New Look

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COULD

SUSTAINABILITY

BE MORE

THAN

A FLEETING

TREND?

New Look

A Little Inspiration- Recycled Newspaper Dress by Gary Harvey

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Responsible

Fashion

Could sustainability be more

than a fleeting trend?

Abstract

It could very well be that sustainable development is one of the most challenging policy concepts ever developed. The core object would be to provide everyone, everywhere and at any time with the opportunity to lead a high quality life. Therefore, sustainability is also making its breakthrough in the fashion industry. This study investigates whether the concept of sustainability could be more than just a fleeting trend in the fashion market. Especially the social dimension is taken into account for examining consumer behavior towards sustainable fashion. The results propose that the interest in sustainable fashion is already present among consumers, however social influence seems not of importance for this concept. The findings in this study aid in improved marketing mix strategies for making sustainability durable in the fashion industry.

University of Groningen

Faculty of Economics and Business Department of Marketing

Master thesis: The social dimension of sustainability

Supervisor: Dr. W. Jager 1 July 2013

Michelle van Maris s1867172

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Management Summary

Ever since Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland (1987) and her United Nations commission, created almost worldwide political consensus on the urgent need for sustainability, many countries and institutions started to wrestle with this concept. The development of sustainable lifestyles is widely considered as the solution to global problems as environmental pollution, climate change, or poverty. Therefore, sustainability is also making its breakthrough in the fashion industry. Since recently, eco-fashion has left behinds its dowdy image, and the enthusiasm for sustainable products among both designers and consumers may indicate that socially responsible fashion could become the next big thing in the fashion industry.

However, while the concepts of fashion and concern for the global community have been co-existing for quite some time already, no recent research has investigated what the fashion mechanism precisely consists of and how big the issue of sustainability is in the fashion market.

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Preface

By 2050, the earth will probably count ten billion people. According to predictions there will not be enough resources for everyone to live a good life. Deforestation, carbon emissions, and waste due to ever-increasing consumerism will keep on reducing the available resources.

Fashion has fascinated me for quite some years now, already. However, enormous waste rules because of fast-fashion and fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs). Millions of tones of fast-fashion clothing are thrown away each year, while hardly worn. Consumers tend to write off pieces of clothing, as they are simply not ‘in’ anymore.

This report examines whether it could be possible to introduce sustainable fashion as the new standard for the future, and to participate in a better way of life for our future generation. I would like to express my appreciation and gratitude to my advisory supervisor: Dr. W. Jager.

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1. Introduction

According to Barthes (1990/1968:215), ”Fashion does not evolve, it changes: its lexicon is new every year, like that of a language which always keeps the same system but suddenly and regularly changes the ”currency” of its words.” Fashion may thus be defined as the discarding of products that are fully functional for purely semiotic or symbolic reasons.

Sustainability, on the other hand, has to do with the very long perspective, perhaps even with infinity as such (Koefoed, 2008: 61). During the last couple of decades, the concept of sustainable development has emerged as a new phenomenon. According to the normative concept it includes social, economic, environmental and institutional objectives (UNDPCSD UN 1996, UNDSD 2000, UNECOSOC 2001). Moreover, it could very well be that sustainable development is one of the most challenging policy concepts ever developed. The core object would be to provide everyone, everywhere and at any time with the opportunity to lead a high quality life. This demand for a high quality of life is assumed to include a decent standard of living, social cohesion, full participation and a healthy environment (WCED 1987).

Moreover, companies are held responsible for environmental and social problems caused not only by themselves directly, but also by their suppliers (Koplin, 2005). Porter and Kramer (2006) state that governments, activists and the media have become adept at holding companies to account for the social consequences of their activities. Myriad organizations rank companies on the performance of their corporate social responsibility (CSR), and these rankings attract considerable publicity. As a result, CSR has emerged as an inescapable priority for business leaders in every country. Therefore, sustainability is also making its breakthrough in the fashion industry. From unknown designers to big players in the market like Levi Strauss (Joule, 2011) are making moves towards global awareness of sustainability. As premium used to prevail green products, in the 1990s there were only few environmentally- conscious clothing choices. These days, fashion magazines as Vogue are using the words ‘sustainable’ and ‘eco-friendly’ in the same sentence with ‘fashion’ without any hesitation. Eco-fashion has left behinds its dowdy image, and examples of ‘green-couture’, ‘eco-chic’, and ‘sustainable clothing’ are booming on the catwalks. Clearly, a shift in mindset is brewing. The enthusiasm for sustainable products among both designers and consumers may indicate that socially responsible fashion could be more than just a fleeting trend. It could be something that lasts.

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Page | 7 manner, what the fashion mechanism precisely consists of and how big the issue of sustainability is in the fashion market. Therefore, given the current focus of fashionistas on sustainability and the general lack of academic activity in this area, there is clearly a need for research on this issue.

This study investigates whether the concept of sustainability could be more than just a fleeting trend in the fashion market. Moreover, as the term fashion has almost an infinite frame of reference, this paper is focused on those businesses involved in the design, production, sale, and promotion of clothing, accessories, and footwear. Based on quantitative studies, the awareness and importance of sustainability in this market are researched. Further, it will be examined how the issue of sustainable materials can be spread via the fashion dynamics, after which they will possibly turn into a durable fact instead of a short-term phenomenon.

The major objectives of this research include:

1. Theoretically and quantitatively investigate the trend around sustainability (i.e. its origin, awareness, opinions);

2. Investigate the dynamics of the fashion mechanism (i.e. the role of diffusion theory, social dimensions, (anti-)conformism);

3. Find out if- and how the fashion mechanism is capable of making sustainability something that lasts, instead of ‘just’ another trend.

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Page | 8 The first sub-question addressed in this paper is:

“What are the dynamics of the fashion mechanism?”

The second sub-question answered in this paper is:

“Does social influence occur for sustainable designs, products, and behaviors in fashion?”

The main research question for this paper includes:

“What makes the fashion mechanism of ever-changing trends be capable of making sustainability something that lasts?”

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2. Background and review of literature

2.1 The sustainability concept

Ever since Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland (1987) and her United Nations commission, created almost worldwide political consensus on the urgent need for sustainability, many countries and institutions started to wrestle with the same problem: Namely, what is sustainability, and, specifically, what does it mean for this particular sector, nation, or region?

