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1. Dataset associated with U.S. Apparel Manufacturers Survey

   https://doi.org/10.25675/10217/234595  

   Miller, Nancy J. ; Engel-Enright, Carol ( January 2022 )

   Abstract

   Firms do not continue and prosper purely on their own individual endeavors, as each firm is influenced by the activities of others, and thus direct and indirect relationships shape the firm’s strategic management. These relationships form the tactics by which knowledge and other strategically important resources are accessed and created. Forming and maintaining ties among members of a network have been the subject for numerous research studies in the social, economic, and business literature. Our work is framed by the resource-based view of the firm perspective along with social capital theory and its shared constructs in network theory. Prior findings suggest that networking ties are strategic actions generated for firm growth and continuance. The ties may be short-term or develop into long-term relationships. The purpose of this research is to fill some of the gaps in interorganizational networking strategy by analyzing five antecedents that have been suggested in the literature as individually associated with entrepreneurs’ engagement in network ties. In this way, our work provides another research avenue for examining networking’s contribution to strategic management. We hypothesized positive connections to entrepreneurs’ engagement in network ties from antecedents involving the firm’s knowledge absorptive capacity, business goals, entrepreneurial orientation, social interactions, and support from their environment. We tested our proposed macrolevel direct and moderating connections through an online survey of 125 U.S. apparel manufacturing firms. The apparel manufacturing sector in the U.S., as in many countries, has struggled with multiple disrupting factors contributing to the sector’s decline in firm continuance. Networks, serving to build domestic and international supply chain ties, may provide one solution for adapting the firm’s resources enhancing global competitiveness. Findings from OLS regression analyses support our hypothesized connections in that each of the five antecedents significantly contributed to entrepreneurs’ engagement in network ties; however, when all five were collectively examined only absorptive capacity, social interaction, and business goals were significant (R2 = 0.58). Further examination of moderation effects found the entrepreneurs’ perceptions of a supportive environment to modify both entrepreneurial orientation and business goals. The effects of a supportive environment on business goals’ relationship with network ties were greater when perceptions of a supportive environment decreased, while the effects of a supportive environment on entrepreneurship orientation’s relationship with network ties were greater when perceptions of a supportive environment increased. Future studies may direct attention to other industry sectors or countries for replication with larger sample sizes as we recognize the limitations to generalizability and scale refinement due to our limited sample size. Examining the five constructs sheds light on how an organization’s decisions may relate to engaging in networking and provides theoretical as well as practical implications that contributes to the larger organizational system framework.
   

   Other

   This dataset contains responses from 97 U.S. apparel manufacturers collected via an online survey during the fall of 2019. The apparel manufacturing sector in the U.S., as in many countries, has struggled with multiple disrupting factors contributing to the sector’s decline in firm continuance. Networks, serving to build domestic and international supply chain ties, may provide one solution for adapting the firm’s resources enhancing global competitiveness. The purpose of the study was to examine connections to entrepreneurs’ engagement in network ties from antecedents involving the firm’s knowledge absorptive capacity, business goals, entrepreneurial orientation, social interactions, and support from their environment.
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2. Direct and moderation effects on U.S. apparel manufacturers’ engagement in network ties

   https://doi.org/10.7341/20211733  

   J. Miller, Nancy ; Engel-Enright, Carol ; A. Brown, David ( January 2021 , Journal of Entrepreneurship, Management and Innovation)

   PURPOSE: Firms do not continue and prosper purely on their own individual endeavors, as each firm is influenced by the activities of others, and thus direct and indirect relationships shape the firm’s strategic management. These relationships form the tactics by which knowledge and other strategically important resources are accessed and created. Forming and maintaining ties among members of a network have been the subject of numerous research studies in the social, economic, and business literature. Our work is framed by the resource-based view of the firm perspective along with social capital theory and its shared constructs in network theory. Prior findings suggest that networking ties are strategic actions generated for firm growth and continuance. The ties may be short-term or develop into long-term relationships. The intent of this research is to fill some of the gaps in interorganizational networking strategy by analyzing five antecedents that have been suggested in the literature as individually associated with entrepreneurs’ engagement in network ties. In this way, our work provides another research avenue for examining networking’s contribution to strategic management. We hypothesized positive connections to entrepreneurs’ engagement in network ties from antecedents involving the firm’s knowledge absorptive capacity, business goals, entrepreneurial orientation, social interactions,more »and support from their environment. METHODOLOGY: In our quantitative approach, we tested our proposed macrolevel direct and moderating connections through an online survey of 125 U.S. apparel manufacturing firms. The apparel manufacturing sector in the U.S., as in many countries, has struggled with multiple disrupting factors contributing to the sector’s decline in firm continuance. FINDINGS: The results from OLS regression analyses support our hypothesized connections in that each of the five antecedents significantly contributed to entrepreneurs’ engagement in network ties; however, when all five were collectively examined only absorptive capacity, social interaction, and business goals were significant (R2 = 0.58). Further examination of moderation effects found the entrepreneurs’ perceptions of a supportive environment to modify both entrepreneurial orientation and business goals. RESEARCH AND PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The effects of a supportive environment on business goals’ relationship with network ties were greater when perceptions of a supportive environment decreased, while the effects of a supportive environment on entrepreneurship orientation’s relationship with network ties were greater when perceptions of a supportive environment increased suggesting further study of U.S. entrepreneurs’ perceptions of their environments. Entrepreneurs’ interested in building domestic and international supply chain ties may find network ties provide one solution for adapting the firm’s resources for global competitiveness. Future studies may direct attention to other industry sectors or countries for replication with larger sample sizes as we recognize the limitations to generalizability and scale refinement due to our limited sample size. ORIGINALITY AND VALUE: The examination of five constructs to shed light on how an organization’s decisions may relate to engaging in networks and provides theoretical as well as practical implications that contribute to the larger organizational system framework.« less
3. A mixed method exploration of building network ties in the US apparel industry.

