exploration of the unique firm resources described by indian apparel

118 Pages·2013·1.32 MB·English

by  Debanjan Das

EXPLORATION OF THE UNIQUE FIRM RESOURCES DESCRIBED BY INDIAN
APPAREL EXPORT FIRMS FOR THEIR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES

A Thesis
Presented to
The Faculty of the Graduate School
At the University of Missouri

In Partial Fulfillment
Of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Science

By
DEBANJAN DAS
Dr. Jung Ha-Brookshire, Thesis Supervisor

July 2013
The undersigned, appointed by the dean of the Graduate School,
have examined the Thesis entitled
EXPLORATION OF THE UNIQUE FIRM RESOURCES DESCRIBED BY
INDIAN APPAREL EXPORT FIRMS FOR THEIR COMPETITIVE
ADVANTAGES
Presented by Debanjan Das
A candidate for the degree of
Master of Science
And hereby certify that, in their opinion, it is worthy of acceptance.

Dr. Jung Ha-Brookshire

Dr. Jana Hawley

Dr. Yong Volz
To my family, for always believing in me.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my advisor Dr. Ha-
Brookshire for the continuous guidance, support, and motivation. Her guidance helped
me in all the time of research and writing of this thesis. I could not have imagined having
a better advisor and mentor. I would also like to thank Dr. Hawley for constant
encouragement, insightful comments, and hard questions and also helping me in
understanding the Indian textile and apparel industry from a global perspective.
Furthermore I would like to thank Dr. Volz for introducing me to the fantastic world of
qualitative research. She has taught me to think beyond the numbers and made me
believe that words are more valuable than numbers. Also, I would like to thank the
participants in my study, who have willingly shared their precious time during the
process of interviewing.
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CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................ II
LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................... V
LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................... VI
LIST OF APPENDIXES .............................................................................. VII
ABSTRACT ............................................................................................ VIII
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ...................................................................... 1
Background of the study ...................................................................................... 1
Purpose of the study ............................................................................................ 3
Significance of the study ...................................................................................... 3
CHAPTER II: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................ 6
Theoretical Framework ....................................................................................... 6
Porter’s theory of competitive advantage of nations ...................................... 6
Resource-based theory of the firm ................................................................ 10
Indian Apparel Export Industry ............................................................... 14
Historical Perspective ................................................................................... 14
Current Indian Apparel Export industry ...................................................... 16
Summary of research gaps and questions .................................................... 25
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ................................................................ 28
Qualitative Interview ......................................................................................... 28
Sample ................................................................................................................ 29
Data Collection ................................................................................................... 33
Validation Strategies .......................................................................................... 36
Data Analysis ..................................................................................................... 37
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CHAPTER IV: RESULTS .................................................................... 38
Theme Interpretation ........................................................................................ 38
Key Competitive Advantages ........................................................................ 38
Key Resources of the Indian Apparel Export Firms ..................................... 43
Ownership ..................................................................................................... 56
Demand Conditions ...................................................................................... 59
Supporting Industries ................................................................................... 61
Government Policies ..................................................................................... 62
Chances .......................................................................................................... 65
Summary of Results ........................................................................................... 66
Researcher’s Reflection ..................................................................................... 68
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSIONS .................................................................... 70
Summary of the study ........................................................................................ 70
Contributions ...................................................................................................... 71
Implications ....................................................................................................... 73
Limitations and Future Research Opportunities .............................................. 75
REFERENCES .......................................................................................... 77
APPENDIXES : ....................................................................................... 83
APPENDIX A: In depth Interview Protocol ............................................................. 83
APPENDIX B: Revised In depth Interview after Pilot Run ..................................... 87
APPENDIX C:Email Recruitment ............................................................................. 91
APPENDIX D:Oral Recruitment .............................................................................. 93
APPENDIX E: Study Consent Form ......................................................................... 95
APPENDIX F: Study Consent Form (in Hindi) ........................................................ 98
APPENDIX G: Study Consent Form (in Tamil) ..................................................... 100
APPENDIX H: Study Consent Form (in Kannada) ................................................ 104
APPENDIX I: Institutional Review Board Approval for Final ............................... 107
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Porter's Diamond Model ...................................................................... 710
Figure 2: Map of India with Major Apparel Clusters ............................................ 16
Figure 3: The Study Framework pertaining to Indian Apparel Export Firms ...... 27
Figure 4: Summary of the Results pertaining to Indian Apparel Export Firms ... 67

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LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Demographic Characteristics of Participants .......................................... 30
Table 2: Demographic Characteristics of Indian Apparel Export Firms .............. 32

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LIST OF APPENDIXES
APPENDIX A: In depth Interview Protocol .............................................................. 83
APPENDIX B: Revised In depth Interview after Pilot Run ...................................... 87
APPENDIX C:Email Recruitment ............................................................................. 91
APPENDIX D:Oral Recruitment ............................................................................... 93
APPENDIX E: Study Consent Form .......................................................................... 95
APPENDIX F: Study Consent Form (in Hindi) ......................................................... 98
APPENDIX G: Study Consent Form (in Tamil) ...................................................... 100
APPENDIX H: Study Consent Form (in Kannada) ................................................. 104
APPENDIX I: Institutional Review Board Approval for Final ................................ 107

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ABSTRACT

The study explored the key competitive advantages and resources of the Indian
apparel export firms. According to Porter‘s (1990) theory of competitive advantage of
nations, a nation succeeds in a particular industry if it possesses a competitive advantage
relative to the best worldwide competitors. In addition, the resource based theory of the
firm defines competitive advantage as a value creating strategy being implemented by a
firm while other potential competitors do not or cannot (Barney, 1991). These theories
formed the theoretical background of the study. The interpretation from a qualitative
study approach, which used semi-structured interviews and field observations of eighteen
top level executives working in the apparel export industry in Tirupur and Bangalore
revealed four competitive advantages: (a) product advantage; (b) price advantage; (c)
delivery advantage and; (c) service advantage. Implications derived from the results offer
several important opportunities. Through an in-depth understanding of the key resources
of the Indian apparel export firms, the findings help the Indian apparel export firms in
realizing their actual key resources and competitive advantages. Government policy
makers may want to utilize the study findings to develop more flexible and effective
policies that may be more fruitful in the long term.

Keywords: India, apparel export industry, firm resource, competitive advantages

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