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The fashion sector is complex. It involves multiple actors with distinct and potentially conflicting interests, forming a value ecosystem. Thus, knowing the interested parties and belonging to the fashion sector may be a means to promote technological innovation, such as products with wearables. The purpose of this paper to identify the participants of the fashion ecosystem from the perspective of wearable technologies and develop a conceptual model.

The present work aims to identify the participants (actors) and develop a conceptual model of the fashion ecosystem from the perspective of wearable technologies. The systematic literature review is the recommended method to qualitatively analyze documents and identify the interested parties (actors) in the fashion sector in order to design the proposed conceptual model.

From the studies, the conceptual model of the fashion value ecosystem was designed, and the wearable product was considered its core business. The studies identified addressed ecosystems of fashion value in general but not specific to wearable products and their relations with other complementary industries.

The model was designed using secondary data only. Its validation is relevant through interviews with experts.

In terms of relevance, when conducting a systematic literature review, there were no studies that included wearable technologies in the fashion ecosystems discussed and their relations with other industries. The topic of wearables is an emerging subject that needs further research aiming to insert this technology in productive sectors.

Innovation ecosystems consist of independent and yet interdependent enterprises and actors. This constitutes a challenge for innovation leadership to set the direction to pursue UN SDGs. Enhanced insights and understandings of how collaborative innovation leadership can be conducted in practice are revealed in two cases conducted using a participatory action research approach. Hereby theory and practice are linked by the ecosystem participant actions to reach competitiveness of the offshore wind energy ecosystem compared to traditional/other renewable energy sources pursuing UN SDG number 7 of ‘affordable and clean energy’. The two cases are situated in ports in offshore wind energy innovation ecosystems, respectively in the Baltic Sea and in the North Sea. The first case contains complementary ecosystem participants with both leadership and expert positions. The second case contains both complementary and competitive ecosystem participants with leadership positions. The findings note that both cases can use collaborative innovation leadership through the point of origin in the guiding star of the value proposition at ecosystem level to go beyond their own enterprise self-interest. Next, collaborative innovation leadership is based in heterogeneities of both knowledge domains and individual and organisational behaviours for the innovative imagination of future needed initiatives for collaborative design-based sensemaking. A short-term challenge is present from reduced revenue in own enterprise from future needed initiatives. This short-term impact needs to be addressed for enhanced long-term robustness. The findings are summarised in a model for dissemination of collaborative innovation leadership in ecosystems to pursue UN SDGs in practice.

The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical evidence of open innovation mechanism specific to aesthetic innovation. Prior research have drawn its research attention to technological innovation and focussed on the biopharmaceutical and technological sectors as the main research contexts. Thus, to gain a wider picture of the structural characteristics of innovation ecosystem, this paper aims to complement the existing technological-centred literature and provides understanding of aesthetic innovation by focussing on exploring the role of actors and intermediaries in either facilitating or inhibiting innovation in the creative sector.

This is an exploratory study and the qualitative method was employed. With aim to explore aesthetic innovation in the creative sector, this research grounded its context in the UK designer fashion sector, which is part of the creative industries. Data were collected through a series of semi-structured interviews with respondents being purposely selected so as to ensure representativeness. A wider range of participants within the designer fashion sector was covered. Such multiple-sourced data collection approach allowed this research to triangulate data so that research trustworthiness was enhanced.

The result suggests the role of a broker in beyond traditionally facilitating knowledge exchange. This paper provides empirical evidence regarding the critical role of a broker in shaping the open innovation mechanism when it comes to aesthetic innovation. A broker in fact occupies a strategic position that allows it to negotiate relationships among the connected organisations and thus to govern the interaction mechanism of the innovation ecosystem as a whole. Given the empowered broker in such setting, the relationship between innovation creators and innovation seekers is controlled by a broker, which leads to risk that an innovation creator may not fully appropriate the value that it creates.

The main limitation of this study is its specific context, that is, the UK designer fashion industry. Such focus limits the scope of generalisation particularly its application to the entire creative sector. Thus, it is suggested that future research may consider to explore other creative industries so that the understanding of the open innovation mechanism from a structural perspective applied to aesthetic innovation can be enhanced.

