Yoon Jin Ma’s research while affiliated with Illinois State University and other places

Collaborative robots (cobots) are a new significant technology in the integration of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) and Industry 5.0 (I5.0). Working alongside humans in open environments, cobots can boost safety and productivity. However, manufacturers are facing some potential challenges in adopting cobots, such as technological challenges, social problems, cost barriers, and labor issues. Vietnam has a great potential for outsourcing in the top supply chains for many famous fashion brands globally, with thousands of textile and garment factories. The purpose of this study was to explore potential challenges of cobot implementations in the context of Vietnam's garment factories from factory employees' perspectives. Data were collected from 29 garment factory managers in Vietnam. Findings revealed a rapid change in fashion trends and many unskilled workers may limit cobots' flexibility, precision, and innovation. Furthermore, cobot implementation is affected by the cost of cobots, infrastructure upgrades, and risks of possible failure in deployment. Cobot firms, application partners, technology programmers, and manufacturers need to discuss how to maximize cobots' benefits in diverse aspects of the garment manufacturing setting. These insights could boost the industry's economy and sustainability.

This study addressed the cross-cultural applicability and tested the generalizability of the Consumer Styles Inventory (CSI) for profiling contemporary young consumers in the U.S. and South Korea. Online surveys were used to collect 411 American and 680 South Korean female responses from various universities in both countries, respectively. Using a cross-validation approach, this study revealed a seven-factor model for U.S. consumers and a five-factor model for South Korean consumers differed from the original Sproles and Kendall’s eight-factor model, suggesting a substantial modification to profile Decision-making Styles (DMS) of today’s global consumers. Findings are limited to young female consumers in both countries. The similarities and differences found between these two countries can provide helpful insights to apparel professionals targeting global consumers. The findings contribute a new way of profiling today’s young fashion consumers by modifying existing CSI that have been used for more than 30 years.

Purpose This study aims to investigate the following three issues: whether consumers process numeric information with locational cues, which locations (horizontal vs vertical) are more influential in processing numbers and whether a number-location association is weakened or strengthened when a visual reference frame moves up or down. Design/methodology/approach A field study and a series of three lab experiments were conducted to examine the location effect of numeric information on the package façade on the perceived magnitude of a number. Findings The authors found that a number at the right was perceived as larger than one at the left only when the number is located at the bottom. Also, placing numeric information at the bottom rather than the top of a product package façade was more powerful in processing the numeric information, but this is true only when the visual frame is set lower. Practical implications This study provides practical insights for product managers in placing core numeric information on product packaging to effectively communicate product value to consumers. Optimal locations can be deliberately considered along with types of numeric information and product categories. For healthy products that promote fewer calories, the top area of the package façade may be a better position for placing information on calories per serving to make the product more appealing to those who follow a healthy diet. Heavier, more voluminous products (e.g., refrigerator) better position their volume/weight information at the bottom than at the top or at the right of the bottom than at the left of the bottom on the product facade. Either the left side or right side of the top position may be beneficial for thinner, lightweight products (e.g., television). Originality/value The present work adds valuable empirical findings; inconsistent with past research, left-right location-number associations are not always true. People tend to associate smaller numbers with left-side locations and larger numbers with right-side locations only when the number is located at the bottom. Also, the study reported that top-small, bottom-large associations are not always true. The difference in perceived magnitude of the number between a number at the top and one at the bottom within the visual frame is significant only when the visual frame is set close to the ground.

Since the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act (CTSCA) was enacted, many large apparel retailers are required to post a corporate social responsibility statement on their website regarding their practices. The present study applies the CTSCA to the shopping context for evaluating consumer responses. A factorial experimental study using a scenario method was designed to explore the aims of this study. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two scenarios regarding either an apparel company’s website being compliant with the CTSCA, or an apparel company not have a disclosure on its website and therefore in violation of the CTSCA. A total of 716 responses were used in data analysis. The results show that there were significant effects of the presence of CTSCA on retailers’ website on consumer responses, after controlling consumer characteristics of socially responsible consumption behavior. That is, respondents in the study perceived that presenting the public statement in compliance with the CTSCA on a company’s website was more persuasive in decision making, promoted trust and enhanced usage and purchase intentions. The findings of the study suggest academic and marketing implications.