For years now, the main concept in considering the environment has been sustainability. The development of sustainable lifestyles is widely considered as the solution to global problems as environmental pollution, climate change, or poverty. But what is sustainability? What is its ethical foundation? To be able to investigate this ethical basis for sustainability, one firstly should understand what sustainability is. Hundreds of definitions are to be found. Macnaghten et al. (1995) propose that sustainability involves moving from a current unsatisfactory state (i.e. one in which economic needs are pursued at the expense of environmental and social needs) to a satisfactory state (i.e. one in which economic and social needs are met in ways that do not exceed the limits of the environment). Moreover, the UN World Commission on Environment and Development (UNWCED, 1987) provided a framework for development that is aimed at achieving sustainability (i.e. sustainable development). In this framework, sustainability refers to meeting the needs of current generations without limiting the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. In this paper, the definition of Brown (2010) is used. According to her, sustainability is the conservation of life through ecological balance – human, animal, vegetable and planetary. A self-sustaining system is a system that does not take more from the environment than it gives back; it does not deplete resources, but sustains itself.

2.1.1 Causes of unsustainability

As the late George Carlin used to joke,

“Everyone’s running around screaming about the planet in danger – uh, the planet is going to be just

fine, thank you, it’s been around for hundreds of millions of years without a problem – it ain’t the planet that’s in danger – it’s us.” (Brown, 2010, p. 7)

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Page | 10 Goodland (1995) the scale of the human economy is a function of throughput, meaning the flow of materials and energy from the sources of the environment, used by the human economy, and then returned to environmental sinks as waste. Throughput growth is a function of population growth and consumption. Throughput growth translates into increased rates of resource extraction and pollution (use of sources and sinks). The scale of throughput has exceeded environmental capacities: That is the definition of unsustainability. There is little admission yet that consumption above sufficiency is not an unmitigated good. The scale of the human economy has become unsustainable because it is living off inherited and finite capital (e.g. fossil fuels, fossil water); because we do not account for losses of natural capital (e.g. extinctions of species), nor do we admit the costs of environmental harm. The second reason for unsustainability is related to the first: government failure to admit that pollution and fast population growth are doing more harm than good (Goodland, 1995).

2.1.2 The emergence of corporate social responsibility

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Page | 11 remains how to incorporate sustainability throughout the whole product cycle and make it durable rather than just a trend.

2.2 What is fashion?

Appearance is an important component of most durable consumption goods (Pesendorfer, 1995). Large amounts of resources are used for developing the design of those goods; not primarily to make them more functional, but rather to let the product appear fashionable. According to Pesendorfer (1995) the term “fashion” generally stands for the certain designs, products, or social behaviors that are “in” for a limited period and which are regularly replaced by new designs, new products, and new forms of social behavior. Moreover, according to Georg Simmel (1957 p. 544):

“Fashion is merely a product of social demands…. This is clearly proved by the fact that very frequently not the slightest reason can be found for the creations of fashion from the standpoint of an objective, aesthetic or other expediency. While in general our wearing apparel is really adapted to our needs, there is not a trace of expediency in the method by which fashion dictates. … Judging from the ugly and repugnant things that are sometimes in Vogue, it would seem as though fashion were desirous of exhibiting its power by getting us to adopt the most atrocious things for its sake alone.”

Simmel (1957) also states that the lack of practical use is part of the definition of fashion. So, fashion and fashion cycles can only be understood if consumption is considered to be a social activity:

“[Fashion] satisfies the need of differentiation because fashions differ for different classes – the fashions of the upper stratum of society are never identical with those of the lower; in fact, they are abandoned by the former as soon as the latter prepares to appropriate them.”

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Introduction

Rise

Culmination

Decline

Obsolescence

So, according to Pesendorfer (1995), the purpose of fashion is to facilitate differentiation of “types” in the process of social interaction. The demand for new designs is derived from the desire of agents to interact with the “right” people. Moreover, fashion is accompanied by a process of continuous innovation, in which new designs are developed at sometimes large cost only to be replaced by other designs. With the arrival of every new design, previous fashions become obsolete.

2.2.1 Fashion cycles

Although many products and services are assumed to have life cycles, probably none have more distinct cycles than fashions do. According to Sproles (1981), fashions are by definition temporary cyclical phenomena adopted by consumers for a particular time and situation. Furthermore, fashions evolve consistent with the theoretical product life cycle, having stages of introduction and adoption by fashion leaders, increasing public acceptance (growth), mass conformity (maturation), and the inevitable decline and obsolescence awaiting all fashions. Fashion cycles can be depicted as in Figure 1. Besides, fashion theory has developed around two time frames, namely long- run cycles representing a secular evolution of one style to the next, spanning decades and centuries, and short- run cycles, representing the seasonal acceptance of a single style during a period of months to years (Sproles, 1981). New fashions are thought to evolve in a historical continuity of styling changes (Blumer 1969, Sapir 1931). Sproles (1981) states that the major contribution of the principle of historical continuity is the proposition that each new fashion is an outgrowth or elaboration of the previously existing fashion. So, new fashions are predicted to represent relatively small styling changes rather than revolutionary or visually dramatic changes from the recent past. The reason might be that radical change might be perceived as too risky by fashion entrepreneurs, and too innovative or faddish by consumers.

Figure 1 Stages of the fashion cycle

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Page | 13 consumer behavior in the acceptance of trends. Especially the latter has a lot of perspectives about consumer behavior.

2.2.1.1 Introduction

As fashion is concerned with newness, innovations have to be introduced and diffused to the mass market. One reason why there is so much interest in the diffusion of innovations (DOI) is because getting a new idea adopted, even when clearly showing advantages, is often very difficult, particularly in a developing environment (Rogers, 1983, p. 1).

Diffusion is the process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time among the members of a social system. It is a special type of communication, in that the messages are concerned with new ideas (Rogers, 1983 p. 5). According to Rogers (1983), the four main elements are the innovation, communication channels, time, and the social system. The innovation reflects an idea, practice, or object that is perceived as new by an individual or other unit of adoption. It matters little whether or not the idea is objectively new since its first use or discovery. The perceived newness of the idea for the individual determines his or her reaction to it. If the idea seems new to the individual, it is considered an innovation.

