Sustainability innovators and anchor draggers: a global expert study on sustainable fashion

2015 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 315-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esben Rahbek Gjerdrum Pedersen ◽  
Kirsti Reitan Andersen
Keyword(s):  
Business Models ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
System Level ◽  
Fashion Industry ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Future System ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Sustainable Fashion ◽  
Expert Study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore current barriers and opportunities for sustainability in the fashion industry. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a study among 36 fashion experts from academia, industry, and non-governmental organizations, who took part in an online study on sustainable fashion. Findings – The results from the study indicates that the fashion industry faces immense social and environmental challenges and that the scale and scope of current approaches to sustainability are limited and fail to address more fundamental challenges linked to the dominant business models and consumption behaviors. Research limitations/implications – As the study is based on the knowledge, values, attitudes, and cultural stances of the participating experts it cannot claim to provide a picture of the “real world.” Nonetheless it contributes with a nuanced understanding of current challenges and opportunities within the industry, as experienced by key stakeholders in the field. Originality/value – The expert study approach moves beyond “good practice” case studies and allow a broader discussion of micro- and macro challenges for sustainability within the fashion industry. The learnings gained through such an approach could inspire future system level research as well as business model innovation in the industry.

“Enabling circular business models in the fashion industry: the role of digital innovation”

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Phuc Hong Huynh
Keyword(s):  
Business Model ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Chain Model ◽  
Fashion Industry ◽  
Digital Innovation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Radical Innovations

PurposeDigital innovation and circular business model innovation are two critical enablers of a circular economy. A wide variety of digital technologies such as blockchain, 3D printing, cyber-physical systems, or big data also diverges the applications of digital technologies in circular business models. Given heterogeneous attributes of circular business models and digital technologies, the selections of digital technologies and circular business models might be highly distinctive within and between sectorial contexts. This paper examines digital circular business models in the context of the fashion industry and its multiple actors. This industry as the world’s second polluting industry requires an urgent circular economy (CE) transition with less resource consumption, lower waste emissions and a more stable economy.Design/methodology/approachAn inductive, exploratory multiple-case study method is employed to investigate the ten cases of different sized fashion companies (i.e. large, small medium-sized firm (SME) and startup firms). The comparison across cases is conducted to understand fashion firms' distinct behaviours in adopting various digital circular economy strategies.FindingsThe paper presents three archetypes of digital-based circular business models in the fashion industry: the blockchain-based supply chain model, the service-based model and the pull demand-driven model. Besides incremental innovations, the radical business model and digital innovations as presented in the pull demand-driven model may be crucial to the fashion circular economy transition. The pull demand–driven model may shift the economy from scales to scopes, change the whole process of how the fashion items are forecasted, produced, and used, and reform consumer behaviours. The paths of adopting digital fashion circular business models are also different among large, SMEs and startup fashion firms.Practical implicationsThe study provides business managers with empirical insights on how circular business models (CBMs) should be chosen according to intrinsic business capacities, technological competences and CE strategies. The emerging trends of new fashion markets (e.g. rental, subscription) and consumers' sustainable awareness should be not be neglected. Moreover, besides adopting recycling and reuse strategies, large fashion incumbents consider collaborating with other technology suppliers and startup companies to incubate more radical innovations.Social implicationsAppropriate policies and regulations should be enacted to enable the digital CE transition. Market patterns and consumer acceptances are considered highly challenging to these digital fashion models. A balanced policy on both the demand and supply sides are suggested. The one-side policy may fail CBMs that entail an upside-down collaboration of both producers and consumers. Moreover, it is perhaps time to rethink how to reduce unnecessary new demand rather than repeatedly producing and recycling.Originality/valueThe pace of CE research is lagging far behind the accelerating environmental contamination by the fashion industry. The study aims to narrow the gap between theory and practice to harmonise fashion firms' orchestration and accelerate the transition of the fashion industry towards the CE. This study examines diverse types of digital technologies in different circular business models in a homogeneous context of the fashion industry with heterogeneous firm types.

scholarly journals Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007: reflections on developing practice and present day challenges

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 187-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn Mackay ◽  
Mary Notman
Keyword(s):  
Good Practice ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Protection Orders ◽  
Legislative Framework ◽  
Potential Risks ◽  
Local Agencies ◽  
Adult Support

