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The paper seeks to explain the pattern of strategic responses by the US textile and apparel industries to changes in their business environment since 1979.

The study is based on a literature review and interviews with officers from leading US corporations, government agencies and trade associations. The approach examines strategic responses to environmental change. The study takes a macro perspective to permit an understanding of the forces operating at the industry level.

Shifting market requirements, intensifying international competition, powerful retailers, and rapid technological change have confronted the US textile and apparel sectors. In responding to these, companies have developed more creative, change‐seeking business cultures, and more flexible operational arrangements. However, both industries have exhibited change‐resisting characteristics in their responses. Many companies have been forced into bankruptcy. Today both industries are radically different, in terms of their strategies, business scope, technological intensity, organizational structure, and supply chain relationships.

The paper provides a generalized perspective on the broad thrusts of strategic changes across the two sectors. Further work could develop this analysis at a micro level.

The paper highlights the need for US companies to develop more change‐seeking business cultures, more flexible operational arrangements, an international orientation and a sharper business focus.

The paper provides a long‐term, systemic perspective on strategic responses to environmental change at the industry level. It has policy‐making value to practitioners and government agencies, and instructional value to teachers and students.

This study aims to quantitatively identify the impact of major economic and political factors on the US apparel imports from its 15 major trading partners between 1995 and 2006.

Ordinary‐least‐square (OLS) regression under a gravity model framework was utilized to construct the analysis. The determinants of US apparel imports were determined and their significance and direction of change over the period were quantified.

First, the growths of GDP and population both in the USA and within its trading partners have been drivers of US apparel import growth, while greater geographic distance between a trading partner and the USA significantly impedes its exports to the USA. Second, the positive impact on the US apparel imports from the supplying country's infrastructure development, literacy rate and its language commonality with the USA shows that these factors are pivotal to being a competitive US apparel supplier. Finally, preferential market access is proven to be crucial for suppliers to increase apparel exports to the USA.

In future work, the impact of these factors on disaggregated apparel categories could be investigated. Some emerging issues such as non‐tariff barriers could be exploited.

The findings reveal that the US apparel sourcing decisions are made on the basis of many different costs, not only labour cost, but also economic condition, government policy, infrastructure, transport time and cost, language/culture commonality etc.

The study provides a springboard for empirically analyzing the US apparel imports under a gravity model framework. The conclusions are drawn based on solid quantitative evidence.

This paper aims to present an exploratory investigation into ten‐year (1995‐2004) patterns of trade specialization among Eastern European and former Soviet Union Nations, assessing patterns of comparative advantage across the textile machinery, man‐made fiber, textile, and apparel sectors of the textile complex to determine whether these conform with both trade specialization and industry evolution theories.

A revealed symmetric comparative advantage index is employed to evaluate international competitiveness for 27 Eastern European and former Soviet Union Nations over a ten‐year period. Repeated measures ANOVA is used to determine the significance of the observed patterns across four income‐defined groups of nations.

Overall, the pattern of export development and RSCA generally reflects expectations regarding factor proportions theory and industry evolution models. The RMANOVA partially confirms the observations. The analysis indicates that income group does not independently affect comparative advantage; however, the nature of products is the significant factor influencing national comparative advantage.

The established models may be better at understanding those nations which have established relatively stable politic and economic environment, and been experiencing earlier stages of industry development, but appear less useful in predicting development patterns for those nations experiencing dramatic transitions from regulated to de‐regulated markets.

The patterns of national comparative advantage in a vertical textile complex are identified for Eastern European and former Soviet Union Nations. The dynamics of change over a ten‐year period following economic reforms are revealed.

This paper seeks to present a preliminary investigation into long‐term patterns of trade specialization among leading textile‐ and apparel‐exporting nations, assessing patterns of comparative advantage across the textile machinery, man‐made fiber, textile and apparel sectors of the textile complex to determine whether these conform with both trade specialization and industry evolution theories. A model of evolutionary change in intra‐complex specialization is defined and evaluated.

A revealed comparative advantage index is employed to evaluate international competitiveness for 30 nations over a 42‐year period. With repeated measures, ANOVA is used, to determine the significance of the observed patterns across five income‐defined groups of nations.

Long‐term patterns of specialization broadly reflect expectations of factor proportions theory and industry evolution models. Product and income group characteristics combine to influence comparative advantage. Higher income nations generally remain stronger in more capital‐intensive sectors, while lower income countries have emerged to dominate labor‐intensive sectors. However, inclusion of a more complex array of variables is necessary to obtain a fuller understanding of international competitiveness.

Established theory remains a useful but limited guide to understanding the dynamics of international competitiveness in the context of the changing business environment. Improved understanding of patterns of change can assist strategic planning.