Given that an innovation exists, communication must take place to spread the innovation. Communication is defined as the process by which participants create and share information with one another in order to reach a mutual understanding (Rogers, 1983). Diffusion is a particular type of communication in which the message content that is exchanged is concerned with a new idea. The essence of the diffusion process is the information exchange through which one individual communicates a new idea to one or several others. Moreover, a communication channel is the means by which messages get from one individual to another. Mass media channels are more effective in creating knowledge of innovations, while interpersonal channels are more effective in forming and changing attitudes toward the new idea (Rogers, 1969).

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Page | 14 idea as the best course of action. Rejection is a decision not to adopt an innovation. Discontinuance is a decision to cease use of an innovation after previously adopting it; it is adoption followed by rejection (Rogers, 1969). Innovativeness is the degree to which an individual or other unit of adoption is relatively earlier in adopting new ideas than the other members of a system (Rogers, 1983).

Finally, a social system is a collectivity of individuals, or units, who are functionally differentiated and engaged in collective problem-solving with respect to a common goal. It is important to remember that diffusion occurs within a social system, because that system's structure can have an important influence on the spread of new ideas (Rogers, 1969).

A special case in the diffusion of innovations theory is about fast moving consumer goods (FMCGs). When those are concerned, consumers’ only interest is to fulfill a functional need. According to Elliot and Percy (2007, p. 11) “in most cases awareness of the brand is a key predictor of a purchase”. In relation to the stages of the adoption model in Figure 2, the journey from the knowledge-to-decision stage will be quite short. Also, the same functional products will not differ much in this category. Therefore, from a product branding perspective, it is important for communication managers to manage perceptions by selling the advantages and compatibility of the product in an outstanding way.

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2.2.1.2 Rise

The next important aspect is the rise of the new innovation. Most people depend mainly upon a subjective evaluation of an innovation that is conveyed to them from other individuals like themselves who have previously adopted the innovation. This dependence of the experience of near peers suggests that the heart of the diffusion process consists of the modeling and imitation by potential adopters of their network partners who have adopted previously. So diffusion is a very social process (Rogers, 1995, p. 18).

Furthermore, Holt (2004) introduced a model of which fundamental characteristics are grounded in the diffusion of innovation theory. In order to secure longevity or continued adoption (Figure 2) with regard to iconic brands, Holt (2004, p. 127) proposes that ‘[market] relevance is not about clothes or haircuts. It’s about keeping up with changes in society. As their [the brands’] patrons’ dreams and anxieties get pushed around by real changes in the economy and society, new kinds of myths [stories that address societal imbalances] are needed.’

This aspect applies to almost every area where the fields of communication, politics, marketing and public affairs are concerned. Holt’s model explains that iconic brands nurture loyalty through the chemistry of diffusion between the brand’s three constituents: insiders, followers and feeders (Figure 3).

‘Brand loyalty. . . is determined in large part by the relationship

between these constituencies. . .

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Page | 16 necessarily to the extent that they adopt the brand merchandise as part of their everyday attire. However, insiders play a critical role in bestowing legitimacy and credibility on the brand, and not so much in generating revenue. Insiders act as opinion leaders, positioned to make authoritative judgments as to whether the brand really has populist appeal or not (Holt, 2004, p. 147). If enough people – followers and insiders – register deeply with a brand’s myth, their passionate use of the brand creates a magnet effect on others who then become the brand’s feeders. Feeders, who are attracted to the status and social ties that the brand produces, use the brand as a vehicle to build social solidarity with friends and colleagues (Holt, 2004, p. 147).

Moreover, according to Van Eck et al. (2011), understanding customers is one of the fundamental requirements of marketing, and entails recognition of the decision-making process that both individual customers and groups of customers undergo. In the modern digital world, understanding word of mouth (WoM) and the role of social media (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) becomes particularly important. Moreover, from a marketing perspective, understanding how information communicates through mass media (external influence) and then spreads through WoM (internal influence) affects the process of consumer adoption, and thus new product diffusion has great importance.

The complex dynamics underlying such social marketing interactions make it difficult to predict outcomes. Consumers might interact in the regular course of their daily lives, read reviews online, and employ online social networks to share their opinions about a product, or simply influence others by using the product in a visible way (Gilbert, Jager, Deffuant, and Adjali, 2007). According to Goldenberg, Han, Lehmann, and Hong (2009) three factors exist which in particular determine the role of influential consumers: personality traits, knowledge, and connectivity. Van Eck et al. (2011) investigated in more detail how the knowledge and personal characteristics of influential consumers affect the adoption process. They posit that different types of influential consumers possess varying characteristics, which implies their varying influence on the consumers around them. The typology of influential consumers includes:

 innovators/early adopters (e.g., Engel, Kegerreis, and Blackwell, 1969), who influence other consumers through their innovative behavior and knowledge about a specific product category;

 market mavens (e.g., Feick and Price, 1987), who may not have knowledge about a specific product category but rather about markets in general; and

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Page | 17 Furthermore, according to Deutsch and Gerrard (1955), two main types of interpersonal influence exist: informational and normative influence. Informational influence refers to the tendency to accept information from others as evidence of reality. Normative influence, on the other hand, entails the tendency to conform to the expectations of others (Burnkrant and Cousineau, 1975). Since people aim to create and maintain meaningful social relationships, they often engage in behaviors approved by others, such as adopting a product to appeal to other product adopters (Cialdini and Goldstein, 2004). The product and situation determine which type of influence is more important (Grewal, Mehta, and Kardes 2000). Privately consumed goods prioritize the informational influence, whereas for publicly consumed goods both types of influence are critical. Norms are the established behavior patterns for the members of a social system. They define a range of tolerable behaviors and serve as a guide or a standard for the members’ behavior in a social system. The norms of a system tell an individual what behavior is expected (Brannon, 2010, p. 26).

Besides, according to Rogers (1983) five adopter categories of the members of a social system on the basis of innovativeness can be defined: innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards (Rogers, 1983).

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Page | 18 The diffusion curve depicted in Figure 4, is an idealization of the process and illustrates diffusion of innovation as a bell-shaped curve (Rogers, 1962). The far left side represents early adopters and early diffusion of innovation, the center section, majority adaption, and the right side, laggards.

Figure 4 The diffusion curve is a visualization of the spread of innovation through a social system (Source: Brannon, 2010, p. 43)

2.2.1.3 Culmination

Culmination is the point at which the innovation has reached as many people as possible. Four theories about fashion adoption are to be considered, namely trickle-down, trickle-across, trickle-up, and the theory of collective selection. Starting with the trickle down, the theory of upper class leadership offers the classic perspective of the fashion cycle. The theory is defined by Simmel (1957):

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Page | 19 This is referred to as the trickle-down theory, as it implies that once adopted by the upper class, fashions are imitated by each following lower class until they have “trickled-down” to the lowest class.

