Fashion Companies Research Articles

The impact of corporate social responsibility on consumer brand engagement and purchase intention at fashion retailers

AbstractConsumers have demonstrated new ways of engaging with fashion retailers and experiencing their brand values. This research aims to understand better how fashion consumers form their purchase intentions, by exploring how their expectations about corporate social responsibility influence consumer brand engagement and purchase intention. The research comprises two studies, using different methodologies. The first study is quantitative; it involved 1296 individuals and the results were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The second study is qualitative and utilizes expert opinions from the fashion industry; it seeks to derive managerial and practical implications from the findings of the first study. The results show that corporate social responsibility influences the purchase intention of fashion consumers, but mainly through brand engagement. Consequently, fashion companies should focus on building consumer trust in the sustainability initiatives of brands, including by utilizing local suppliers.

الموضة السريعة وأثرها في تلوث البيئة وأهمية الاستدامة في حماية البيئة

The technological development, globalization, and the change in the purchasing behavior of the consumer lead to the emergence of a production method called rapid fashion, and this method relied on the speed of copying all the designs offered by major international fashion houses and manufacturing them as soon as possible at the lowest cost and provide the latest fashion for the owner in large numbers and at the lowest prices; Cheaply and that method in Production is anti-sustainable, which is mainly based on adherence to the ethics of design, production, environmental conservation and labor rights. The current research aims to focus on scientific research in the field of sustainability, especially in the field of fashion and clothing because of its harmful effects on the environment significantly shedding light on the negative effects of fast fashion. It defines the ethics of sustainability in the field of fashion and its production. And highlight the wrong practices that appear from fast fashion companies. Suggestions must also be made to apply the rules and standards in sustainability in fast fashion. The research problem is determined by the following questions: How effective scientific research is in sustainability in the field of clothing production? What is its impact on the environment? The study followed the analytical approach to analyze the impact of fast fashion and clothing on the environment, and the applied approach in training workers in factories on sustainable methods in the clothing industry by providing ideas and proposals that make the environment clean for sustainability and applying them in the field of clothing. And conducting interviews for experts and decision makers in ready-made clothing factories and companies to poll their opinions through a scale to find out whether sustainability in clothing and the use of trust materials have an impact on the environment towards the proposed study and reach the results. The results of the study found a statistically significant relationship between sustainability in the field of clothing and consumer and environmental preservation by 83% and an average correlation of 8.51. There is also a statistically significant relationship between workers in the manufacture of clothing and maintaining sustainability standards to protect the environment between sustainability 73% with an average correlation of 0.49. With a significance level of 0.00. The researcher recommends paying attention to scientific studies that are concerned with the areas of sustainability to preserve the environment and consumer awareness in the field of sustainability and environmental preservation.

Metaverse and the fashion industry: A systematic literature review

ABSTRACT The metaverse presents increasing potential for fashion companies. However, given its rapid evolution, a clear understanding of the role and scope of the metaverse and its implications for brands is lacking. Hence, this study presents a systematic literature review on the recent body of knowledge in the management and marketing fields on the role of the metaverse in the fashion industry. Accordingly, 34 articles published between 2009 and 2022 were analyzed. The results revealed that the literature is still in its infancy. The extant research is articulated into four clusters: (1) metaverse and consumer experience, (2) the marketing mix in the metaverse, (3) opportunities and challenges in the metaverse, and (4) the future of retail in the metaverse. Subsequently, we propose a research agenda based on the future strategies to be adopted by fashion companies, to advance the scholarly debate on these issues leveraging neglected research topics and emerging themes.

The Research on the Influence of Fast Fashion Brands' Social Responsibility on Consumers' Purchase Intention: Taking H&M as an Example

Fast fashion companies are renowned for offering "affordable, fast, and fashionable" clothing, providing more consumers access to affordable fashion. With the advancement of corporate social responsibility globalization, more and more consumers are also concerned about the corporate social responsibility of fast fashion brands. Taking H&M Group's corporate social responsibility as an example, this paper examined the relationship between Chinese consumers' purchase intention and CSR, discussed the critical considerations for consumers to make purchase decisions for fast fashion products, reviewed the pertinent research on fast fashion, CSR, and elaborated on the interplay between the three and how they affect one another, with the hope of advancing the field of corporate social responsibility research in developing countries. The empirical findings of this study can aid decision makers in comprehending the attitudes of Chinese consumers toward corporate social responsibility, encouraging businesses to actively implement social responsibility strategies and assisting businesses in carrying out corporate social responsibility marketing. The 92 valid questionnaires collected in this study's questionnaire survey yielded the following findings: due to individual variances, the CSR of fast fashion brands affects consumers differently in China. Corporate social responsibility is crucial and can in some cases help to control consumers' intentions to make purchases.

