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The purpose of this study is to explore fit problems, satisfaction and preferences of Ethiopian male consumers of ready-made garments (shirt, polo shirt, sweater and khaki and jeans trousers) and highlight the need for a domestic standard garment size chart.

Using a structured questionnaire, 405 usable responses were collected from consumers in four cities (Bahir Dar, Kombolcha, Dessie and Addis Ababa) based on convenience sampling. Moreover, the pattern-making methods of 12 domestic garment manufacturing companies were investigated. One-way analysis of variance and multivariate analysis of variance were used to examine differences in fit satisfaction with age, body size and shape. Multiple regression was used to test hypotheses.

The participants were mostly neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with the fit of the garments irrespective of their age, body size and shape. While age was found to be insignificant, apparel sizes worn and body shape were found to be significant predictors of fit type in most garments. It was also found that most of the domestic garment manufacturing companies use the knock-off method for pattern making, which results in a bad fit as the basic garment for the knock-off is constructed based on other countries’ standards.

This study investigates the fit problems and preferences of ready-made garments in the context of consumers in a developing country. Moreover, it has a contribution in considering men’s body shape in the analysis of fit preferences. The results have implications for developing domestic standard garment size charts to improve fit satisfaction.

The objective of this study is to investigate how country risk, different political actions from the government and bureaucratic behavior influence the activities in industry supply chains (SCs) in emerging markets. The main objective of this study is to investigate the influence of these external stakeholders’ elements to the demand-side and supply-side drivers and barriers for improving competitiveness of Ready-Made Garment (RMG) industry in the way of analyzing supply chain. Considering the phenomenon of recent change in the RMG business environment and the competitiveness issues this study uses the principles of stakeholder and resource dependence theory and aims to find out some factors which influence to make an efficient supply chain for improving competitiveness. The RMG industry of Bangladesh is the case application of this study. Following a positivist paradigm, this study adopts a two phase sequential mixed-method research design consisting of qualitative and quantitative approaches. A tentative research model is developed first based on extensive literature review. Qualitative field study is then carried out to fine tune the initial research model. Findings from the qualitative method are also used to develop measures and instruments for the next phase of quantitative method. A survey is carried out with sample of top and middle level executives of different garment companies of Dhaka city in Bangladesh and the collected quantitative data are analyzed by partial least square-based structural equation modeling. The findings support eight hypotheses. From the analysis the external stakeholders’ elements like bureaucratic behavior and country risk have significant influence to the barriers. From the internal stakeholders’ point of view the manufacturers’ and buyers’ drivers have significant influence on the competitiveness. Therefore, stakeholders need to take proper action to reduce the barriers and increase the drivers, as the drivers have positive influence to improve competitiveness.

This study has both theoretical and practical contributions. This study represents an important contribution to the theory by integrating two theoretical perceptions to identify factors of the RMG industry’s SC that affect the competitiveness of the RMG industry. This research study contributes to the understanding of both external and internal stakeholders of national and international perspectives in the RMG (textile and clothing) business. It combines the insights of stakeholder and resource dependence theories along with the concept of the SC in improving effectiveness. In a practical sense, this study certainly contributes to the Bangladeshi RMG industry. In accordance with the desire of the RMG manufacturers, the research has shown that some influential constructs of the RMG industry’s SC affect the competitiveness of the RMG industry. The outcome of the study is useful for various stakeholders of the Bangladeshi RMG industry sector ranging from the government to various private organizations. The applications of this study are extendable through further adaptation in other industries and various geographic contexts.

This study investigates the effectiveness of trade unions in preserving and promoting the rights of the worker, and being their voice in ensuring safe working conditions as part of the firms’ CSR activities.

Data were collected from employees, managers, and owners of ready-made garments firms in Bangladesh. An open-ended survey instrument was used and distributed widely. Analysis of the 200 responses was undertaken using the qualitative narrative technique.

The findings show that, unlike traditional labor-management relations, in Bangladesh managers tend to have a more favorable attitude towards unions than employees do. The strong political links between the factory owners and the unions’ leadership raise questions about whose interest the unions represent.

The authors highlight how adopting a CSR agenda can help unions make better representations on behalf of their members. This, in turn, can enhance the workforce’s efficiency and help strengthen the sector to develop processes to help face disruptions like those experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The study is unique in addressing the role of unions in promoting CSR activities in emerging economies, where the formal institutional application remains limited. The study’s findings can help explain some of the sector’s challenges.