Next is the trickle-across theory. According to Sproles (1981), the mass market theory proposes that mass production combined with mass communications make new styles and information about new styles available simultaneously to all socioeconomic classes. Therefore, fashion diffusion has the opportunity to start at essentially the same time within each class. Considering this information, the mass market theory is also referred to as the horizontal flow or trickle-across theory. It is founded on the principle that real leadership of fashion comes from within an individual’s own social class and peer groups. Furthermore, according to Midgley and Wills (1979), the trickle-up theory is where fashion starts with the lower in status and its adoption moves up the status scale. Finally, the most general theory of leadership is one suggesting that almost any creative or innovative individual can become a leader of fashion trends, as long as their innovative choices are reasonably in line with the social climate (Sproles, 1981).

2.2.1.4 Decline and obsolescence

The last stages of the fashion life cycle consist of decline and obsolescence. These begin when two events coincide: social saturation (overuse) of a style is evident and consumers’ boredom with the style is apparent, and creative entrepreneurs and fashion conscious consumers begin active experimentation with new ideals of taste that are perceptually different from the established but overused style (Sproles, 1981).

2.2.2 Fashion trends

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2.2.2.1 Evolution of a fashion trend

An innovative look appears in the street, on the runway, or in the media thanks to a trendsetter’s ability to go ahead of current fashion, ignoring trends and yet anticipating them (Furchgott, 1998). The look has the appeal of “newness” because it has been missing or scarce in the marketplace. A trend is characterized by building awareness of this new look and an accelerating demand among consumers (Perna, 1987).

According to Brannon (2010, p. 60), tracking trends is very much like watching weather patterns. A warm and a cool air mass collide, and the result may be a tornado and golf ball-size hail or just rain and gusty winds. Lawrence Samuel, cofounder of the marketing consulting firm Iconoculture, Inc., spelled out the predictable und unpredictable stages in the evolution of a trend (“Will cigars,” 1997). The three stages are:

 Fringe – unpredictable – a stage when an innovation arises and the trendiest consumers and entrepreneurial firms begin to participate.

 Trendy – predictable – a stage when awareness of the trend grows because early adopters join the innovators to increase the visibility of the trend and the most fashion-forward brands and retailers test the concept.

 Mainstream – predictable – a stage when more conservative consumers join in, visibility continues to increase, and corporations and brands capitalize on the growing demand.

2.2.3 Sustainability in fashion

Although ‘green’ fashion in the early 1990s was criticized for offering poor quality products at premium prices (Nakano 2007), over the last decade, an ‘eco-fashion’ (or ‘sustainable fashion’) movement (Shaw and Tomolillo 2004; Anaya 2010; Goworek 2011) suggests a broader trend which may be integral to the sustainability of the industry (Kozlowski, Bardecki and Searcy, 2012). While there is no industry standard on the use of terms such as ‘ethical’, ‘green’ or ‘eco’, their wide use does give credence to the growing number of brands that are trying to capture the mainstream market with fashionable apparel (Joergens 2006). There has been an emergence of successful ‘ethical’ brands such as People Tree, American Apparel and Edun (Joergens 2006). Mass-market retailers such as H&M, Nike, Levi’s and Zara have introduced products that incorporate the use of environmentally friendly materials such as organic cotton, Tencel® and recycled polyester.

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Page | 21 and flexible access to more ideas and influences from other cultures and societies, driving demand for wider choice in fashion products. Figure 5 identifies some of the major drivers of change influencing fashion trends today. The model provides an indication of the diverse range of factors impacting on fashion design, rather than representing a complete list of all possible factors. According to Jackson (2007), consumers have more knowledge of fashion and brands than at any time in the past, resulting from consumer media that delivers a diet of fashion, celebrity and lifestyle journalism to the mass market. Many fashion brands have to deal with the fact that their consumers are becoming more knowledgeable and often know more about fashion than brands know about their customers.

Besides, questions are being raised about the sustainability of fast fashion as consumers question the ethics of disposable fashion. A general awareness of the importance of recycling which may apply equally to product packaging is present. Some fashion consumers will be prepared to pay more for bespoke products, which are demonstrably the result of ethical manufacturing processes. In the succeeding section is explained why consumers might act in a certain way because of reasoned action.

2.2.4 Theory of reasoned action

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Page | 22 held by the consumer. As an example, a consumer might have a very favorable attitude toward having a drink before dinner at a restaurant (Hansen, Jensen & Solgaard, 2004). However, the intention to actually order the drink may be inﬂuenced by the consumer’s beliefs about the appropriateness (i.e. the perceived social norm) of ordering a drink in the current situation (with friends for a fun meal or on a job interview) and her/his motivation to comply with those normative beliefs (cf. Hawkins, Best, & Coney, 2001). The theory of reasoned action is concerned with rational, volitational, and systematic behavior (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975; Chang, 1998), i.e. behaviors over which the individual has control (cf. Thompson, Haziris, & Alekos, 1994).

In comparison with the theory of reasoned action, the theory of planned behavior adds ‘perceived behavioral control (PBC)’ as a determinant of behavioral intention. The theory of planned behavior is therefore an extension of the theory of reasoned action. PBC can be conceptualized as the consumer’s subjective belief about how difficult it will be for that consumer to generate the behavior in question (Posthuma &

Dworkin, 2000). The theory of reasoned action and the theory of planned behavior are both displayed in Figure 6. In Figure 6, the theory of reasoned action is represented by full thin arrows, whereas the theory of planned behavior is represented by full thin arrows and the broken arrow.

2.2.5 Social influence

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Page | 23 identical regarding their technical grasp of innovation, no diffusion can occur as there is no new information to exchange. The very nature of diffusion demands that at least some degree of heterophily is present between to participants. Ideally, they would be homophilous on all other (education and social status, for example) even though they are heterophilous regarding their innovation (Rogers, 1995).

