Towards a Comprehensive Model of SCM Adoption and Practice in the Fast Fashion Apparel Industry

Abstract

Along with the phenomenal growth in fast fashion, the industry is beset with many challenges. Topping the list are design, production, and supply of the fast fashion apparel (FFA). Adoption and effective use of supply chain management (SCM) practices in the FFA industry have become indispensable to achieve this. However, there is a gap in the fast fashion literature on the appropriate modeling of adoption and practice of SCM. In addressing this research gap, this study builds a comprehensive model of SCM adoption and practice by extracting relevant factors and variables from FFA manufacturing firms via qualitative field study. This study is one of the first to analyze SCM adoption from the diffusion of innovation theory perspective in the fashion industry. While existing literature does not clearly differentiate between SCM adoption and practice, this research underpins that the diffusion of SCM practices within FFA firms must go through stages of adoption and practice for successful wide-scale implementation.