This paper outlines the structural mechanism of open innovation applied to aesthetic innovation. The result contributes to the literature by complementing the findings derived from technology-centred research. Also, empirical evidence of this study is particularly of value to policy makers in the aspect of creative sector development. The suggested implications provide strategies of innovation ecosystem that could benefit individual actors involved in this open innovation setting and ensure prosper of the sector as a whole.

System change for the circular economy (CE) in the society requires innovative thinking in refining existing material into new resources and collaboration with different actors. We introduce examples of decomposers with different roles in a circular ecosystem. Examples from reusers of waste material, users of recycled materials, designers of new technologies, and facilitators of CE networks are introduced to illustrate how companies contribute to a circular ecosystem in the clothing and textiles industry. Moreover, we illustrate the networked nature of supply chains of circular materials.

Communication about sustainability in fashion is complex. While fashion businesses have increasingly sought to manage their sustainability practices, their understanding of how to communicate about sustainability persuasively remains limited. The authors argue that a key problem with a firm’s efforts in communicating about sustainability is that it is a psychologically distant issue for both businesses and stakeholders. This paper aims to apply construal level theory to explore managers’ construal level in shaping communication about sustainability.

The paper used a two-phase qualitative methodology. Phase one involved undertaking interviews with ten managers in fashion firms to address communications about sustainability in the UK. In phase two, 16 consumers interpreted and reflected on the persuasiveness of communications about sustainability encompassing both concrete and abstract forms of messaging.

The authors identify the factors driving different approaches to communication (concrete and abstract) depending on the construal levels of managers, managers’ perceptions of the construal level of target stakeholders and the perceived authenticity of the sustainability claim. The paper highlights the conditions under which the (mis)match with the brands’ sustainable practices works in crafting communication. The authors also highlight three main communication strategies in responding to the complexity of sustainability in fashion ecosystems: amplification, quiet activist and populist coupling.

As an in-depth qualitative study, the authors seek to expose an under-researched phenomenon, yet generalisations both within the fashion industry and beyond are limited by this focus.

Fashion managers need to be flexible and evaluate how their communications about sustainability affect stakeholders’ evaluations of their brands. As sustainability in fashion brands grows, concrete and specific sustainability messaging may be necessary to improve sustainable behaviours.

The prevailing literature encourages symbiosis between sustainability practices and communications; such relationships are rare, and studies outside the consumer perspective are also rare. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this exploratory study is the first to understand how managers’ construal level influences decisions around communications about sustainability in fashion and how these messages are perceived by consumers.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the factors that make Beirut a fashion hub by studying the characteristics of creativity and the role of the different stakeholders in setting an environment that encourages creativity in Beirut.

The methodology of this research is based on a literature review and information collected through semi-structured interviews with the different stakeholders of the sector.

The research reveals three results. First, this dynamic fashion design in Beirut is explained by the international success of some Lebanese fashion designers. Second, as there is an absence of any form of governmental intervention, the development of the sector is totally based on private business initiatives. Third, the research demonstrates the importance of the local culture, knowledge exchanges and lifestyle in shaping creativity and designers’ careers in Beirut.

These findings contribute to the clarification and critical analysis of the current state of fashion design in Beirut, which would have several policy implications.

Digital 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.

An 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.

The 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.

The 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.

Appropriate 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.

The 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.

This study aims to examine the applicability of Hartmann et al.’s (2018) service ecosystem framework to the day-to-day management of the modern sales force. The authors provide a review of the framework, acknowledging its strengths, while also indicating areas for advancement. The authors conclude with recommendations to the framework and indicate opportunities where future research could advance sales theory.

A review of the theoretical underpinnings of the service ecosystem framework is weighed against the established roles and responsibilities of the modern sales force in the literature.

The ability of the framework to capture the multi-level, multi-actor and dynamic aspects of sales represents an improvement in the conceptualization of selling is critical. Suggestions around the refinement for meso-level sales interactions and a more pliant application of service dominant-logic are offered.

The suggested extensions of the framework continue the advancement of novel theorization for the field of sales. Priorities for future research include consideration of ethical implications of the framework and formulations of new management strategies reflective of the broad and dynamic properties of the ecosystem conceptualization.

This paper provides managerial guidelines and implications tied specifically to the thick and thin crossing points and how they may impact employee decision-making.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to pointedly examine the service ecosystem framework with respect to established principles of managing a modern sales force.