Heterophily also has to do with consumer preferences. A preference can be defined as a comparative evaluation of (i.e. a ranking over) a set of objects (Druckman and Lupia, 2000). According to them, a preference serves as a cognitive marker that reminds people how to interact with various aspects of their environment. Preferences are stored in memory and drawn on when people make decisions. The objects of preference are aspects of the environment that are evaluated relative to one another. They can include observable continuous phenomena, and unobservable discontinuous phenomena. An important remark is that personal experience affects the set of objects over which people have preferences. For example, some people prefer dogs to cats as pets. Some make further distinctions between kinds of dogs and kinds of cats, whereas others are indifferent to dog or cat breeds. The extent to which people hold preferences over types of objects depends on their prior experiences with related objects. For example, people who are very distant from politics may have only a general dislike for politicians, whereas those whose well-being requires interactions with different types of politicians hold preferences with finer distinctions. In sum, the objects of preferences are about our experience giving us an incentive to differentiate and recall, and that our cognitive capacity allows us to remember and evaluate.

Moreover, evaluations are based, in part, on beliefs; that beliefs are the product of interactions between brain, body and world, and that understanding these interactions is the key to answering questions about preference formation. Explaining preference formation is the process of explaining how beliefs and evaluations emerge from correlations between what people experience and what they feel. Preferences are rankings derived from comparative evaluations that psychologists call attitudes. According to O’Keefe (1990:18) an attitudes is a person’s general evaluation of an object (where object is understood in a brood sense, as encompassing persons, events, products, policies, institutions, and so on).

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pre-Page | 24 existing similarities in friend relationships and proposed that such selection-based similarities are as important as influence, if not more so, in accounting for observed similarities within friendship dyads. For example, with regard to marijuana use, Kandel (1978a) found that youth choose friends whose behavior maximized congruency within the friendship pair. Similarities between friends were found to increase further, as a result of sustained association. Similar conclusions were drawn by Billy & Udry (1985) in their investigation of similarities between teenage friends in their sexual behavior. In each of these studies, longitudinal and sociometric procedures were used, which allowed researchers to match youth who identified each other as friends and to observe change and stability in both friendships and targeted behaviors. More recently, a few studies have been conducted which attempt to disaggregate the roles of selection and influence in relation to adolescent smoking (Fisher & Bauman 1988; Engels et al. 1997).

With regard to mimicking behaviors, research findings are also consistent with theoretical perspectives, suggesting that youth who smoke adapt their tobacco use behaviors to conform to that of other teenage smokers. For example, in an experimental investigation of social influences on smoking behaviors, Kniskern et al. (1983) used teenage smokers as confederate models of behavior. Findings from this work revealed that when smoking teenagers were exposed to the confederate smoker, they altered their smoking behavior in ways that conformed with the behavior of the model, including number of cigarettes smoked and puff frequency. These findings are consistent with theoretical perspectives discussed earlier, which emphasize the importance of behavioral exposure, modeling, and imitation.

The above mentioned examples clearly illustrate that homophily is an important aspect in human behavior, as people tend to imitate appealing behaviors. However, due to interactions with people’s environment, preferences can change. This can be clarified with the help of the smoking example. Although smoking behavior seemed to be preferred about four decades ago, nowadays, now adults are more aware of the risks and health concerns from smoking, their preference changes from smoking in a peer group, to quitting. It even got that far, that the preference of non-smoking became a global trend. Question to be remained for this paper is whether personal preferences can change towards sustainable fashion, and making it the same durable trend as happened with non-smoking behavior.

2.2.6 Conformity behavior

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Page | 25 attitudes and behavior of an individual with the norms, values, and habits of the reference group (Hogg & Vaughan, 2002). Bernheim (1994), Corneo and Jeanne (1997), and Nir (2004) have focused on the tendency of individuals to conform their behavior to that of their peer group. It has been well documented that people shape and bend their attitudes to fit in with the attitudes of the majority. There are at least two reasons why this might be the case. First, people are afraid that by holding a minority position they will open themselves up to ridicule and social isolation. To increase their chances of belonging, they might then adopt the majority position in public and keep their personal position to themselves (‘‘normative influence’’). Second, people might conform to a majority opinion because they feel genuinely uncertain about what attitudes are true and correct. The attitudes of others then becomes a source of information about what is true, resulting in genuine attitude change (‘‘informational influence’’) (Hornsey, Smith, and Begg, 2007). Consistent with these perspectives, it has been shown that people’s attitudes often conform to the expressed attitudes of the majority, a tendency that increases when people are uncertain (promoting informational influence; Asch, 1956; Sherif, 1936; Smith, Hogg, Martin, & Terry, in press) and when responses are public (promoting normative influence; Asch, 1952, 1956; Deutsch & Gerard, 1955).

Moreover, according to Song et al. (2012) the conforming action can be divided into rational conformity and irrational conformity. Rational conformity is behavior guided by thinking, judgment, or reasoning. It occurs as a result of the influences exerted by the reference group’s behavior or attitude and includes abidance, compliance, and obedience. Irrational conformity or herd behavior is the behavior the follower presents when they are guided by intuitionistic and instinctive activities and influenced by the behavior or attitude of the reference group (Figure 7).

Figure 7 Classification chart of conformity. (Source: Song et al. (2012))

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Page | 26 compliance, and obedience. The small circle passing through the

three tangent points is narrow conformity. The four blank areas (H, Ha, Hc, Ho) are herd behaviors. The excircle represents generalized conformity.

Figure 8 Generalized conformity (Source: Song et al. (2012))

2.2.7 Anti-conformity

It should be noted, however, that the strongest evidence that has been uncovered for conformity—and normative influence in

particular—has occurred when researchers examine attitudes that have little personal relevance (Hornsey, Smith, and Begg, 2007).

When people are faced with a decision about whether to express their minority attitude, they are faced with two countervailing considerations. On one hand, they might reflect on the consequences of expressing their minority attitude in terms of their chances for social acceptance. People who think and act in ways that differ from the norm can face rejection and ridicule (Asch, 1956; Festinger, 1950), and this provides a disincentive for expressing the attitude. On the other hand, people also need to reflect on the psychological consequences of inhibiting their attitude. People in individualist cultures like to think of themselves as immune to the influence of others (Hornsey & Jetten, 2004, 2005; Jetten, Hornsey, & Adarves-Yorno, 2006), and we have an intra-psychic need for consistency. This is particularly the case if the cause is deemed to be important or valuable: We are counseled to stand up for what we believe in, and to have the courage of our own convictions.

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Page | 27 people feel a moral compulsion to behave in a certain way, there is a stronger link between their attitudes and their behavior (Manstead, 2000). In short, it appears that people stick stubbornly to views on which they feel moral conviction, and they do so over and above indices of attitude strength.