This study explores consumers’ perceptions of sustainability labels on apparel products and examines sustainability labels as an effective means of determining consumers’ purchase intentions, using the technology acceptance model (TAM) as the foundation. Data were collected via self-administered web-based surveys from 903 randomly selected shoppers throughout the United States (U.S.). Findings validated that perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, attitudes, and purchase intention were associated with consumers’ use of sustainability labels. Within those four variables, sustainability label users exhibited significantly higher scores than non-label users, though the path relationships among those variables were not different between the two groups. This study is one of the first to use TAM to understand how consumers perceive and use sustainability labels for apparel products. Through this application, label reading behaviour is viewed similarly to how consumers use new informational sources for their decision making process. The findings provide practical implications for business marketers and managers of sustainability apparel products. As this study focused on sustainability labels and apparel product shopping among U.S. consumers, it may be limited to apply findings to other product categories and may be limited to consumers outside the U.S.

Objective: To identify the prevalence of dietary supplement (DS) use, perceptions of DS efficacy, and lifestyle behaviors of DS users and non-users. Participants: Undergraduate students, student-athletes, and ROTC cadets at a Midwestern University between September 2014 and January 2015. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was administered. Analysis included descriptive statistics, chi-square, and independent sample t-tests. Results: At least 50% of respondents from each group reported DS use. Users generally reported favorable perceptions of efficacy. Undergraduate student DS users reported more exercise and more healthful dietary habits compared to non-users; however, nearly 72% of undergraduates who reported tobacco use also reported DS use. Less significant differences were observed in the student-athlete and cadet samples. Conclusions: DS use is common on college campuses, and many DS users report favorable perceptions of efficacy. With the exception of tobacco use, collegiate DS users generally report lifestyles that are as healthy or healthier than non-users.

In response to global environmental issues and general business competition, the last few decades have seen a tremendous increase in the awareness of the environmental impact and the usage of production management systems such as lean production (LP). To examine these strategies in the Indian apparel manufacturing industry, this study examines the extent and impact of cost-of-production and waste management practices, as well as barriers in the implementation of LP and environmental sustainability (ES) practices. Research was conducted and a total of 51 respondents working in the Indian apparel manufacturing sector were surveyed. According to the results, there is room for improvement in the implementation of LP and ES practices in the Indian apparel manufacturing sector, which could be achieved by effectively tackling the barriers identified in the research. Common and divergent factors for LP and ES regarding cost of production and waste management were also found in the research.

Purpose The purpose of this research is to investigate users’ expectations and preferences for transformable design functions of transformable party dresses to extend the life cycle of the clothing. With transformable design elements added to a party dress, a user can wear her one-event dress more than once, encouraging sustainable consumption. Rather than looking for a new dress, users can wear their party dress with one or even several new looks. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through purposive sampling from female college students who had purchased at least one party dress. The survey questionnaire was self-developed based on the literature review and consisted of items that measured fashion behavior in relation to party dresses; shopping orientations, focusing on confident/appearance and fashion-consciousness, economic/price consciousness and convenience/time-consciousness; perceived importance of design and functional elements in party dresses; perceived reasons for the limited use of party dresses; perceived importance of design elements of transformable dresses; purchase intention for transformable dresses; and demographic characteristics. Findings As consumer groups of diverse shopping orientations demonstrated purchase intentions for transformable party dresses, transformable features may become an important component of party dresses. Considering the main reasons for users’ limited use of party dresses, designers need to improve the versatility of the dresses’ design and functional elements, focusing on style and occasion, dress length, size/fit, silhouette and color/pattern, so that users can wear their party dresses more than once and ultimately enhance their sustainable apparel consumption practices. Originality/value The findings regarding users’ expectations and preferences for transformable party dresses can help apparel designers and fashion businesses understand potential users when developing transformable dresses and develop strategies to help with sustainable apparel consumption.

As the globalization of the apparel industry has increased, many issues have emerged regarding the management of supply chains overseas. Significantly low contract prices, which are offered in an effort to remain competitive in global trade, often lead to labor exploitation. The California Transparency in Supply Chains Act went into effect in 2012 to eradicate slavery and human trafficking from supply chains of manufacturing and retail companies. The purpose of this study was to investigate the current status of implementation of this Act in the apparel industry. A quantitative content analysis was conducted to analyze the website disclosures of 204 US-based apparel retail and manufacturing companies, focusing on the presence, type, length, accessibility, and content of their disclosures. The findings of this study provide insights for manufacturers, retailers, and marketers regarding how they can publicize their socially responsible efforts, particularly regarding slavery and human trafficking issues in their supply chains. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.