The primary aim of this paper is to evaluate the challenges before the growth of the ready-made garment (RMG) industry in Bangladesh, the economy's backbone, and suggest appropriate reform.

The paper begins by tracing the growth and evolution of the RMG industry before identifying the challenges. It then proceeds to suggest appropriate reform for the same.

The paper argues for more effective models of collective bargaining and unionism as a solution to the problems that the industry faces.

The paper is the first of its kind in the sense that it is a comprehensive account of the challenges to the RMG industry in Bangladesh.

The present study aims to investigate the effects of sector 4.0 technologies, particularly Financial Technology (Fintech), on Sustainable Business Success (SBS) within the Indian garment sector. It aims to analyse the impact of Fintech Integration (IF) and Extent of Financial Knowledge (EFK) on sustainability performance, with a focus on understanding the mediating effect of Financial Accessibility (FA) in this relationship.

The study utilizes covariance-based structural equation modelling (CB-SEM) to analyse data collected from 683 enterprises in the Indian garment sector. The theoretical frameworks of Ecological Modernization Theory (EMT) and the Resource-Based View are employed to guide the research.

The investigation reveals that Fintech Integration (IF) and environmental friendliness knowledge significantly impact the promotion and maintenance of sustainability within the Indian garment sector. Moreover, the study highlights the moderating influence of financial Accessibility (FA) on the associations among fintech integration, Extent of Financial Knowledge, and sustainability attainment. Furthermore, sensitivity studies demonstrate that improved financial access positively affects a firm’s sustainability performance.

This study contributes to the existing literature by addressing significant knowledge gaps and offering practical insights for managers and policymakers in the Ready-Made Garments (RMG) industry. It provides a comprehensive approach that integrates fintech and financial expertise to enhance credit accessibility and foster long-term viability for enterprises within the Indian garment sector. The originality lies in its holistic perspective, combining technological integration with the Extent of Financial Knowledge to drive sustainability in a specific industrial context, thus providing valuable guidance for industry stakeholders.

This research aims to investigate how manufacturing flexibility can address the challenges of an ever-changing and unpredictable business environment in Bangladesh’s labor-intensive ready-made garment (RMG) industry, which is underserved and situated in a developing country.

Using Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling, this study empirically evaluated the relationships between manufacturing flexibility, environmental uncertainty and firm performance. The analysis utilized 320 survey responses from potential RMG experts, representing 95 organizations.

The study achieved a decision-making model for implementing manufacturing flexibility in the RMG industry of Bangladesh with acceptable model fit criterion. The research pinpointed that workforce flexibility plays the maximum mediating among different types of manufacturing in coping with demand and supply uncertainty in the RMG sector.

The study made valuable contributions to theoretical and practical knowledge in the context of manufacturing flexibility in Bangladesh’s RMG and other underserved labor-intensive sectors in developing economies. It suggests that managers should shift from defensive and risky business strategies to more aggressive and proactive approaches by utilizing workforce flexibility resources adaptively to enhance manufacturing capabilities and align with dynamic market demand. Additionally, the study offers recommendations for future research to build upon its findings.

This study is unique in its approach because it presents a decision model for implementing manufacturing flexibility in a labor-intensive industry in a developing economy, specifically the RMG industry in Bangladesh, whereas previous research has primarily focused on high-tech industries in developed economies.

Since Industry 4.0 (I4.0) is a new idea in Bangladesh, this study supports I4.0 adoption. Companies struggle to implement I4.0 and fully profit from the fourth industrial revolution’s digital transformation due to its novelty. Although barriers to I4.0 adoption are thoroughly studied, the literature has hardly examined the many aspects that are crucial for I4.0 adoption in Bangladesh’s Ready-Made Garment (RMG) industry. So, the purpose of this study is to investigate the barriers of adopting I4.0 in relation to Bangladesh’s RMG industries to enhance the adoption of I4.0 by developing a framework. Ultimately, the goal of this research is to improve the adoption of I4.0 in Bangladesh.

Through a comprehensive analysis of the existing research, this paper aims to reveal the barriers that must be overcome for I4.0 to be adopted. For evaluating those barriers, a decision analysis framework based on the combination of Delphi technique and Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method has been developed. The use of DEMATEL has led to a ranking model of those barriers and a map of how the barriers are connected to each other.