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to outline the duties and powers of the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act (ASPSA) 2007 and place them in the wider Scottish adult protection legislative framework. It considers the potential value of a standalone adult safeguarding statute. Design/methodology/approach The authors draw upon their research and practice expertise to consider the merits of the ASPSA 2007. They take a case study approach to explore its implementation in one particular Scottish local authority, drawing on the qualitative and quantitative data contained in its annual reports. Findings Skilled, knowledgeable and well-supported practitioners are key to effective screening, investigations and intervention. Protection orders are being used as intended for a very small number of cases. Research limitations/implications The lack of national statistical reports means that there is limited scope for comparison between the local and national data. Practical implications Adult support and protection requires ongoing investment of time and leadership in councils and other local agencies to instigate and maintain good practice. Aspects that require further attention are self-neglect; capacity and consent and residents in care homes who pose potential risks to other residents and staff. Social implications ASPSA 2007 has helped to raise awareness of adults at risk of harm within the local communities and as social issue more generally. Originality/value The authors provide a critical appraisal of the implementation of Scottish adult safeguarding legislation over the last six years. They consider similar developments in England and Wales and argue for comparative research to test these out. Finally, they signpost future directions for bridging separate policy streams.

Strategic behavior of nontraditional lenders in agricultural credit markets

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Iuliia Tetteh ◽  
Michael Boehlje ◽  
Anil K. Giri ◽  
Sankalp Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Interest Rates ◽  
Strategic Behavior ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Credit Markets ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Supply Side ◽  
Agricultural Credit ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Funding Sources

PurposeThis paper examines credit products, operational performance and business models employed by nontraditional lenders (NTLs) in agricultural credit markets.Design/methodology/approachTwo research methods were employed in this study: (1) an executive interview to collect primary data and (2) a case study approach to analyze the findings and develop insights.FindingsThe findings indicate the presence of significant differences among lenders across and within three categories of NTLs (large volume, vendor financing and collateral-based NTLs). For example, collateral-based NTLs employ different strategies focusing on types of loans, funding sources, commodities they support and geographic coverage to further segment the market. NTLs in this study were able to capture market by successfully identifying gaps in the supply side of agricultural credit and developing products that meet the needs of that niche (e.g. heavy renters, large operations, producers seeking fixed interest rates for term loans, financially fragile producers). Most of the interviewed NTLs had credit standards comparable to those of traditional lenders and consider them both competitors and partners since many NTLs partner with traditional lenders on participation loans, loan servicing and/or sourcing funds.Originality/valueThe supply side of a nontraditional lending has not been studied extensively due to the proprietary nature of data. The executive interviews conducted in this study allowed for accumulation of industry data, which is not available otherwise.

“Doing good” while serving customers

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip T. Roundy
Keyword(s):  
Emerging Economies ◽  
Social Entrepreneurship ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Social Entrepreneurs ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Stakeholder Groups ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose Social entrepreneurship represents an unconventional, but increasingly prevalent, activity in developed and emerging economies. Social entrepreneurs devise novel business models that blend business and social missions with the aim of (co-)producing value with two primary stakeholder groups, beneficiaries and customers. Although interactions between social entrepreneurs and their beneficiaries are well-studied, the relationship between social ventures and consumers has received almost no extended attention. Design/methodology/approach Using a qualitative, partially-inductive approach based on interviews with 40 social entrepreneurs, a study of how social entrepreneurs market their ventures to consumers was conducted. Findings Findings reveal the ways in which marketing is relevant for social entrepreneurs, the unique challenges and opportunities entrepreneurs face in their interactions with customers, and the tactics entrepreneurs use to understand and educate their consumers. Originality/value The study’s findings contribute to work on social entrepreneurship and the entrepreneurship and marketing interface and have practical implications for social entrepreneurs.

E-commerce logistics in supply chain management

2017 ◽  
Vol 117 (10) ◽  
pp. 2263-2286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Yu ◽  
Xin Wang ◽  
Ray Y. Zhong ◽  
G.Q. Huang
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Supply Chain Management ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Big Data Analytics ◽  
System Level ◽  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Furniture Industry ◽  
Chain Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
New Business

