With the digitalization of production and consumption environments, consumers are no longer merely targets of marketing, but key players in creating value jointly with companies by participating in various decision-making processes. Much virtual content in particular, such as fashion shows, exhibitions, games, social activities, and shopping, which fashion brands implement in virtual worlds, cannot be completed without consumers’ active engagement and interaction. Thus, this study considers consumers’ participation in virtual content provided by fashion brands as value co-creation in virtual worlds. This study aims to examine how consumer (i.e., consumer smartness) and fashion firm (i.e., perceived intellectual capital) factors influence value co-creation behavior intention in virtual worlds. Data were collected from 410 consumers in their 20s nationwide through an online survey, and a higher-order structural equation modeling analysis was conducted to test the research model. The results showed that both consumer smartness and perceived intellectual capital positively influenced customer participation behavior and citizenship behavior intentions. Specifically, perceived intellectual capital had a greater impact on value co-creation behavior in the virtual world than consumer smartness. The findings provide empirical evidence that the fashion firms’ intangible assets and consumers’ competence in the digital shopping environment encourage their intentions to co-create value in virtual worlds.

본 연구에서는 온라인 패션시장에서 소호 패션쇼핑몰의 성공적 창업의 성장 과정을 알아보기 위해 현재 성공적으 로 운영되고 있는 4개 소호 패션쇼핑몰을 대상으로 기업가 과정을 창업기회포착, 사업모델, 위기관리 및 사업성과 등 3개 단계로 구분하여 분석하였다. 사례연구의 결과는 다음과 같다. S사는 짧은 경력의 창업자가 패션감각과 기업 가정신으로 전자상거래를 창업한, 가격경쟁력과 디자인력, 다양한 상품구색을 갖춘 캐주얼 쇼핑몰로 데이터 관리/분 석, 유통채널 다각화를 통해 성장한 사례이다. B사는 짧은 경력의 창업자가 SNS 네트워크 역량과 기업가정신으로제조업/전자상거래를 창업한, 아이템 경쟁력과 스타트업 특성을 갖춘 컨템포러리 쇼핑몰로 브랜드 정체성 확립, 시장 확장을 통해 성장한 사례이다. M사와 C사는 보다 긴 경력의 창업자가 브랜드 인지도가 있는 소호 패션쇼핑몰 사례 이다. M사는 풍부한 경력과 디자인 정신의 창업자가 감성적/감각적 패션디자이너 브랜드를 창업하여 기업 지평을 넓히는 다양한 활동을 통해 성장하였고, C사는 디자인 역량과 기업가정신의 창업자가 감성 표현에 집중한 럭셔리 패션브랜드를 창업하여 적극적인 고객관리를 통한 브랜드인지도 및 매출 확보 등을 통해 성장한 사례이다. 본 연구 결과는 소호쇼핑몰 예비창업자나 창업과정의 교육 및 연구에서 기초자료로 활용될 수 있다.

With the growing importance of ESG as a must-have business strategy, this study attempted to analyze the current state of ESG practices in the Korean fashion businesses. The ESG cases of fashion business were collected from news articles searched on the largest Korean internet portal by November 2021 from October 2020 when the number of articles began to increase meaningfully. Three hundred ninety one ESG cases of 112 fashion manufacturing brands and 332 ESG cases of 49 retail brands were analyzed. Casual and outdoor/sportswear brands among fashion manufacturers were most active in ESG practices, and various online and offline retailers were practicing ESG. Approximately one-third of the fashion brands were positioned as eco-friendly concept. While environmental practices were the most practiced ESG, governance was the least practiced. Among environmental practices, fashion manufacturing businesses were most active in eco-friendly product development, while retail businesses were in eco-friendly campaign-event-service and eco-friendly packaging. The most active social practice was the contribution to communities, followed by retail businesses’ sharing growth with partner businesses. Governance practices were focused on the structure and operation of the board. Various ESG collaborations with various partners were also observed. The research result is meaningful verifying and diagnosing the ESG practices of the Korean fashion businesses.

The purpose of the present study was to generate a list of business ethics components according to business area for small and medium-sized fashion companies. Based on the literature review, 21 components of business ethics components were identified within five business areas. Ten CEOs(Chief Executive Officers) each participated in an in-depth interview, sharing ethical and unethical cases from their own businesses. Constant comparative analysis was used to generate important business ethics components from those cases. In results, important business ethics components for each business area are: 1) using human-friendly materials, strengthening sustainable technologies, using vegan materials, concerning safe process, and reducing waste in the material production and sourcing area, 2) enhancing an efficiency in design, developing recycle/reuse designs, avoiding to copy designs, and using messages for public interest in the product design area, 3) concerning fair-trade, reducing harmful substance, saving energy, and using ethical supply channels in the distribution and logistics area, 4) acquiring certifications, promoting consumer protection, avoiding exaggerative/false advertisements, and promoting social contributions in the management and marketing area, and 5) promoting workers’ rights, complying with the law, and investing on employee educations in the labor management area. All of the ethical and unethical cases of the ten companies have involved aspects of the 21 components, thereby enhancing understandings on how each issue is being seriously considered and/or handled in the small and medium-sized fashion companies. Study findings may provide a basis for development of a research model for quantitative studies and/or educational programs related to business ethics in the fashion industry.

