Fashion and Textile companies are currently producing face-masks because of the national sanitary emergency. To do that, in March 2020 they reconverted to produce a different product from those belonging to the core business. This study aims to explain how companies of a specific sector, the fashion and textile one, answered to an exogenous crisis, dividing this process in rationale, opportunities and challenges, key factors of the reconversion, and future changes in the reference industry caused by Covid-19.
Though the implementation of a qualitative study, eight companies were interviewed for this work and the information analysed through a two-cycle coding process (i.e. 1st order codes and 2nd order themes) to produce similarities and dissimilarities in reference to the reconversion process. Comparing themes between firms produced important answers to the research question in the form of four theoretical categories, that were constantly related with the literature reviewed and the secondary data analysis. This has provided further corroboration to the empirical evidence suggested in this dissertation.
This work provides explanations of this reconversion process, starting from its rationale to the analysis of the opportunities and challenges that matched the companies’ resources and competences endowment. The dissertation finally offers findings that can be tested and implemented in future research.
Table of Contents
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 OVERVIEW
1.2 RESEARCH PURPOSE
1.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
1.4 RESEARCH OBJECTIVE
1.5 STRUCTURE OF THE STUDY
2 METHODOLOGY AND RESEARCH DESIGN
2.1 OVERVIEW
2.2 RESEARCH PHILOSOPHY AND APPROACH
2.3 RESEARCH STRATEGY
2.3.1 Strategy
2.3.2 Choice
2.3.3 Time Horizon
2.4 DATA COLLECTION
2.4.1 Interview protocol
2.4.2 Primary data-set
2.4.3 Secondary Data
2.4.4 Sources
2.4.5 Access and Ethical Issues
2.5 CONCLUSION
3 LITERATURE REVIEW
3.1 OVERVIEW
3.2 EVOLUTION THEORY
3.3 APPROACH TO EXOGENOUS CRISIS
3.4 EXPLORATION VS. EXPLOITATION STRATEGIES
3.5 KEY CAPABILITIES
3.6 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
3.7 CONCLUSION
4 ANALYSIS
4.1 OVERVIEW
4.2 CANONS AND PROCEDURE
4.3 CODING PROCESS
4.3.1 First Order Coding
4.3.2 Second Order Coding
4.3.3 Theoretical categories and data structure
4.4 CONCLUSION
5 PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS
5.1 OVERVIEW
5.2 GROUNDED MODEL
5.3 FINDINGS
5.3.1 Rationale of the reconversion process
5.3.2 Opportunities and organizational changes for the reconversion process
5.3.3 Key Factors of the reconversion process
5.3.4 Adaptive capacity of the industry
5.3.5 Circular Economy implementation
5.4 DISCUSSION
5.5 CONCLUSION
6 CONCLUDING THOUGHTS ON THE CONTRIBUTION OF THIS RESEARCH, ITS LIMITATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
6.1 OVERVIEW
6.2 IMPLICATIONS OF FINDINGS FOR THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS
6.3 CONTRIBUTIONS AND LIMITATIONS OF THE RESEARCH
6.4 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH
6.5 FINAL CONCLUSION AND REFLECTIONS
Research Objectives & Core Themes
This research aims to explain how companies within the Italian fashion and textile industry responded to the exogenous crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The central research question explores the processes of industrial reconversion, specifically how firms managed the shift to producing healthcare devices, the rationale behind this transformation, and the resulting organizational and strategic adaptations.
- Rationale and motivation for industrial reconversion during a global health emergency.
- Strategic management of organizational change and the exploitation of internal resources.
- Identification of key factors and capabilities driving successful adaptation and crisis survival.
- Future impacts and industry shifts resulting from the pandemic, including selling modalities and digital transformation.