By embracing a long‐term time frame, a broad array of nations, and a vertical textile complex perspective to identify shifting patterns of competitiveness, this paper highlights key dynamics in the global textile complex over the last four decades.

This paper aims to present an exploratory investigation into long‐term patterns of trade specialization among leading textile and apparel exporting nations, assessing patterns of comparative advantage across the textile machinery, man‐made fiber, textiles and apparel sectors of the textile complex to determine whether these conform with both trade specialization and industry evolution theories. A model of evolutionary change in intra complex specialization is defined and evaluated.

A revealed comparative advantage index is employed to evaluate international competitiveness for 30‐nations over a 42‐year period. Repeated measures of ANOVA are used to determine the significance of the observed patterns across five income‐defined groups of nations.

Long‐term patterns of specialization broadly reflect expectations of factor proportions theory and industry evolution models. Product and income group characteristics combine to influence comparative advantage. Higher income nations generally remain stronger in more capital‐intensive sectors, while lower income countries have emerged to dominate labor‐intensive sectors. However, inclusion of a more complex array of variables is necessary to obtain a fuller understanding of international competitiveness.

Established theory remains a useful but limited guide to understanding the dynamics of international competitiveness in the context of the changing business environment. Improved understanding of patterns of change can assist strategic planning.

By embracing a long‐term time frame, a broad array of nations, and a vertical textile complex perspective to identify shifting patterns of competitiveness, this paper highlights key dynamics in the global textile complex over the last four decades.

This paper aims to analyze the relationships between four constructs – business environment characteristics, competitive priorities, supply chain structures, and firm business performance.

By establishing a conceptual model and conducting structural equation modeling analysis using collected industrial survey data, the study provides a systemic understanding of the relationships between the individual business environment characteristics, the individual competitive priorities and supply chain structures, and the impact of alignment between these elements on firm business performance.

Results of the study reveal that the differences in both strategic and supply chain responses to business environment between high‐ and low‐performing firms in the US textile manufacturing industry are striking. The findings provide evidence to corroborate the impact of the alignment between business environment characteristics, competitive priorities, and supply chain structures on firm business performance.

A conceptual model linking business environment characteristics, competitive priorities, supply chain structures, and firm business performance is first proposed and empirically investigated. The appropriate strategic responses and supply chain structures designed to the specific business environment characteristics are quantitatively identified. The nature of these relationships and the effect of alignment are revealed.

Purpose – In this chapter we highlight the potential of critical and poststructural paradigms and associated qualitative research approaches for future research in strategy. In addition, we aim to contribute to the proliferation of applications of qualitative methodologies as well as to facilitate the diversity of qualitative inquiry approaches in the strategy field.

Methodology/Approach – Building on insights from standpoint theory, we discuss the importance and necessity of cultivating critical and poststructural paradigms in strategy. Furthermore, we review three related qualitative inquiry approaches (i.e., discourse analysis, deconstruction, and genealogy) and develop suggestions for their utilization in future strategy research on emerging market economies.

Findings – We highlight key concepts of critical and poststructural paradigms as well as of the selected approaches and provide a variety of examples relevant to strategy research to illustrate potential applications and analytic considerations.

Originality/Value of chapter – Critical and poststructural paradigms and related research methodologies are underutilized in strategy research; however, they are important contributions to paradigmatic and methodological diversity in the field generally and necessary approaches for developing our understanding of strategy phenomena in the context of emerging market economies specifically.

Competitiveness is an important personality trait that has been studied in various disciplines and has been shown to predict critical work outcomes at the individual level. Despite this, the role of competitiveness in groups and teams has received scant attention amongst organizational researchers. Aiming to promote future research on the role of competitiveness as both an adaptive and maladaptive trait – particularly in the context of work – the authors review competitiveness and its effects on individual and team stress and Well-Being, giving special attention to the processes of cohesion and conflict and situational moderators. The authors illustrate a dynamic multilevel model of individual and team difference factors, competitive processes, and individual and team outcomes to highlight competitiveness as a consequential occupational stressor. Furthermore, the authors discuss the feedback loops that inform the different factors, highlight important avenues for future research, and offer practical solutions for managers to reduce unhealthy competition.

This chapter examines key drivers of variation in adaptive capacity of project network organizations (PNOs). PNOs are defined as strategically coordinated sets of longer-term, yet project-based relationships, which provide for both stability and change in volatile project businesses. While prior research has emphasized the adaptive role of flexible structures and agency, the author focuses on the role of project variety and contextual embedding and disembedding in building adaptive capacity. Comparing two PNOs in TV movie production, the author argues that differences in adaptive capacity are a function of inter-context connectivity, that is, the level of task and team linkages among diverse project contexts, and the degree to which network ties and relational practices have “dual quality” in being valuable both within and beyond specific project contexts. Findings have important implications for project, network, and organization research.