본 연구는 기업이 보유한 브랜드 강화역량, 최고경영자 역량, 글로벌 학습역량이 수출규모에 어떤 영향을 미치 는지를 한국패션의류기업들을 대상으로 분석하고 있다. 2007년부터 2014년까지 한국 패션기업들의 기업-연도 패널 데이터를 대상으로 연구한 결과, 브랜드 강화 역량 측면에서 디자인특허 역량이 높고 해외 제품상 수상 경 험이 있으면 기업의 수출규모가 높게 나타났다. 또한 최고경영자 역량 측면에서 최고경영자가 패션관련 전공자이 거나, 해외경험이 있는 경우 수출규모가 높게 나타났고, 글로벌 학습역량 측면에서 해외 제휴 수가 많은 경우 수 출규모가 높게 나타났다. 본 연구는 패션의류산업의 산업적 특성을 고려하여 성공적인 수출규모증대 전략을 도출 하기 위해 필요한 기업 내부역량을 중점으로 의미 있는 이론적, 실무적 시사점을 제시하고 있다.

Most Korean companies in the fashion industry are SMEs, and the role of the CEO and management ownership is important for enhancing the firm’s competence and developing strategies. The study aims to examine the effect of management ownership on company financial growth. In particular, the study focuses on the moderating effect of company age and size on Korean fashion SMEs’ financial outcomes. Financial data based on company financial statements from 2012 to 2014 was collected by the Data Analysis, Retrieval and Transfer System of Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service. A total of 295 companies’ (domestic fashion businesses) data was analyzed by the bootstrap method. The median sales value in the financial year 2014 was 47,492,403,958 KRW, and the company size was divided by it. The companies were in business for an average of 20 years. According to the results, the management ownership had a negative effect on Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) for the three-years, and the relationship between the two variables was moderated by company age. Additionally, the interaction effect of management ownership and company age on 3-CAGR was also moderated by company size. When the companies had spent only a few years in business, a negative effect of management ownership for small firms and a positive effect of management ownership on financial growth for medium firms were found. These results suggest that small companies starting business need to manage their company governance structure to make flexible decisions, and after retaining financial growth, the companies can expand their businesses based on strong ownership.

This study analyzed the effects of organizational culture on psychological empowerment and organization efficiency, and the effects of psychological empowerment on organization efficiency in fashion companies. In addition, this study analyzed the differences between organizational culture, psychological empowerment and organization efficiency across demographic characteristics. The survey was conducted among employees of fashion companies, and 320 responses were used in the data analysis. As a result, the group culture and innovative culture in fashion companies positively influenced the competence and meaning of psychological empowerment. An innovative culture and rational culture positively influenced the self-determination, and the group culture and rational culture positively influenced the impact of psychological empowerment. The group culture, innovative culture, and rational culture of fashion companies positively influenced job satisfaction, and the group culture, innovative culture, and hierarchical culture positively influenced job commitment. The group culture and innovative culture negatively influenced the turnover intention, but the hierarchical culture positively influenced the turnover intention. In addition, the psychological empowerment (competence, self-determination, impact, and meaning) positively influenced job satisfaction, and the competence, self-determination, and impact positively influenced job commitment. Competence negatively influenced the turnover intention, but the impact positively influenced the turnover intention. There was a difference in the group culture and turnover intention by ages, as well as a difference in the hierarchical culture and self-determination by work departments. The results of this study will be helpful for the establishment of the management and business strategies in fashion companies.

Logistics had only been perceived as a supporting means or auxiliary of corporate activity, but is now surfacing as a priority sector for competitiveness in the infinite competition of the global market. This study looks into the current status of logistics and sets forth the improvement tasks by analyzing the problems of the returned goods logistics. In order to improve the manual process of returned goods, the POS system (point-of-sales system) was implemented and DAS (Digital Assorting System) and SORTER System were synchronized for utilization, which cut the prime cost of the once expensive returned goods logistics, and analyzed the efficiency of establishing automated logistics system for efficiency of returned goods logistics in the aspects of one-stop BPR (Business Process Re-engineering).

