The findings provide further insights into social media and highlight its influence on shaping trends and making fashion products desirable. The article concludes that Lebanese consumers exhibit impulsive buying behavior, and explains how fashion brands can remain relevant amidst a wrenching economic crisis.     

Fashion and the metaverse: Clarifying the domain and establishing a research agenda

In recent years, the metaverse has garnered significant attention as a term referring to a network of 3D virtual worlds that integrate elements of both physical and digital worlds. Fashion brands have begun exploring the metaverse as a new marketing platform, which is expected to bring about substantial changes in the fashion and retail industry. However, a lack of consensus on the nature of the metaverse and its impact on the fashion industry currently exists, and limited academic research is available on the metaverse's influence on fashion brands' marketing strategies and brand experiences. To address this gap, this study employs a thematic analysis approach on trade journals and industry articles that cover fashion brands' metaverse strategies. Through this analysis, the study provides a typology of current marketing strategies of fashion brands in the metaverse. Based on these empirical findings, this research proposes a theoretical framework that explains how different metaverse strategies affect different dimensions of brand equity. Finally, this study offers research directions for fashion brands' metaverse strategies by presenting an integrated framework that synthesizes the key insights from our research findings.     

Private label shoppers between fast fashion trends and status symbolism – A customer characteristics investigation

The question who the private label prone consumer is has received a lot of attention in research. While we so far have a good understanding of the private label shopper in the grocery industry, there is limited research in other industries. We assess private label shopper characteristics as a driver of private label choice using a unique data set of an online only fashion retailer covering 68,147 women shoes consumers in Germany. Fashion consumers are faced with a tradeoff between price and seasonality of fashion items as discounts are used to sell last season's stock. We find that private label choice is positively influenced by price orientation and less by discount proneness. Thus, private label shoppers are rather a fashion savvy segment focusing on buying more in season but at a lower price.     

Store of the future: Towards a (re)invention and (re)imagination of physical store space in an omnichannel context

This paper explores the future of the physical store within omnichannel retail and specifically, the prerequisites of the designed retail environment in optimizing customer experience. Adopting an exploratory qualitative approach, primary data was obtained using semi-structured interviews with 20 industry experts.The research makes a valuable contribution to the dearth of extent literature on experiential store spaces of the future, specifically within the fashion field. By connecting three topics of academic research - Omnichannel retail, the role of the physical store and in-store customer experience - it serves to suggest the prerequisites for designed retail environments in optimizing customer experience.     

I,me, and my everything: Self conceptual traits and compulsive buying behavior

Compulsive buying behavior is detrimental to the well-being of the consumers, brands, and the economy. Therefore, the current study aims to understand how the self-conceptual traits and values underline the corridors to the compulsive buying behavior of fashion apparel products. We collected self-administered data from systematically selected 744 young shopping mall consumers and employed structural equation modeling (SEM) via maximum likelihood method for analysis. Self-conceptual traits (physical and achievement vanity), materialism, and brand consciousness play a pivotal role in the development of compulsive buying behavior in young consumers of Pakistan. Furthermore, the presence of materialistic attitude and brand consciousness in consumers firmly explains vanity-driven consumer's excessive, chronic, and unneeded purchasing of fashion appeal products. Policymakers and fashion apparel marketers should limit the excessive use of self-oriented and self-defining appeals in their marketing campaigns and focus on strategies that build consumer relationships with brands based on mutual benefits and welfare.