Responding with care: ethical measures in the fashion industry during the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain

PurposeThis paper aims to analyze the ethical responses of the fashion industry to the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic when the entire world was shocked by the rapid spread of the virus. The authors describe lessons from emergency ethics of care in the fashion industry during the initial months of COVID-19, which can assist fashion managers in improving ethical decisions in future operations.Design/methodology/approachRapid qualitative research methods were employed by conducting real-time, in-depth interviews with key informants from multinational fashion companies operating in Spain, a severely affected region. A content analysis of news articles published during the first months of 2020 was conducted.FindingsFive critical disruptions in the fashion industry were identified: (1) changes in public needs, (2) transportation and distribution backlogs, (3) defective and counterfeit supplies, (4) stakeholder relationships at stake and (5) managers' coping challenges. Additionally, five business survival responses with a strong ethics of care component were identified, implemented by some fashion companies to mitigate the damage: (1) adapting production for public well-being, (2) enhancing the flexibility of logistic networks, (3) emphasizing quality and innovation, (4) reinventing stakeholder collaborations and (5) practicing responsible leadership.Originality/valueDespite the well-documented controversies surrounding unethical practices within the fashion industry, even during COVID-19, our findings inform managers of the potential and capability of fashion companies to operate more responsibly. The lessons learned can guide fashion companies' operations in a post-pandemic society. Furthermore, they can address other grand challenges, such as natural disasters, geopolitical conflicts and climate change.

Why fashion brands enter the metaverse: Exploring the motivations of fast fashion and luxury fashion brands

ABSTRACT Why do fashion brands enter the metaverse when the benefits of using this virtual reality space are not yet clear to the industry? What motivates them to venture into the complex world of digital platforms and ecosystems? Do luxury and fast fashion companies share the same motivations for entering the metaverse? These research questions guide the study which seeks to understand the motivational factors driving fashion brands to establish a presence in the metaverse. To achieve our research objective, we employ qualitative research methods and follow a grounded theory approach. Through a content analysis of publicly available website publications containing insights from fashion industry leaders, we identify commonalities and distinctions in the motivational factors leading luxury and fast fashion brands into the metaverse. The study contributes to the theoretical comprehension of the metaverse as a new strategic platform for the fashion industry and highlights practical implications intended to assist industry managers contemplating entry into this virtual reality space.

Innovative value propositions in the fashion metaverse

ABSTRACT At the present time, fashion companies experiment with the metaverse in pursuit of innovative value propositions (IVPs) to offer to customers, and this paper addresses that phenomenon. The metaverse is a “phygital” space that rests on a range of different technologies, leveraging the benefits they generate and enhancing their potential applications. We carried out an exploration of 17 cases across the fashion industry by deploying a “metaverse ethnography” to utilise thick data (qualitative information such as observations, feelings, and reactions) which offers contextual and qualitative insights. Our main contribution consists of a framework that has identified the metaverse as an enabler of IVPs. We address three main activities that fashion companies carry out to leverage the potential of the metaverse: crafting resources, designing contexts, and enabling experiences. Within these activities, fashion companies offer new value promises to customers and activate new strategic levers; both of these result in IVPs. We highlight implications for scholars, practitioners and for further research.

The 2050 zero-net agenda and fashion: The level of circularity in the fashion industry

This article presents the results of the benchmarking exercise carried out between Sustainability and meeting the 2050 zero-net commitment of the Paris Agreement resonate across industries. The aim of this paper is to try to predict how the circularity trend can affect the fashion industry in the near future. The research and consumer attitudes survey give a data-based foundation for understanding how fashion brands can approach incorporating the principles of circular fashion into their daily operations. Examples of fashion companies are examined to show the possible discrepancy between declarations and actions. Currently, less than a third of consumers indicate circularity as a sufficient reason for making a fashion purchase. Recognition of sustainable terms and certificates is not common among consumers - only a few respondents claim that they could name a fashion-related certificate. Simultaneously, the majority believe that it is the unions of countries that should issue trusted circularity certificates. Most respondents believe that IT and technology could boost sustainability in the fashion industry. There is no single universal guideline in order to be certified and perceived as a circular brand. The paper provides insight into the need for awareness-raising activities and new legislation. The collected results show that the circular approach in the fashion industry is still in its early stages.