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present the state-of-the-art E-commerce logistics in supply chain management by investigating worldwide implementations and corresponding models together with supporting techniques via furniture industry. Design/methodology/approach Typical E-commerce logistics companies from North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific are comprehensively investigated so as to get the lessons and insights from these practices. Findings Future technologies like Internet of Things, Big Data Analytics, and Cloud Computing would be possibly adopted to enhance the E-commerce logistics in terms of system level, operational level, and decision-making level that may be real time and intelligent in the next decade. Research limitations/implications This paper takes the furniture industry for example to illustrate the E-commerce logistics and supply chain management (LSCM). Other industries like electronic appliance industry are not considered. Practical implications Opportunities and future perspectives are summarized from practical implementations so that interested parties like E-commerce and logistics companies are able to get some guidance when they are contemplating the business. Social implications E-commerce is booming with the development of new business models and will be continuously boosted in the near future. With large number of enterprises carrying out E-commerce, logistics has been largely influenced. Originality/value Insights and lessons from this paper are significant for academia and practitioners for considering E-commerce LSCM.

scholarly journals Effectuation logic in digital business model transformation

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (6/7) ◽  
pp. 811-830 ◽  
Author(s):  
William W. Baber ◽  
Arto Ojala ◽  
Ricardo Martinez
Keyword(s):  
Business Model ◽  
Model Transformation ◽  
Business Models ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Digital Business Models ◽  
Causal Logic

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study how digital business models evolve when entrepreneurs move to new digital platforms and how this evolution is related to effectuation and causation logics. Design/methodology/approach This study applies a multiple case study approach to investigate how digital business models change in small, Japanese high-tech firms providing their innovations through different digital platforms. To investigate digital business models, this study considers the elements that comprise general business models. The case firms were selected based on size, products and transitions from physical to various digital platforms. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the key decision-makers from the case firms. Findings The findings show that through digital transformation, the case firms’ digital business models evolved by following effectuation logic as well as causal logic. All the firms employed causal logic when moving to new platforms, among other actions. The case firms used effectual logic with success for product development and adjustments to their network. Especially firms providing video games relied on effectuation for high impact products. Effectual logic did not play a role at all in changes to value delivery and had only little impact on revenue structures. Originality/value This research helps understand how digitalization of platforms and subsequent moves to newer digital platforms improve a firm by changing the business model elements through effectuation and causation logics. This research extends the understanding of digital business model transformation to a more granular level, business model elements.

Tourism to serve culture: the evolution of an Aboriginal tourism business model in Australia

2020 ◽  
Vol 75 (4) ◽  
pp. 663-680
Author(s):  
Pascal Scherrer
Keyword(s):  
Business Model ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Intergenerational Learning ◽  
Market Demand ◽  
Case Study Methodology ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Start Up ◽  
Indigenous Tourism

Purpose This paper aims to track the evolution of an innovative Aboriginal tourism business model with deliberate social and community enterprise objectives in a remote setting. Design/methodology/approach It adopts an in-depth exploratory case study approach to discover key characteristics of an emerging tourism enterprise. The qualitative data sources include publically available planning, promotional and organizational materials, in-depth interviews with key informants and on-site observations. Yunus et al.’s (2010) social business model provides the framework for the case analysis. Findings Findings highlight the gradual deepening of Indigenous engagement – from simply providing a place for a non-Indigenous tourism business – to running a fully Indigenous-controlled, staffed and themed on-country tourism business. Complementing existing non-Indigenous tourism experiences reduced the need for start-up infrastructure and market recognition, thus reducing business risk for the Traditional Owners. Despite substantial changes in the business structure in response to political and maturation factors, the core motivations seemed to remain strong. The business model facilitates value creation to stakeholders in varying ways. Research limitations/implications The contextual nature of Indigenous tourism reflects limitations of qualitative case study methodology. Practical implications The resulting business model provides a contextually appropriate structure to engage in tourism for achieving cultural and societal goals. It mitigates against the identified risk of low market demand for Indigenous tourism experiences by connecting with established non-Indigenous tourism products, while also allowing for product offering independent thereof. Social implications Social benefits are high and have potential for replication in similar contexts elsewhere. Originality/value The paper contributes to the emerging research on culturally appropriate business models in Indigenous tourism contexts and validates a strategy to overcome low demand. It offers a model that for the tourist facilitates a sustainable experience which enables co-production while for the hosts fosters community resilience, intergenerational learning and improved livelihoods. The case highlights opportunities for further research into the interrelationship, dependencies and thresholds between the social and economic profit equations, particularly in the context of the culture conservation economy.

scholarly journals From singular to plural: exploring organisational complexities and circular business model design

