Motivating Factors for Implementing Apparel Certification Schemes—A Sustainable Supply Chain Management Perspective
The motivations for clothing companies to implement dedicated certification schemes as sustainability practices has received limited attention in sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) research so far. Therefore, it is important to understand how different rationales for the implementation of ce...
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doaj-9f7e69cda8d54788af61c37dc20a8daa2020-11-25T02:26:27ZengMDPI AGSustainability2071-10502020-06-01124823482310.3390/su12124823Motivating Factors for Implementing Apparel Certification Schemes—A Sustainable Supply Chain Management PerspectiveNelly Oelze0Tim Gruchmann1Marcus Brandenburg2School of Business, Flensburg University of Applied Sciences, 24943 Flensburg, GermanyWestcoast Institute of Human Resources (WinHR), Westcoast University of Applied Sciences, 25746 Heide, GermanySchool of Business, Flensburg University of Applied Sciences, 24943 Flensburg, GermanyThe motivations for clothing companies to implement dedicated certification schemes as sustainability practices has received limited attention in sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) research so far. Therefore, it is important to understand how different rationales for the implementation of certification schemes have developed in the past because they considerably influence the overall success of sustainability management efforts. This paper picks up on this gap and presents the results of an in-depth comparative case study drawing on interviews conducted with five managers of three companies from the clothing sector in 2018 and abductive content analysis. By applying such a qualitative approach, this study explores motivations and benefits as well as elaborates on the implementation of certification schemes in apparel supply chains. It outlines that certification in the clothing sector is driven by strategic factors, marketing considerations, and information considering sustainability aspects. The study also shows that certification schemes may strengthen the marketing and competitive position of clothing companies as well as sustainability awareness in textile and apparel supply chains in general. Finally, a framework conceptualized from the findings of the interviews presents relevant SSCM practices in the clothing industry. Therefore, the present study contributes to theory building in SSCM by confirming and extending previous research on the implementation of certification schemes for sustainability, as well as to practice by examining reasons to apply certification schemes and potential performance outcomes.https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/12/4823sustainable supply chain managementcertification schemesclothing companiestextile and apparel supply chainscase study research |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Nelly Oelze Tim Gruchmann Marcus Brandenburg |
spellingShingle |
Nelly Oelze Tim Gruchmann Marcus Brandenburg Motivating Factors for Implementing Apparel Certification Schemes—A Sustainable Supply Chain Management Perspective Sustainability sustainable supply chain management certification schemes clothing companies textile and apparel supply chains case study research |
author_facet |
Nelly Oelze Tim Gruchmann Marcus Brandenburg |
author_sort |
Nelly Oelze |
title |
Motivating Factors for Implementing Apparel Certification Schemes—A Sustainable Supply Chain Management Perspective |
title_short |
Motivating Factors for Implementing Apparel Certification Schemes—A Sustainable Supply Chain Management Perspective |
title_full |
Motivating Factors for Implementing Apparel Certification Schemes—A Sustainable Supply Chain Management Perspective |
title_fullStr |
Motivating Factors for Implementing Apparel Certification Schemes—A Sustainable Supply Chain Management Perspective |
title_full_unstemmed |
Motivating Factors for Implementing Apparel Certification Schemes—A Sustainable Supply Chain Management Perspective |
title_sort |
motivating factors for implementing apparel certification schemes—a sustainable supply chain management perspective |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Sustainability |
issn |
2071-1050 |
publishDate |
2020-06-01 |
description |
The motivations for clothing companies to implement dedicated certification schemes as sustainability practices has received limited attention in sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) research so far. Therefore, it is important to understand how different rationales for the implementation of certification schemes have developed in the past because they considerably influence the overall success of sustainability management efforts. This paper picks up on this gap and presents the results of an in-depth comparative case study drawing on interviews conducted with five managers of three companies from the clothing sector in 2018 and abductive content analysis. By applying such a qualitative approach, this study explores motivations and benefits as well as elaborates on the implementation of certification schemes in apparel supply chains. It outlines that certification in the clothing sector is driven by strategic factors, marketing considerations, and information considering sustainability aspects. The study also shows that certification schemes may strengthen the marketing and competitive position of clothing companies as well as sustainability awareness in textile and apparel supply chains in general. Finally, a framework conceptualized from the findings of the interviews presents relevant SSCM practices in the clothing industry. Therefore, the present study contributes to theory building in SSCM by confirming and extending previous research on the implementation of certification schemes for sustainability, as well as to practice by examining reasons to apply certification schemes and potential performance outcomes. |
topic |
sustainable supply chain management certification schemes clothing companies textile and apparel supply chains case study research |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/12/4823 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT nellyoelze motivatingfactorsforimplementingapparelcertificationschemesasustainablesupplychainmanagementperspective AT timgruchmann motivatingfactorsforimplementingapparelcertificationschemesasustainablesupplychainmanagementperspective AT marcusbrandenburg motivatingfactorsforimplementingapparelcertificationschemesasustainablesupplychainmanagementperspective |
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