   Miller, N. J. ( November 2020 , International Textiles and Apparel Association)

   Small-sized apparel manufacturing businesses who operate apparel design, development, and production businesses often experience inadequate knowledge in navigating the complex apparel industry. Key concepts in social capital theory suggest that social interactions and people-oriented organizational cultures advance knowledge sharing and network ties. This mixed method exploration of small-sized Colorado-based apparel manufacturers sought to address the research question: Is external knowledge available, and if so, do aspects of social capital play a role in the process? Study 1 involved a qualitative investigation with interviews and business documents suggesting low levels of knowledge sharing, and challenges in learning aspects of the industry. For Study 2, a quantitative analysis was conducted using stepwise multiple regression with independent variables measured by Likert-like scales involving knowledge absorptive capacity, social interaction, and people-oriented organizational culture. Network ties was the dependent variable. All three variables significantly explained networking ties. Exploratory findings provide both theoretical and pragmatic applications.
4. Advancing external firm knowledge and building network ties: A mixed method examination of apparel industry conditions.

   Miller, N.J. and ( January 2020 , Twenty-first International Conference on Knowledge, Culture, and Change in Organizations)

   Understanding how manufacturers engage in knowledge sharing with other firms is key in providing insights for the reshoring and strengthening of US apparel and sewn products manufacturing. Based on both social capital theory and the knowledge-based view of the firm perspective, this paper analyzes the conditions within the firm that support knowledge absorptive capacity, social interaction, and a people-oriented culture in building network ties to advance sharing of resources along the supply chain. Manufacturers of apparel and sewn products operating within a western US state form the sample population for this mixed method exploration. Study 1 involves a four-year qualitative examination of manufacturers across the state. Findings highlighted the frequency of knowledge as a topic of external organizational discussion. Study 2 probed aspects of knowledge quantitatively using an online survey with 38 participating manufacturing firm owners. Results suggested strong associations among the three independent variables and network ties generating an adjusted R2 of 0.766. A significant two-way interaction effect was found for absorptive capacity and social interaction indicating their positive effect on network ties. The relationship between absorptive capacity and network ties was found to be greater with higher levels of social interaction. Theoretical implications and suggestions for application ofmore »findings are offered.« less
5. Analyzing Three Competency Models of Advanced Manufacturing

   Oh, Sang Hoo ; Mardis, Marcia A. ; Jones, Faye R. ( June 2019 , ASEE annual conference & exposition)

   In this research paper, we present a study in which we analyzed and compared three competency models of manufacturing to assess how well the models visually communicate advanced manufacturing (AM) competencies. Advanced manufacturing covers new industrial processes that improve upon traditional methods in quality, speed, and cost. In addition, the dynamic nature of technology and innovation has made it difficult to find a unified illustration of key advanced manufacturing skills. However, three visual models of manufacturing illustrate various stakeholders’ perceptions of the field and depict the competencies individuals need to join the AM workforce. The three models we analyzed are: U.S. Department of Labor’s Advanced Manufacturing Competency Model, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers’ Four Pillars of Manufacturing Knowledge, and the National Association of Manufacturers-endorsed Manufacturing Skills Certification System. While the content in these models has been validated by governmental, industry, and educational stakeholders, less explored is whether these models, as visual media, are readily understandable by their intended audiences. In this paper, we will provide an in-depth analysis of these models by using the six fundamental principles of visual design by Edward Tufte (2006): comparisons, causality, multivariate analysis, integration evidence, documentation, and content. Taken together, these principles allowed us tomore »explore the fundamental principles of design in each model and distill promising directions for further investigation into more unified depiction of the advanced manufacturing industry sector’s competencies.« less