The findings reveal that “I4.0 training”, “Lack of Motivation” and “Resistance to Change” are the most significant barriers for adopting Industry 4.0 in RMG sector of Bangladesh based on their prominence scores.

These findings will help the people who make decisions in the RMG industry of Bangladesh, such as company owners, managers and the executive body, come up with a plan for putting I4.0 practices into place successfully. The decision-making framework developed in this research can be utilized by the RMG industry of Bangladesh and other similar industries in developing countries to figure out how important each barrier is for them and how to get rid of them in order of importance.

As far as the authors are aware, there has not been a comprehensive study of the barriers inhibiting the adoption of I4.0 within the scope of Bangladeshi RMG industry. This work is the first to uncover these barriers and analyze them using the combination of Delphi technique and DEMATEL.

Stakeholders such as customers, governments and environmental organisations are more concerned than ever about the impact of supply chain practices on the environment, leading firms to introduce environmental requirements into their supply contracts. While the extant literature on supply chains acknowledges this trend, it fails to inform comprehensively on the concept of “stringent environmental requirement” and its consequences. The purpose of this paper is to investigate this concept and explore how such requirements may translate into supplier environmental performance.

Qualitative methodology was adopted by the study and data were collected through conducting eight case studies in the Bangladesh ready-made garment (RMG) industry.

A number of factors were found to be influencing suppliers’ perception of stringency, such as uncertainty relating to the newness and deadline of buyers’ environmental requirements, the complexity of implementing the requirements, and the use of buyer-specific frameworks. The research also shows that suppliers’ efforts in building environmental capability play a vital role in dealing with stringent environmental requirements.

The case studies are limited to the Bangladesh RMG industry. Given that environmental regulations vary across different countries and industries, the data may not reflect all the possible variations in stringent environmental requirements.

The new insight proposed by this research can guide firms to further understand how supplier environmental performance and the sustainability of their supply chain can be achieved. The research provides broad insight into how suppliers can address stringent environmental requirements and improve their environmental performance.

This research establishes evidence for the relatively new phenomenon of “stringent environmental requirements”, and develops a theoretical framework to demonstrate the relationships among the critical determinants relevant to this phenomenon.

Despite considerable research and constant pressure from global media, exploitation has been a persistent problem in the Bangladeshi ready-made garment (RMG) supply chain. Yet, the root causes of how and why exploitation still persists remain unexplored. This paper explores the reasons underlying the existence of exploitation in the RMG supply chain of Bangladesh using the theoretical lens of responsible capitalism.

Drawing on 98 interviews conducted at multiple levels of the RMG supply chain ecosystem, site visits, observation and archives, the authors unpack the underlying reasons for the existence of exploitation in Bangladeshi RMG supply chain.

Using the theoretical lens of responsible capitalism, the findings suggest the existence of exploitation as a multifaceted yet nuanced phenomenon that is a result of complex power dynamics, interdependency and interconnectedness of players at multiple levels of the supply chain. The authors extend responsible capitalism theory by adding local context as a key determinant for the RMG supply chain to be responsive, effective and sustainable. The authors further argue the need for a new business model in global supply chain that calls for a fundamental shift of businesses towards responsible capitalism via transformative actions at multiple levels for balancing power in relationships, generate profit with ethical integrity and take responsibility of the consequences of their actions.

The authors use a contextualized case study of the RMG supply chain in Bangladesh using a critical realist approach. Although the use of contextualized case study has enabled better understanding of causal relationships between management practices and exploitation in the local context of Bangladesh, a quantitative approach to establish causality between different factors could be the focus of future research. The findings are specific to the context of Bangladeshi RMG supply chain and may have limited generalizability in other contexts. Further studies may build upon the findings to explore exploitation in RMG supply chain of other sectors and countries in the region and compare the findings to develop comprehensive understanding about the root causes of exploitation.

The findings call for a fundamental shift of business towards responsible capitalism via transformative actions of multiple players across different levels of the supply chains with managerial implications.

By drawing on empirical research, the authors provide a holistic perspective of responsible capitalism that is influenced by interactions and interconnectedness of players in multiple levels of the supply chain. The authors expand the responsible capitalism theory by adding local context as a key determinant that need to be considered for supply chains to be responsive, effective and sustainable.