Cradle-to-grave environmental analysis of an alpaca fiber sweater produced in Peru

Animal fibers are an important raw material for the fashion industry but have recently been discussed due to the environmental impacts related to their production. In order to provide scientific information for decision-making in the Peruvian alpaca sector a cradle to grave carbon footprint of one (01) wear of a 100 % alpaca fiber sweater has been conducted. For the modeling of the fiber procurement stage primary data regarding livestock management and annual production parameters were obtained from interviews with 42 Peruvian alpaca herders from the main producing regions in South and Central Peru. Data for the processing stages (spinning and dyeing, knitting and weaving) were collected by means of interviews and questionnaires from three alpaca fashion companies in Arequipa and Lima. The distribution, use, and end-of-life stages were modeled with secondary data. The resulting carbon footprint of one wear of the alpaca fiber sweater is 0.449 kg CO2 equivalents (CO2e). Most emissions occur during the lifecycle stages of fiber production and distribution (70 % and 14 % of CO2e emissions, respectively). Methane emissions from enteric fermentation account for 87 % of the impact within the fiber procurement stage. The environmental impacts during the distribution stage were dominated by retailing and road transport in the destination countries and export by air and sea (53.1 % and 46.4 % of carbon emissions in this stage, respectively). Other life cycle stages were found to be less relevant emission sources. The study concluded that the main strategies for impact mitigation should focus on improving the efficiency of the fiber procurement systems. Furthermore, several knowledge gaps have been identified and should be addressed by future research regarding methane emissions associated with the main co-products of the livestock systems, ecosystem services in the Andes and especially Andean wetlands and potential mitigation strategies of greenhouse gases related to different pasture management options.

The effect of luxury brands’ sustainable fashion marketing types on authenticity, brand attitude, and purchase intention

ABSTRACT Consumers consider authenticity a critical factor in fashion brand evaluation, sustainable marketing has become essential in marketing activities. And also sustainable fashion brands is increasing, but literature in this field has focused on general and fast fashion brands, and research on luxury brands is lacking. This study aims to examine the effect of luxury brands’ sustainable fashion marketing activities on authenticity, purchase intention, and brand attitude. It analyzes the effects of article format and marketing activity type and identifies the difference in the interaction between luxury brands’ sustainable marketing types and the authenticity, purchase intention, and brand attitude of fashion companies. Sustainable fashion and raw materials were selected as the final stimuli, and 217 copies of the questionnaire were used for analysis through a specialized research company. It found that authenticity, brand attitude, and consumer purchase intention varied greatly depending on luxury brands’ sustainable fashion marketing types. Authenticity positively affected brand attitude and purchase intention, a positive brand attitude positively impacted purchase intention. This study is significant as it provides basic data on the effects of marketing strategies using authenticity from an academic and practical view, expanding the limited scope of research focused on luxury brands in sustainable fashion.

Sustainability and Fast Fashion from the Executive Perspective – the Case of LPP S.A.

Abstract Objective This article aims to examine what the CEO of LPP S.A. discloses about sustainability and how sustainability topics vary over time in his communication with the stakeholders. Methodology We use a machine learning-based topic modelling analysis, specifically latent Dirichlet allocation and keyword analysis, to scrutinize the sustainability disclosure in the sustainability letters to the stakeholders of one of Poland’s biggest fast fashion companies, LPP S.A. Findings The findings of this study suggest that more attention should be placed on sustainability topics in the letters to the shareholders. The information disclosed is selective and mainly aimed at transmitting a positive message. It lacks a comprehensive and holistic disclosure of information concerning sustainable activities that substantially impact environmental and social matters. Comparing the variation of topics year to year, there is a clear shift from dedicating the majority of space in CEO letters to the stakeholders to social topics toward a broader discussion about the environment and responsible energy consumption in the most recent letter. Value Added The study contributes to the sustainability communication literature by identifying specific sustainability topics disclosed by the analyzed company in its direct message from the CEO to stakeholders that have been very limited and selective, thus underscoring the limited importance assigned to this topic by the CEO, thereby questioning the transparency concerning one of the most critical areas of fast fashion impacts. Recommendations To keep the stakeholders informed and maintain the transparency of actions and accountability of the disclosure, it is necessary to present the information holistically and comprehensively in the message directed by the CEO to the stakeholders.

