Sustainable clothing: perspectives from US and Chinese young Millennials

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to understand US and Chinese young Millennials’ perceptions of and consumption behaviour towards sustainable apparel products. Design/methodology/approach: Quantitative research was conducted, and empirical data were collected from 590 US college students and 379 Chinese college students. Findings: For both US and Chinese young Millennials, this study provides consistent empirical results of the positive and significant effects of young Millennials’ apparel sustainability knowledge and personal values on consumer attitude towards sustainable clothing, which in turn positively and strongly impacts purchase intention. In addition, a cross-cultural comparative analysis reveals similarities and differences regarding apparel sustainability knowledge and values between young Millennial consumers in the US and China. Originality/value: The scale of environmental and social impacts from global apparel production and consumption makes sustainability increasingly important in the contemporary business environment. Young Millennials in the US and China represent large and influential consumer segments for sustainable consumption. This study contributes to the literature by surveying young Millennials in the US (developed market) and China (emerging market) in a cross-cultural context. The study offers insights into the global apparel industry in developing strategies for expanding sustainable apparel markets in the US and China

Exploring Consumers’ Adoption of Highly Technological Fashion Products: The Role of Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivational Factors

Purpose – This study seeks to develop and test a model of consumers' adoption of highly technological fashion products (HTFPs) through modifying the technology acceptance model (TAM). Design/methodology/approach – Using a convenience sampling method, students between 18 to 26 years old were chosen as the sample population from a mid-size southern university in the USA. The final sample consisted of 268 responses. Confirmatory factor analysis and path analysis were employed to answer all hypotheses using the structural equation model. Findings – Empirical results revealed that consumers' intentions to adopt an innovation (i.e. highly technological fashion product) are driven by the multi-dimensional nature of consumers' extrinsic (i.e. perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness) and intrinsic (i.e. perceived innovativeness and perceived fashionability) motivation. Additionally, these motivational dimensions contribute to consumers' utilitarian and hedonic attitudes toward using an innovation, which in turn affects their purchase intentions. Practical implications – Consumers' utilitarian and hedonic consumer attitudes may enable retailers and marketers to design effective advertising campaigns by helping them to determine whether the functional or sensational components of the product need to be emphasized. Furthermore, when developing a new product, marketers need to focus on product attributes that possess both functionality and hedonic benefits. Originality/value – This is the first known study to examine the underlying relationships between motivations, two-dimensional consumers' attitudes (utilitarian and hedonic), and purchase intentions in the consumer-related product context. The study has broadened the TAM by integrating extrinsic and intrinsic motivational variables into the model. It has also deepened the TAM by conceptualizing consumers' attitudes as comprising two distinct dimensions: utilitarian and hedonic

Reform of copyright law in Hong Kong: time to redraw the balance

This article reviews the current permitted acts under the Copyright Ordinance and their implications for Hong Kong. The discussion focuses on those permitted acts having a direct impact on two sectors the Hong Kong Government is most concerned with: education and the software industry. It shows that because of the limitations of the permitted acts, the Copyright Ordinance has failed to strike the right balance between the conflicting interests in these two sectors; rather, it favours the copyright owners. The article traces the cause of the imbalance to three main deficiencies in the Copyright Ordinance and proposes a solution to strike the right balance.published_or_final_versio

The Competitive Position of Thailand’s Apparel Industry: Challenges and Opportunities for Globalization

Purpose – Recent liberalization of the world's textile and apparel trade policies and the consequent changes in trade patterns posited threats to smaller textile- and apparel-exporting nations, including Thailand. Thus it is important to understand how the new trade environment affects the competitiveness of Thailand's apparel industry. This study seeks to provide insights into how Thailand's apparel industry has responded to increasingly fierce global competition by drawing on Porter's theory of The Competitive Advantage of Nations. Design/methodology/approach – To assess the competitiveness of the Thai industry, the study triangulated data from various sources, including secondary statistics, media reports, and relevant industry publications. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were also conducted, and participants included key executives from Thailand's apparel industry, government officials, and academics. The interviews were conducted at various locations in three Thai provinces: Bangkok, Nonthaburi, and Samutsakorn, over a two-week period. Findings – Findings revealed the existence of four determinants supporting the Thai apparel industry: basic v. specialized factors; sophisticated and demanding consumer market; the presence of interdependent economic agents; and strategies and structure of Thai companies and domestic rivals. These four determinants are identical to the “diamonds” outlined in Porter's theory of The Competitive Advantage of Nations and a new source of competitiveness. Furthermore, the Thai government was found to play an important role, by providing support to enhance the global competitiveness of Thai companies. Originality/value – The study is among the first to attempt to provide insights into the competitive national advantage of the Thai apparel industry. Based on the findings, the outlook is positive for the continued success of Thailand's apparel industry in the global arena

Luxury brand dilution: investigating the impact of renting by Millennials on brand equity

Modern forms of product acquisition, such as renting, provide consumers with either first-time or increased access at relatively low cost to products of brands that historically have relied on exclusivity as a part of their strategies. This study seeks to determine how the ability of Millennials to rent exclusive luxury brands affects the values of those brands from the consumer perspective (i.e., brand equity). A one-way (traditional vs. masstige brand offered renting option) between-subjects experimental design was used. Results reveal that the means of the brand credibility and brand leadership dimensions of traditional luxury brand equity were decreased significantly after a renting option was offered. Results further show that the means of the brand association and brand credibility dimensions of masstige brand equity were decreased significantly after a renting option was also offered. Implications and future research directions are addressed

