Browsing by Author "Dr. Peter Kilduff, Committee Member"

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An Analysis of Sub-Saharan Africa's Textile and Apparel Industries.
(2002-04-25) McRee, Aaron N.; Dr. Nancy L. Cassill, Committee Chair; Dr. Peter Kilduff, Committee Member; Dr. Clifford Griffin, Committee Member
A study was undertaken to determine the competitive nature of the sub-Saharan African countries specifically: South Africa, Mauritius, Kenya, Lesotho, and Madagascar. These countries' textile and apparel industries were examined with Michael Porter's Competitive Advantage of Nations theory model (1990) to assess the level of competitiveness. Using the Porter model along with an index adapted from Hunger and Wheelen's industry matrix (2001), it was determined that South Africa and Mauritius possess a certain level of competitiveness in their respective textile and apparel industries. To date, Kenya, Lesotho, and Madagascar have little or no competitiveness in their textile and apparel industries.
An Analysis of the Disruptions in the U.S Apparel Manufacturing Industry and Identification of Continuity Planning Strategies
(2003-09-02) Gupta, Deepak Kumer; Dr. Peter Kilduff, Committee Member; Dr. Nancy Cassill, Committee Co-Chair; Dr. George Hodge, Committee Co-Chair
The purpose of this research is to conduct an exploratory analysis of the disruptions in the United States apparel manufacturing industry. The specific research objective is to identify and determine the nature of disruptions and the continuity strategies in the US apparel manufacturing industry. The research was conducted in two phases. The Phase I research gathered quantitative data using a three page survey questionnaire developed by the researcher. The questionnaire was structured by a designated set of questions that were separated in relation to the disruptions and business continuity planning. The questions were structured to obtain an understanding of the types of business disruptions and the business continuity planning in the US apparel industry. The Phase II research gathered qualitative data from 10-K SEC filings of ten randomly selected US apparel companies. Data was gathered on the risk of disruptions and the response strategies used by companies to handle those risks. Companies were selected based on convenience sampling, as this study explores the current status of continuity planning in the industry to form the basis of future research. The risk of disruption to companies in apparel industry is significant due to the international nature of the business, large supply base, and the ever changing trade and customs regulations. The movement of the United States apparel manufacturing industry to low wage countries, increased use of independent and contract manufacturers and the trend towards full-package sourcing have increased the industry risk exposure. The business continuity planning culture is not well developed in the industry. Most companies studied have not completed their risk assessment and business impact analysis. The budget is not usually allocated for the development and implementation of continuity plans, and no training programs for employees were identified to effectively handle a disruption. Results will benefit industry personnel by providing insights into today's dynamic apparel manufacturing environment as well as identifying key disruptions. Future research studies relating to this topic were identified.
Assessing the value of agent certification in global sourcing: An exploratory study in apparel sourcing
(2002-10-22) Garg, Ashwajeet; Dr. Michelle Jones, Committee Chair; Dr. Peter Kilduff, Committee Member; Dr. George Rouskas, Committee Member
The purpose of this research has been to explore the role of agent certification in the process of global sourcing. While some research has been done in the area of exporter-intermediary relationship, little has been done to study the importance of buyer-agent relationship and how the process of agent certification could strengthen that relationship. Global sourcing has played a vital role in the existence of textile and apparel industries across the world. With the increased advancement of developing countries and the numerous advantages that these countries possess, developed countries, such as the United States and countries in the European sub-continent, rely heavily on global sourcing to remain competitive in the global marketplace. Due to numerous barriers to global sourcing such as language barriers and inability to check sources, companies have found it useful to source through agents. These agents act as the facilitators between the sources and the buyers. With the advent of Internet and e-commerce, online sourcing has come into picture. Although the transparency in terms of sources and buyers on the web and their processes has increased and organizations are thinking of certifying sources, the role of agents' sill exists. A total of 30 agents and apparel-manufacturing buyers were interviewed to assess the feasibility and role of agent certification in the global sourcing process. While the specific items to be certified were not confirmed, both types of subjects agreed that agent certification would assist in the transactions in the buyer-agent relationship. It was found that small and medium-sized buyers would find agent certification more useful than large-sized buyers because of small-size buyers' limited resources and potential to find trusted agents.