Threads of Transformation: Exploring the Influence of Systems Leadership on Sri Lanka’s Apparel Industry

Abstract

By 1990, the agricultural share in Sri Lankan exports had fallen to less than half of what it was fifteen years ago, while the apparel industry's share was expanding threefold. The "Garments without Guilt" campaign, which ensured fair wages and prevented sweatshops and child labour, has reached a pre-COVID earning capacity of $5 billion annually the industry is geared to achieve its revenue goal of US$8 billion per year by 2025. Although the importance of effective leadership has been established as an absolute necessity for the development of an organization, the effects of leaders in other tiers outside the organization have rarely been explored. This study is an attempt to fill this gap in literature using the qualitative case study method to explore the impact of systems leadership (or lack thereof) on the development of the apparel industry in Sri Lanka. The industry has transitioned from its traditional methods of exporting and tailoring garments in the late '70s to the utilization of R&D and innovation to improve designs, production, marketing, logistics, and green garments. Most of the goals have been achieved through systems leadership that addresses a wide range of strategies, such as product and market diversification, improved organizational culture, achieving the highest standards of ethical compliance, and human resource development through a positive and nurturing environment that promotes 'green manufacturing’.