Use of care labels: linking need for cognition with consumer confidence and perceived risk

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of apparel care label information presentation formats (i.e. symbols only, text only, and the combination) and the individual trait of need for cognition on consumers' confidence in and risk perceptions about the post-purchase activity of care of apparel items. A scenario-based experiment was conducted using a convenience sample of 275 undergraduate students for data collection. MANCOVA was conducted to test the hypotheses. The findings of this research suggest not only that the text only format and the combination of text and symbols format are preferred to the symbols only format but also that the text only format was the most preferred among the three formats. Both the text only format and the combination format significantly increased consumers' confidence in and reduced consumers' risk perceptions about their care of apparel items. The symbols only label does reduce apparel manufacturers' costs. However, because consumers may use care label information as a decision criterion for purchasing apparel items, industry practitioners need to also pay attention to the impact of end consumers' perceptions of these labels on their purchase decisions. Examination of three different information presentation formats (symbols only, text only, and the combination of symbols and text) adds to the extant literature focusing on mainly two levels of formats (i.e. visual vs verbal)

Who are sustainably minded apparel shoppers? An investigation to the influencing factors of sustainable apparel consumption

Purpose Consumers’ environmental behaviours are not only the result of their positive attitudes towards environments, but also different reasons and motivations exist. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to find out important factors affecting sustainable apparel buying behaviour. Applying the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), this study further examines how knowledge about sustainable apparel, perceived money availability, and perceived accessibility to the store influence sustainable apparel consumption.Design/methodology/approach Using a purposive college student sample, 235 usable responses were collected to answer the questions. An exploratory factor analysis with principal component analysis was first performed followed by confirmatory factor analysis, and a structural equation modelling analysis.Findings Results revealed that the TPB was successfully applied in the context of sustainable apparel buying behaviour. Furthermore, it was found that consumers’ perceived money availability and perceived store accessibility are important factors that affect control beliefs and sustainable consumption.Research limitations/implications This study found the needs of educating college students for contexts of environmental apparel and textiles issues.Originality/value Even though previous literature often found the gap between the behavioural intentions and the actual behaviour, this study found the respondents of this study walk their talk. This study successfully applied the TPB to explain consumers’ sustainable apparel buying behaviour

An exploration of brand equity antedants concerning brand loyalty: A cognitive, affective, and conative perspective

The purpose of this study was to identify and assess the antecedents of brand loyalty from theperspective of Oliver’s (1997) cognitive, affective, and conative theorization of consumer loyalty.A convenience sample of 285 students across multiple majors of study completed a surveyquestionnaire. The questionnaire included brand equity, brand satisfaction, and brand loyaltyitems. Each item was measured based upon a seven-point Likert scale. Two jean brands, onepremium jean brand and one nonpremium jean brand, were utilized to assess the items. StructuralEquation Modeling (SEM) was employed to test proposed research hypotheses. Based uponOliver’s theorization of consumer loyalty, a positive relationship was confirmed between brandemotional value and brand satisfaction, brand emotional value and brand loyalty, and brandsatisfaction and brand loyalty for both jean brand groups. This study indicated a lack of associationbetween brand awareness and brand emotional value. This notion suggests that even if a retailercarries a brand with high awareness, that brand will not necessarily invoke an emotional value inthe consumer. Therefore, retailers should consider stocking more than just well-known brands,and make sure that the brands they carry meet the functional and non-functional needs of theirconsumers

Investigating Consumers’ Apparel Retail Format Choice: The Roles of Decision-making Styles and Retail Attributes

With the increase in competitive markets and the evolution of new channels (e.g., internet, mobile), the ability to identify, and understand consumers’ preferences may very well define retail success. The current study explores how consumers’ decision-making styles influence their evaluation of retail attributes, which in turn, affect their retail format choices (i.e., upscale department stores vs. off-price retailers) in the apparel shopping context. A convenience sample of 344 undergraduate students were collected and tested using a structural equation analysis. Results revealed that perfectionist dimension of consumers’ decision-making styles positively influenced the evaluation of service-related retail attributes, which positively influenced their selection of upscale department stores. Furthermore, fashion consciousness, perfectionist, and brand loyalty dimensions of consumers’ decision-making styles positively influenced their evaluation of shopping incentive-related retail attributes, which positively influenced their choice to patronize off-price retailers and negatively influenced their choice of upscale retailers. Implications and future research directions are suggeste

Does formality matter? Effects of employee clothing formality on consumers' service quality expectations and store image perceptions

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, this study aims to understand whether and how sales employee clothing style would influence consumers' perceptions of store image through their expectations of service quality. Second, this study hopes to uncover how fashion orientation would influence the aforementioned relationship.Design/methodology/approach A 3 (formality of employee clothing: formal vs moderate vs casual) × 2 (level of fashion orientation: low vs high) between-subject experiment design was conducted. Data were collected from 105 university students in a laboratory setting.Findings Results indicated that formality of employee clothing (i.e. formal business, moderate, or casual attire) served as a cue in the retail environment for consumers to make inferences about the service quality expected to be provided by the sales employee. Furthermore, formality of employee clothing both directly and indirectly influenced consumers' perceptions of store image.Research limitations/implications This study adds to existing literature by uncovering the moderating role of fashion orientation in consumers' service quality expectations and confirms the function of service quality as an antecedent to store image.Practical implications Retailers should pay attention to the design of their salespeople's clothing because different clothing styles draw forth different evaluations from customers about the service quality provided in retail stores.Originality/value This study investigates the role of clothing formality in influencing consumers' service quality expectations