Excerpt from the Book
3.2 Evolution Theory
To understand the opportunities and the challenges that can be generated by an exogenous event, it is easier to start from what human nature really is. As a matter of fact, firms can be viewed as people that periodically organize and then modify their strategies to adapt to external and internal changes. In orthodox theory, firms are viewed as agents operating according to a set of decision rules that decide what they do as a function of external (market) and internal (such as available capital stock) conditions (Nelson, Winter, 1982). Doing so, firms can take advantage of their capabilities and they can reach good revenues, obtaining a competitive benefit over time. Moreover, opportunities can be discovered understanding how to start new strategies to enter a new market with the same product or with a new one, that can be correlated or not with the former one. This can represent an opportunity during a crisis.
Since Darwin (1859) and Wallace (1870), we know that species originate and evolve as a result of surrounding changes, trying to fit the best they can in order to survive in a constantly changing environment. The adaption allows species to survive and to secure a space in the reference area. Darwin’s theory of evolution (1859) has the merit of having emphasized that species take their origin regardless of the environment, but once they come to life they are selected by it. Thus, the evolution is directed to natural selection but proceeds in a casual way.
In an economic perspective, we can connect Darwin and Wallace’s theory of evolution to the concept of competitive advantages that firms try to achieve, developing new products and adapting their strategies to changes in the environment. In this context, often we found two types of actors. The first one undergoes change and lives it as an ex extraordinary event that depends on external forces, requiring special tools to survive. The second one, instead, takes advantage of change and build on it differential revenues on internal and external competitors (Costa, 2007, p.101).
Chapter Summary
1 INTRODUCTION: Outlines the research rationale, objectives, and significance in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on the Italian fashion and textile industry.
2 METHODOLOGY AND RESEARCH DESIGN: Details the qualitative research approach, the use of semi-structured interviews, and the data collection process including primary and secondary sources.
3 LITERATURE REVIEW: Explores theoretical frameworks including evolution theory, Schumpeterian creative destruction, crisis management, and dynamic capabilities.
4 ANALYSIS: Explains the coding methodology applied to primary and secondary data to transform raw information into thematic insights and theoretical categories.
5 PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION OF THE FINDINGS: Presents and discusses the research findings, verifying them against the theoretical framework and secondary data to answer the core research questions.
6 CONCLUDING THOUGHTS ON THE CONTRIBUTION OF THIS RESEARCH, ITS LIMITATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH: Summarizes the contributions, highlights research limitations, and provides recommendations for future academic study and professional practice.
Keywords
COVID-19, Fashion Industry, Textile Industry, Reconversion, Crisis Management, Dynamic Capabilities, Creative Destruction, Strategic Adaptation, Supply Chain, Organizational Change, Innovation, Sustainability, Circular Economy, Qualitative Research, Business Resilience.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this dissertation?
The dissertation focuses on how firms within the Italian fashion and textile industry reacted to the exogenous crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically by reconverting their production lines.
What are the primary themes explored?
The research examines the rationale for reconversion, the strategic and organizational challenges faced, the critical resources and capabilities utilized, and the long-term impact on the industry.
What is the main research question?
The primary question is: "How do companies within an industry react to an exogenous crisis?"
Which methodology does the author utilize?
The author uses a qualitative research methodology, conducting semi-structured interviews with CEOs and managers of eight companies, supplemented by a secondary dataset of twelve web-based interviews.
What is covered in the main body of the work?
The work covers theoretical literature on organizational evolution and crisis management, detailed research design and data collection processes, and an analysis of how the surveyed firms implemented their reconversion strategies.
Which keywords characterize this research?
The research is characterized by terms such as crisis management, industrial reconversion, dynamic capabilities, creative destruction, and business resilience in the fashion and textile sector.
How did the author define the "4U" guidelines?
The "4U" guidelines were research objectives established to assess whether reconversion was driven by necessity or social responsibility, to analyze management strategies, to identify success factors, and to forecast future industry changes.
What role does circular economy play in the findings?
Circular economy implementation emerged as a key theme, specifically regarding the production of recyclable face-masks and the utilization of industrial waste from standard textile production.
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- Paolo Selicato (Autor:in), 2020, Fashion in Times of Crisis. Drivers of the Reconversion Process Implemented by the Italian Companies of the Textile and Fashion Industry, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1066494