2.3 Conceptual model and hypotheses

Five decades ago, earth held three billion people, today six billion, and by 2050 it could be ten billion. There will not be enough resources for everyone. We are now painfully learning that environmental sources are finite. Sustainability is the conservation of life through ecological balance – human, animal, vegetable and planetary. A self-sustaining system is a system that does not take more from the environment than it gives back; it does not deplete resources, but sustains itself (Brown, 2010). The fashion industry is one of the largest industries in the world. It discharges toxic chemicals into the environment and uses huge amounts of energy, as certain designs and products are “in” for a limited period and regularly replaced by new designs, products and forms of social behavior. The once hotly debated current ecological state of the planet is no longer in question. Rather, it is the main reason that fashion design companies are restructuring their business towards being more eco-friendly and sustainable.

The conceptual model presented in Figure 9 is based on the aforementioned theory of reasoned action. The reason why the model is not built on the extended version, namely the theory of planned behavior, is because there is currently hardly any availability of sustainable fashion in stores to give consumers the opportunity to actually purchase eco-friendly clothing already. As the opportunity to buy sustainable clothing is almost zero, the consumer’s subjective belief about how difficult it will be for him/her to generate the behavior in question will also have a negative outcome. Therefore, that part of the model has not been taken into account for designing the conceptual model for this research paper.

Relating to the conceptual model, firstly, the attitude towards sustainable behavior is the first main factor in the trend towards the actual purchase of sustainable products, as behavioral intention is a function of ‘attitude toward the behavior’. Therefore:

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Page | 28 Furthermore, this attitude concerning environmental consciousness can have a positive influence on society’s subjective norm. Once sustainable fashion becomes the new standard, the subjective norm will also reflect that one should buy sustainable products. Therefore:

H2: Consumers’ attitude concerning environmental consciousness will have a positive influence on consumers’ subjective norm concerning the sustainability concept.

Moreover, a consumer’s intention to perform a certain behavior may be inﬂuenced by the subjective social beliefs held by the majority of consumers. Eco- fashion is a reaction to social conditions. Therefore:

H3: Consumers’ subjective norm about the perceived importance of sustainability will have a positive influence on consumers’ behavioral intention of purchasing sustainable products.

Also, consumers will adapt their attitudes and actual behavior according to the majority’s subjective norm of how one should behave. The relationship between attitude and subjective norm, and vise versa, is constantly interacting. Therefore:

H4: Consumers’ subjective norm about the perceived importance of sustainability will have a positive influence on consumers’ attitude concerning environmental practices.

Finally, all the influences leading to an increase in behavioral intention to buy sustainable products should result in the actual purchase of sustainable products. Therefore:

H5: The behavioral intention of purchasing sustainable products will have a positive influence on the actual behavior of purchasing sustainable fashion.

All of the relations can be found in Figure 9.

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Page | 29

3. Research Design

In this part of the report, the research design, data collection, the variables, and statistical techniques used to measure the variables in the model will be discussed. The data collection consists of the method, the sample size, and the preferred characteristics of the sample.

3.1 Method for data collection

The following step in this research is to explain the hypotheses- testing by the data collected from the online questionnaires.

3.1.1 The questionnaire design

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Page | 30 questions were to be answered on a five -point Likert scale (1 = completely DISAGREE, and 5 = completely AGREE on the statement).

3.1.2 The method and preferred sample characteristics for data collection

The data set for testing the proposed model in this research comes from a sample of consumers. A response group of at least 150 respondents is needed. The technique chosen for reaching respondents is the snowball sampling. This implies that different segments of consumers are addressed for responding the questionnaire, after which those respondents will recruit new respondents from among their acquaintances. The initial purpose is to generate an as heterogeneous sample as possible, to be able to reflect society as adequately as possible. Therefore, respondents with different kinds of characteristics - i.e. young/old, interested/not interested in fashion, interested/not interested in sustainability – are recruited, after which they distribute the questionnaire among their own networks.

3.2 Variables

The variables included as depicted in Figure 9 will be tested. The four variables consist of: the attitude towards environmental consciousness, the subjective norm towards sustainable behavior, the behavioral intention of purchasing sustainable products, and the actual purchase of sustainable fashion. Very important to note considering the variables is that due to the fact that there is more than one relationship between the different variables to be found in the conceptual model, some of the variables will be considered as both dependent and independent, rather than one of the two, depending on the relationship. This will be explained in more detail, below. Besides, the variables used in the conceptual model are defined on the basis of the factors resulting from the following factor analysis and its subsequent dimensions. This also will be more elaborately explained in a later section of the research.

3.2.1 Dependent variables

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Page | 31 consumers’ behavioral intention to purchase sustainable products also depends on several factors, e.g. consumers’ attitude towards environmental consciousness, and the subjective norm towards sustainable behavior. Besides, the subjective norm is also dependent on the consumers’ attitude towards environmental consciousness, as one firstly has to be aware of sustainability practices before they can be hold an opinion about. Lastly, one’s attitude concerning environmental consciousness also depends on the subjective norm towards sustainable behavior, which makes the attitude towards environmental consciousness also a dependent variable. Especially the relationship between the attitude and the subjective norm is one based on an interaction, constantly influencing each other.

3.2.2 Independent variables

The independent variables in this research are ‘the attitude towards environmental consciousness’, ‘the subjective norm concerning sustainable behavior’, and the behavioral intention of purchasing sustainable products. The most important independent variable is the ‘behavioral intention of purchasing sustainable products, as this variable will relate to the actual outcome of the research. Furthermore, this variable is dependent on some other variables, as explained in the previous section. The independent variables relating to the behavioral intention of purchasing sustainable clothing, consist of ‘the attitude towards environmental consciousness’, and ‘the subjective norm concerning sustainable behavior’, as those are the factors depicting the whole issue of whether consumers would be even willing to buy sustainable products and hold the intention to do so.

3.3 Determining the conceptual model variables

The conceptual model consists of the four different variables described above. Those variables are composed by combining several of the existing scales and questions used in the questionnaire (Appendix 1) into one variable. Complete scales, including the sub-questions, or only individual questions strongly related to a certain variable of the conceptual model, are assigned to the different model variables to be able to perform the regression analysis. The composition of the variables according to the scales and questions asked in the questionnaire can be found in Table 1. The reason why not all factors are combined into the variables of the conceptual model, is that some are important for the content and recommendations of this report (i.e. fashion involvement), but are not relevant in explaining the variables in the conceptual model.

