Measuring global production involvement: An exploratory study of Hong Kong clothing manufacturers

K. L. Moon, Wai Ting Ngai, J. M.T. Chang, K. C. Ho

Research output: Journal article publicationJournal articleAcademic researchpeer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A country's competitiveness and, in turn, its people's standard of living are linked to the involvement of its commercial sector in international business. The Hong Kong clothing-manufacturing industry is one of the key players in the world's fashion trade. The major objectives of this paper are to study how the manufacturers there are involved in global production and to develop a summary score for measuring the intensity of such involvement. Six modified global production involvement (GPI) indicators were identified from the literature and a logical and systematic approach was designed for the development of the score. Finally, a four-item sub-index, comprising location of offshore manufacturing plants, number of offshore manufacturing plants, length of offshore production experience and ownership of offshore plants, was successfully obtained, expressing the intensity of a firm's investment in global manufacturing facilities. The other two GPI indicators, propensity for offshore production and extent of offshore production networking were stand-alone, implying that the GPI of a firm should be viewed separately from three perspectives. These resulting measures can be used by other researchers to evaluate and compare specific countries' GPI as well as that of individual firms and to provide guidelines for firms to increase such involvement through adjusting the level of these measures.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)475-485
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of the Textile Institute
Volume100
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Aug 2009

Keywords

  • Clothing
  • Global production
  • Index
  • International business
  • Research construct

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Materials Science (miscellaneous)
  • General Agricultural and Biological Sciences
  • Polymers and Plastics
  • Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

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