Fashion Entrepreneurship: Narcissism and Entrepreneurial Intention

Narcissism and entrepreneurship have been little studied in previous research. For the fashion industry, the relevance of narcissism is evident. In Paris, Berlin, and Zurich, students from fashion schools were surveyed about the connection between dual narcissism and entrepreneurial intention. The results indicate that there are strong correlations between narcissistic admiration and entrepreneurial intention; however, no significant correlations were found for the second component of dual narcissism and narcissistic rivalry. The simple research design was followed up with a more complex research design that attempts to answer the question of how narcissistic admiration influences entrepreneurial intention. The results highlight the view that entrepreneurial skills and risk-taking (as one of three factors) of individual entrepreneurial orientation mediate the relationship between narcissism and entrepreneurial intention. Unlike proactivity, innovativeness correlates positively and strongly with narcissistic admiration but has no significant effect on entrepreneurial intention. In the fashion industry, innovativeness can be lived by starting a venture or as an entrepreneurial career in the creative environment of existing fashion companies.

Do fast fashion sustainable business strategies influence attitude, awareness and behaviours of female consumers?

AbstractIn recent years, the fashion and textile industries have come under pressure to manage customer expectations. Previous research has shown that female consumers tend to buy more clothing than male consumers and are understood to care more about fashion. However, existing studies that have focused on understanding consumer attitudes toward sustainable fast fashion consumption have not been particularly explored from the female consumer's perspective. Neither have they attempted to explore the impact of sustainable business strategies on purchasing behaviour. This study attempts to bridge this gap and focuses on exploring the attitude and purchasing behaviour of female consumers driven by sustainable business strategies of fast fashion firms. The research findings are based on responses from 155 female consumers, followed by interviews to triangulate the findings. The results show that female consumers are sustainably conscious and aware of the sustainable initiatives of fast fashion companies. Furthermore, the study indicates that female consumers' attitudes and purchasing behaviour are both (unconsciously) influenced by the sustainable initiatives of fast fashion companies. Therefore, fast fashion companies should investigate how their sustainable initiatives and strategies influence the female consumer in terms of attitude and purchasing behaviour. This study thus adds to the limited empirical studies investigating female consumers' attitudes, awareness and purchasing behaviours.

The Interplay Between Supply Chain Transparency and NGO Pressure: A Quantitative Analysis in the Fashion Industry Context

Companies have been experiencing increasing pressure from NGOs to overcome unethical and unsustainable behaviours. The purpose of this research was to study the interplay between supply chain transparency and NGO pressure. The analysis builds on the literature on supply chain transparency and institutional pressures. We conducted a time-lagged, multi-level regression analysis that included data from 270 fashion companies over a 5-year period to investigate the effect of NGO pressure on transparency and vice versa. The results revealed that companies with higher levels of transparency are more likely to be pressured by NGOs than less transparent companies. Furthermore, our findings show that, depending on the number of campaigns, NGO power and communication about campaigns, NGO pressure can either stimulate corporate transparency or turn into a negative effect that leads to lower levels of transparency.

Analyzing Sustainable Practices in Fashion Supply Chain

Fast fashion brands create high quantities of synthetic, petroleum-based garments that result in high levels of textile waste and emissions. To change the dreadful tag of hazardous production, top-notch fast fashion leaders started paying attention towards adopting sustainable practices, including sustainable supply chain management (SSCM).This paper conducts a structured review of the annual reports on the topic of energy efficiency and environmental sustainability practices adopted by fashion brands in the supply chain management context. This study tries to identify the factors and classification influencing energy efficiency and environmental sustainability initiatives that impact supply chain performance, the customer perspective and the different technologies supporting energy efficiency and sustainable practices based on the analysis of the data related to the sustainability of top fashion brands from their past five year annual reports.

Use of Artificial Intelligence in “Social Media Marketing” among Online Fashion Companies: An Analytical Perspective

Use of Artificial Intelligence in “Social Media Marketing” among Online Fashion Companies: An Analytical Perspective

Beyond persuasive representations of facts: “figuring out” what sustainable value creation means in practice