Table 1. Composition of conceptual model variables

Model variables Scale Questions

Attitude towards

environmental consciousness

 Environmental identity  51. To act in an eco-friendly way is an important

part of who I am

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 Determining luminality

 Awareness of sustainable fashion

 53. I consider myself to be an eco-friendly person

 56. My current behavior and habits are not explicitly eco-friendly, but I can live with that and I am not intent to change them

 57. I am aware of the fact that my current behavior and habits are not explicitly eco-friendly, but I do not see a good opportunity to change them

 58. I see opportunities to behave in an eco-friendly way, and in principle I am prepared to learn new eco-friendly habits

 59. I am behaving in a more eco-friendly way, and I try to have as much eco-friendly habits as possible

 60. An eco-friendly behavior is a conscious choice that you make and that has to do with all aspects of my life. I regularly collect information about existing and new products to stick to my choice

 65. How important do you consider

environmental pressure due to the making and disposal of clothing?

 66. At present, how important is it for you to be aware of sustainable clothing?

 67. In the future, how important would it be for you to be aware of sustainable clothing?

Subjective norm concerning sustainable behavior

 Susceptibility to interpersonal influence

 Injunctive social norms

 39. I rarely purchase the latest fashion styles until I am sure my friends approve of them

 40. It is important that others like the products and brands I buy

 41. When buying products, I generally purchase those brands that I think others will approve of

 42. If other people can see me using a product, I often purchase the brand they expect me to buy

 43. I like to know what brands and products make good impressions on others

 44. I achieve a sense of belonging by purchasing the same products and brands that others purchase

 45. If I want to be like someone, I often try to buy the same brands that they buy

 46. I often identify with other people by purchasing the same products and brands they purchase

 47. To make sure I buy the right product or brand, I often observe what others are buying and using

 48. If I have little experience with a product, if often ask my friends about the product

 49. I often consult other people to help choose the best alternative available from a product class

 50. I frequently gather information from friends or family about a product before I buy

 54. There are some people that practice eco-friendly behavior/ lifestyles in my direct surroundings (family, friends, and colleagues)

 55. The opinion of people in my direct surroundings is important to me

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Page | 33 purchasing sustainable

clothing

how important is it to be promoted as sustainable?

 69. If a product included information about sustainability, how much would it help you to make the decision of purchasing the product?

Actual purchase of sustainable fashion

 Awareness of sustainable fashion  70. Do you already purchase sustainable fashion clothing?

 71. If not already, would you purchase sustainable fashion clothing in the future?

3.4 Statistical techniques

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4. Results

As mentioned in the introduction of this paper, the primary objective is to find out if- and how the fashion mechanism is capable of making sustainability something that lasts, instead of ‘just’ another trend. The solution for this challenge should be found by measuring consumers’ attitude towards sustainable fashion, and understanding the role attitude plays together with other variables in guiding the formation of purchase and consumption patterns of eco-friendly fashion. That challenge suggested the need to conduct research investigating the attitude, in relation with social influence. This study has revealed important findings through modeling sustainable fashion clothing involvement in a framework of related constructs. The results that are discussed in this section help to characterize this challenge.

This study was performed with two main goals in mind. The first goal was to understand the dynamics of the fashion mechanism. The second goal was to investigate whether social influence occurs for sustainable designs, products, and behaviors in fashion. The findings are discussed in detail, below.

4.1 The sample characteristics

The final sample consists of 211 consumers, where a minimum of 150 was needed. A number of 7 respondents only partly filled in the questionnaire. Those were left out of the final total sample to keep the data as straightforward and clean as possible. The database contains students, part-time workers and full-time workers, ranging from an age of 18 to 62, as indicated in Table 2. The characteristics of the sample had the initial purpose of being as heterogeneous as possible – i.e. young/old, interested/not interested in fashion, interested/not interested in sustainability – with the intention of representing society as adequately as possible. This was done via the technique of snowball sampling and led to the outcome of the current sample as presented in Table 2.

Table 2. Sample Characteristics

Gender Male 56% Female 44% Age Minimum 18 Maximum 62 Age Distribution Average 18-20 21-30 31-40 41-50 51-60 32 5.0% 55.7% 13.6% 13.6% 12.1%

Level of education Primary Education (LO) 0.0%

Junior Vocational (LBO) 0.0%

Junior General Secondary (MAVO) 2.4%

Senior General Secondary (HAVO) 2.4%

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Page | 35

Senior Secondary Vocational (MBO) 13.4%

Higher Professional (HBO) 30.6%

University (WO) 49.8%

Level of income on a yearly basis Student Level Income 35.7%

Entry Level Income (€10,000 - €30,000) 15.5%

Middle Level Income (€30,000 – €50,000) 22.2%

Upper Middle Level Income (€50,000 - €80,000) 15.5%

High Level Income (€80,000 or higher) 11.1%

Level of monthly spending on fashion items € 0 - €50 23.2%

€50 - €100 37.0%

€100 - €150 22.7%

€150 - €200 9.5%

€200 or more 7.6%

Region of residence Countryside 39.3%

City 60.7%

Type of household Living alone 15.2%

Living together with a roommate 14.7%

Living together with partner 22.3%

Living together with family 47.9%

Lifestyle type Focused on family 17.2%

Focused on work 16.0%

Combination between work and family 18.4%

Active (sport, travel, etc.) 17.2%

Focused on social contacts 17.7%

Eco-friendly 13.5%

4.2 Factor analysis

4.2.1 Appropriateness

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Page | 36 which is smaller than the requested value of p < 0.05 – indicating that the null hypothesis can be rejected and meaning that the correlation matrix is not an identity matrix.

Table 3. KMO and Bartlett’s Test

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy. ,878

Bartlett's Test of Sphericity

Approx. Chi-Square 8992,893

Df 1953

Sig. ,000

4.2.2 Factor extraction

From this factor analysis, an 11-item factor scale emerged from the scale development and validation efforts. When deciding on the number of factors, several criteria were taken into account. Firstly, initial eigenvalues of a value greater than 1 were considered. This resulted in a number of 12 factors, as can be seen in Table 4. Secondly, factors indicating a total variance explained of greater than 60% were taken into account, which resulted in a total number of 6 factors. Lastly the factors that explain >5% each were looked at, which resulted in a total number of 3 factors. As a result of those criteria in combination with common sense and interpretability of the factors, the number of factors to extract was determined to be 11, as shown in Table 4. The reason for taking the higher number of factors instead of the lower would be that the higher number can provide better explanation of the data. This is the case, as a lower number of factors would combine more different data into fewer factors, trying to explain the subsequent relationships. Now, less data per factor, but with the same underlying explanation will be combined into several factors.