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 308-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esben Rahbek Gjerdrum Pedersen ◽  
Rebecca Earley ◽  
Kirsti Reitan Andersen
Keyword(s):  
Business Model ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Illustrative Case ◽  
Fashion Industry ◽  
Value Capture ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Fashion Brand ◽  
New Business ◽  
Multiple Challenges

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss how organisational complexities influence the design of circular business models, which have recently been introduced as a new panacea for aligning the interests of business with the needs of the environment. Design/methodology/approach The Service Shirt, a new garment concept, is used as an illustrative case example for demonstrating some of the organisational complexities of making circular business models operable. The shirt was developed through a series of design workshops for the fashion brand Fashion Alpha. Findings The analysis highlights multiple challenges emerging when a fashion product with a significantly extended lifecycle passes through different users, organisations and business models. It is concluded that it is difficult to talk about a circular business model (singular) as circular economy solutions depend on the contributions of multiple stakeholders with business models. Practical implications The findings illustrate how fashion companies interested in the circular economy fundamentally have to rethink conventional approaches to value, organisational boundaries and temporality. Originality/value Drawing on a case example from the fashion industry, the paper demonstrates the organisational complexities linked to the design of new business models based on circular economy thinking, as these require the coordination of actions between autonomous actors driven by different logics regarding value creation, value delivery and value capture.

CIRCULAR ECONOMY: INNOVATIVE AND SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS MODELS IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY

2021 ◽  
Vol 296 (4) ◽  
pp. 25-28
Author(s):  
Olga Garafonova ◽  
◽  
Daria Vietrova ◽  
Olha Marhasova ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Fashion Industry ◽  
Sustainable Business ◽  
Radical Innovations ◽  
Sustainability Strategies ◽  
New Business ◽  
Sustainable Fashion ◽  
The Many ◽  
Key Aspects

Promoting sustainable fashion within the circular economy is an important contemporary topic. Experts in design, consumption, business and industry explain how to approach circularity in fashion production and consumption in different ways. Increasingly, new and existing companies are looking for ways to thrive in a competitive environment through innovative business models, taking into account public opinion and avoiding actions that harm the planet. Trends such as the circular economy, fair trade, and sharing policies are among the many new approaches to business that address these issues, but there is still a gap between the theory that argues for levels of environmental and social sustainability and the implementation of these strategies in practice. That is why the study of the current state of the circular economy is relevant. This article presents the principles of the circular economy in terms of fashion. The key aspects of the integration of sustainable development in the fashion industry are considered. Different approaches of new business models for the circularity of the economy are highlighted. The main directions of implementation of sustainability strategies due to business transformation are identified, which requires the construction of a new level of the system and radical innovations.

scholarly journals Trends in the Fashion Industry. The Perception of Sustainability and Circular Economy: A Gender/Generation Quantitative Approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 2809 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrizia Gazzola ◽  
Enrica Pavione ◽  
Roberta Pezzetti ◽  
Daniele Grechi
Keyword(s):  
Circular Economy ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Fashion Industry ◽  
Demand And Supply ◽  
Generation Z ◽  
Emerging Trends ◽  
Sustainable Fashion ◽  
Survey Results

The significant changes which have occurred in the competitive scenario in which fashion companies operate, combined with deep transformation in the lifestyles of final consumers, translate into the need to redefine the business models. Starting from a general overview of the emerging trends today affecting the fashion industry, the paper will devote particular attention to the analysis of the most important phenomena that are influencing this market and the drivers for long-lasting competitiveness: sustainability and attention to the so-called circular economy. According to the literature, from the consumer behavior’s point of view, the younger generations are paying growing attention to these issues. In light of these considerations, this paper aimed to analyze how sustainability and circular economy principles are influencing the perception of the fashion world among the new generations of consumers. After mapping the emerging trends in the fashion industry and analyzing the role of sustainability from both the demand and supply side, this paper presents the results of a survey conducted through an anonymous questionnaire made in collaboration with Insubria University. The results of the survey describe the students’ behaviour as regards fashion’s emerging trends, with particular attention to sustainability issues and the application of circular economy principles. The survey results were analyzed from both a descriptive and quantitative point of view with the aim to check the different perceptions as regards sustainable fashion and circular economy in fashion, focusing mainly on the so-called Generation Z. The results of the analysis proved to be consistent with the theoretical framework and confirm the relevance of sustainability issues in the fashion industry today in driving the demand of Generation Z, by considering a gender perspective. Moreover, the circular economy is descriptively analyzed with the aim to understand the relevance of the different facets for the entire sample of respondents.

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