The purpose of this study is to assess whether the emotional leadership of the CEO of a fashion company has a significant influence on corporate performance. In this study, a survey was conducten on employees of fashion companies from August 1 to 30, 2015, and 350 copies of questionnaires were collected and used for analysis. Factor analysis, reliability analysis, and regression analysis were employed to analyze the data using SPSS software (ver. 21.0). According to the study results, if a fashion company CEO has higher emotional leadership, it leads to an increase in the job satisfaction and performance of the staff members, and an improvement in new product performance thanks to more investment and development and an expanded R&D staff. Additionally, the higher emotional leadership of the CEO contributes to an increase in operating profits, sales, and market share. Therefore, the importance of organizational culture was confirmed by its regulation effect on the emotional leadership and management performance of a fashion company. According to the results of this study, the emotional leadership of a CEO plays an important role in improving the performance of a fashion company, and future studies are needed to identify how to enhance the corporate performance of a fashion company from various perspectives.

The social responsibility of fashion companies has become a crucial factor considering company image and awareness. Businesses have thus increased their CSR activities. However, few studies have shown clear and consistent results regarding the effectiveness of CSR activities. Therefore, this study focuses on the evaluation of the direct effect of CSR on trust and corporate reputation including its moderation by consumer's perceived fit and motivation. A total of 284 completed questionnaires were obtained from adult consumers in the fashion market with promotional leaflets for CSR activities as stimuli. The results were as follows. First, the dimensions for CSR activities were categorized as follows: Social welfare responsibility, environment protection, economic responsibility, social regulation compliance, customer protection, and culture and arts support. Further social regulation compliance, and economic and social welfare responsibilities positively affected corporate trust and reputation. Second, the main effect of perceived CSR activities and fit on corporate trust and reputation was significant, and the interaction effects of the social welfare, environment protection, and culture and arts support of CSR activities and fit were significant. Finally, the interaction effect of perceived CSR activities and motivation on corporate trust and reputation was not significant, but the main effect was significant. Implications of how to manage and enhance the effectiveness of CSR activities are offered.

Corporate association—which refers to consumers’ beliefs, knowledge, perceptions, and evaluations of a corporation—can affect consumers’ purchasing intentions. Corporate association consists of corporate ability association and corporate social responsibility association. Corporate ability association refers to a company’s product quality, corporate innovation, productivity, consumer orientation, and after service. Corporate social responsibility association, which refers to the social perspective a company has of its responsibility to society, can affect corporate image and consumers’ purchasing intentions. Eco-labeling for protecting and sustaining the environment is one of the important green marketing strategies in the fashion business that can influence corporate association and consumers’ purchasing intentions. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of consumers’ eco-label recognition on their corporate association and intentions to purchase eco-friendly fashion products. Questionnaires were distributed to consumers. The 263 usable questionnaires that were returned were analyzed by descriptive statistics, Cronbach’s alpha, factor analysis, regression analysis, and t-test. The results were as follows: There was a significant effect of eco-label recognition on corporate association (ability association and social responsibility association). Eco-label recognition and corporate association were found to significantly affect consumers’ purchasing intentions. Regarding the eco-friendly fashion product buying experience, there was no significant difference on corporate association and buying intention, but there was significant difference on eco-label recognition.

The purpose of this study is to identify the key decision-making variables that lead fashion company employees to participate in the fashion education programs offered by university lifelong education centers. This study also examined the education satisfaction level and preferred education method and evaluated a university lifelong education program by surveying a fashion company employees who completed a fashion education program. As decision making variables, this study included participation purposes, obstacles, and evaluation criteria. While questionnaires were used to identify the decision making variables, education satisfaction level, and preferred education method, focus group interviews were used to evaluate the university lifelong education program. The findings showed that the respondents enrolled in the program mostly because of personal motivations and considered the workload and time limitation as participating obstacles. They considered educational content as the most important evaluation criteria for participating in the program and were highly satisfied with the program they completed. This study suggests how university lifelong education centers may structure their fashion education programs to better appeal to the employees of fashion companies.

Nowadays, business environment changes with higher consumer demands for corporate social responsibility than before. However, many fashion companies are unaware of such a wave of changing business environment. And they are not so much interested in making any investment or policy for CSR activities. Besides, despite changing environment and consumer demands, there are very few studies dealing with this matter. Thus, this study aimed to find out the proper types of CSR activities for fashion companies. In addition, it also intended to determine potential effects of CSR activities on consumer attitudes and purchase behaviors. The findings are as follows. First, it is found that there are differences in consumers' perceived suitability depending on types of CSR activities of fashion company. Secondly, it is found that the suitability of CSR activities of fashion companies has positive effects on consumer attitudes to fashion companies. Thirdly, the more favorable consumer attitudes to fashion companies owing to their CSR activities are correlated with the higher consumer satisfaction. Fourthly, the more favorable consumer attitudes to fashion companies are also correlated with the higher consumer intention for purchase. Hence, it is required that fashion companies recognize the importance of their CSR activities, and also plan and implement appropriate CSR activities for consumers.