Table 4. Total Variance Explained

Component Initial Eigenvalues Extraction Sums of Squared

Loadings

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Page | 37

13 ,965 1,532 74,455

14 ,958 1,520 75,975

Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.

4.2.3 Factor loadings

After factor extraction, attention was paid to the different factor loadings. All factor loadings shown in Table 5 are the rotated factor solutions – meaning the higher ones-, preventing that all variables load on one factor, and as rotation does not change the variance explained.

Table 5. Exploratory factor analysis

Factor loadings Cronbach’s Alpha Mean Standard deviation

Product involvement Factor 1 0.96 2.46 1.21

 I am very interested in fashion clothing 0.836 2.95 1.28

 I think about fashion clothing a lot 0.827 2.30 1.22

 I pay a lot of attention to fashion clothing 0.829 2.53 1.22

 For me personally, fashion clothing is an important

product

0.855 2.63 1.23

 Fashion clothing is a significant part of my life 0.800 2.21 1.15

 How involved are you with fashion clothing? 0.837 2.39 1.21

 I would say fashion clothing is central to my identity as

a person

0.777 2.24 1.17

Purchase decision involvement Factor 2 0.94 2.60 1.39

 Purchasing fashion clothing is important to me 0.872 2.54 1.20

 Making purchase decisions for fashion clothing is

important to me

0.896 2.50 1.13

 How involved do you feel in making purchase decisions

for fashion clothing?

0.875 2.59 1.20

 I think a lot about my choices when it comes to fashion

clothing

0.848 2.59 2.21

 I place great value in making the right decision when it

comes to fashion clothing

0.810 2.78 1.22

Consumption involvement Factor 3 0.85 2.50 1.12

 All that matters to me when wearing fashion clothing is

durability (its function)

0.869 2.91 1.09

 I feel a sense of personal satisfaction when I wear

fashion clothing

0.792 3.10 1.16

 Wearing fashion clothing is one of the most satisfying

and enjoyable things I do

0.680 2.10 1.04

 I like to think about wearing fashion clothing 0.767 2.30 1.19

 Wearing fashion clothing is important to me 0.824 2.51 1.22

 Wearing fashion clothing is a significant part of my life 0.784 2.05 1.04

Advertising involvement Factor 4 0.08 2.33 1.11

 I have little or no interest in ads for fashion clothing -.758 2.87 1.32

 I pay a lot of attention to ads for fashion clothing 0.659 2.15 1.10

 How involved do you feel in ads for fashion clothing? 0.649 1.96 0.90

Information channels Factor 5 0.71 2.11 1.10

 The information I use for making my purchase

decisions comes from magazines

0.673 1.94 1.04

decisions comes from the internet

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Page | 38

decisions comes from television

0.799 2.16 1.10

decisions comes from billboards

0.794 1.81 1.00

Degree of innovation Factor 6 0.89 2.29 1.18

 I like having new products that differentiate me from

other people who do not have this new product

0.764 2.85 1.27

 I consciously buy new products that are visible for

other people and by which I can be respected

0.842 2.32 1.20

 I like surpassing other people and I can do this best by

buying innovations that nobody among my friends already has

0.879 2.07 1.16

 I like using innovations that impress other people 0.853 2.35 1.22

 I preferably try new products by which I can brag about

among my friends and neighbors

0.813 1.84 1.06

Susceptibility to interpersonal influence Factor 7 0.91 1.95 1.08

 I rarely purchase the latest fashion styles until I am

sure my friends approve of them

0.744 1.78 0.98

 It is important that others like the products and brands

I buy

0.758 2.08 1.15

 When buying products, I generally purchase those

brands that I think others will approve of

0.816 1.78 1.01

 If other people can see me using a product, I often

purchase the brand they expect me to buy

0.800 1.61 0.91

 I like to know what brands and products make good

impressions on others

0.635 2.05 1.14

 I achieve a sense of belonging by purchasing the same

products and brands that others purchase

0.671 1.78 0.98

 If I want to be like someone, I often try to buy the same

brands that they buy

0.887 1.51 0.91

 I often identify with other people by purchasing the

same products and brands they purchase

0.819 1.67 1.03

 To make sure I buy the right product or brand, I often

observe what others are buying and using

0.596 1.98 1.11

 If I have little experience with a product, if often ask

my friends about the product

0.843 2.50 1.27

 I often consult other people to help choose the best

alternative available from a product class

0.904 2.33 1.21

 I frequently gather information from friends or family

about a product before I buy

0.872 2.37 1.29

Environmental identity Factor 8 0.93 2.50 1.10

 To act in an eco-friendly way is an important part of

who I am

0.920 2.45 1.14

 I am the type of person that acts in an eco-friendly way 0.961 2.50 1.06

 I consider myself to be an eco-friendly person 0.940 2.56 1.09

Injunctive social norms Factor 9 0.55 2.90 1.20

 There are some people that practice eco-friendly

behavior/ lifestyles in my direct surroundings (family, friends, and colleagues)

0.831 2.84 1.17

 The opinion of people in my direct surroundings is

important to me

0.831 2.87 1.14

Determining luminality Factor 10 0.28 2.71 1.10

 My current behavior and habits are not explicitly

eco-friendly, but I can live with that and I am not intent to change them

New Look

COULD

SUSTAINABILITY

BE MORE

THAN

A FLEETING

TREND?

New Look

A Little Inspiration- Recycled Newspaper Dress by Gary Harvey

Responsible

Fashion

Could sustainability be more

than a fleeting trend?

Management Summary

Preface

Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. Background and review of literature

2.1 The sustainability concept

2.2 What is fashion?

Introduction

Rise

Culmination

Decline

Obsolescence

between these constituencies. . .

2.3 Conceptual model and hypotheses

3. Research Design

3.1 Method for data collection

3.2 Variables

3.3 Determining the conceptual model variables

3.4 Statistical techniques

4. Results

4.1 The sample characteristics

4.2 Factor analysis