PurposeAlthough accounting and reporting visualisations (i.e. graphs, maps and grids) are often used to veil organisations’ untransparent actions, these practices perform irrespectively of their ability to represent facts. In this research, the authors explore accounting and reporting visualisations beyond their persuasive and representational purpose.Design/methodology/approachBy building on previous research on the rhetoric of visualisations, the authors illustrate how the design of accounting visualisations within integrated reports engages managers in a recursive process of knowledge construction, interrogation, reflection and speculation on what sustainable value creation means. The authors articulate the theoretical framework by developing a longitudinal field study in International Fashion Company, a medium-sized company operating in the fashion industry.FindingsThis research shows that accounting and reporting visualisations do not only contribute to creating unclear and often contradicting representations of organisations’ sustainable performance but, at the same time, “open up” and support managers’ unfolding search for “sustainable value” by reducing its unknown meaning into known and understandable categories. The inconsistencies and imperfections that accounting and reporting visualisations leave constitute the conditions of possibility for the interrogation of the unknown to happen in practice, thus augmenting managers’ questioning, reflections and speculation on what sustainable value means.Originality/valueThis study shows that accounting and reporting visualisations can represent good practices (the authors are not saying a “solution”) through which managers can re-appreciate the complexities of measuring and defining something that is intrinsically unknown and unknowable, especially in contexts where best practices have not yet consolidated into a norm. Topics such as climate change and sustainable development are out there and cannot be ignored, cannot be reduced through persuasive accounts and, therefore, need to be embraced.

Winning post strategies that generate engagement: A QCA approach

Purpose: Fashion companies are using an increasing amount of resources to generate social media content to provoke an impact and engage customers. A wrong message or image – but also an inaccurate combination of the different elements that characterise a post – can jeopardise brand reputation. The way brands communicate with potential customers is of utmost importance as it creates its online identity and presence, and this is ultimately linked to customer loyalty. Given that a post contains different elements (e.g., image, people, background) this study seeks to explore which combination(s) of elements should brands take into account to generate superior user engagement with their posts.Design/methodology/approach: After conducting a comprehensive literature review on social media marketing a set of critical factors that relate to content engagement are envisioned. Next, drawing on complexity and configuration theories, we perform fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to identify different strategies (i.e., combinations of critical factors) companies might follow to engage with customers successfully. The empirical application focuses on the Instagram activity of a retail clothing company.Findings: The findings reveal that posts conducive to superior engagement should: (i) be simple, product-related or experience-related, (ii) use few but meaningful hashtags that are representative of the brand, (iii) show people’s faces, and (iv) send an inclusive message.Practical implications: This study sheds new light on how brands should communicate on social media networks to generate improved impact for their posts.Originality/value: This study goes beyond traditional approaches that overlook the joint effect of the different strategic design choices (i.e., combination of critical factors) for posts on the outcomes of interest (in our case, number of likes, comments and views).

Design and Development of an Application for the Generation of Garment Patterns Based on Body Measurements Using CNN

In recent years, the growing consumption of products and services over the Internet has led companies to take their business models to virtual platforms, so retail fashion companies, such as ateliers, need to adapt to new market trends. Ateliers specialize in making garments to the customer's measurements, so this process requires a high level of time, cost and personnel specialized in taking body measurements and pattern making. There are several technological solutions to obtain body measurements and other solutions to obtain garment patterns, however there are no solutions that integrate both processes. Therefore, we propose an application to produce dress garment patterns tailored to a person from photos, using image processing and convolutional neural networks (CNN). Our proposal starts by obtaining a frontal and a lateral photo of the person, as well as her height, and then processing the images to obtain the body measurements by means of a CNN. Finally, we proceed to adjust the patterns of the garment required with the measurements obtained in order to give as a final result the dimensions of the dress's garment patterns.

The Influence of Social Media and Sustainability Advocacy on the Purchase Intention of Filipino Consumers in Fast Fashion

The large consumption of fast fashion brings many negative environmental impacts. Filipino consumers love and buy fast fashion because it is relatively cheap but trendy, and there are lots of fashionable designs to choose from. Despite the shortage in water supply and disposal issues of fast fashion, people still continue to purchase. The lack of awareness of consumers on sustainable fashion consumption led the researchers to conduct a study that aims to identify factors affecting Filipino consumers’ buying decisions on fast fashion using the combined theory of planned behavior, elaboration likelihood model, and hedonic motivation. A total of 407 participants were gathered through a convenience sampling approach, and the data collected were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The result shows that attitude towards fast fashion is the highest contributing factor to purchase intention. While social media positively affects purchase intention, sustainability advocacy negatively impacts the consumers’ intention to buy fast fashion. The awareness of sustainability leads to consumption reduction of fast fashion garments. Surprisingly, perceived product price and quality do not show a significant influence on purchase intention. Incorporating sustainability advocacy on social media may be a great strategy to encourage the sustainable consumption of fashion garments. The findings of this study could be a great tool to influence fashion companies and government institutions to promote sustainability awareness and transition marketing strategies to the sustainable consumption of fashion.