Idea Generation in the Fashion Industry

Robert J. Vinke Uppsala University

A thesis submitted for the degree of

Master of Social Science in Entrepreneurship

May 2016

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Abstract

Thisresearchexplorestheideagenerationstageintheinnovationalprocesswithinthe

fashionindustry.

Thetheorysectionstatestherelationofideagenerationtotheinnovationalprocess.Itwas

statedthatideagenerationinthefashionindustryisverycentralisedandattachedtothe

creativedirector.Whereideagenerationcomes,canbepromotedanddevelopedin

multipleways,throughstimulatingcreativityandestablishingappropriateideationsystems.

Throughfivesemi-structuredinterviewsandconsequentanalysis,itisfound,thatcontrary

toestablishedresearch,ideagenerationtowardsproductdevelopmenthappensalotmore

distantfromthecreativedirector.Thisgenerationofideasisdirectedbythisperson,but

theactualgenerationofideashappensthroughaverycollaborativeprocessrootedinthe

designers.Theartisticdirectionsetbythecreativedirectorisamajorinfluencerofideas

generated.Primeinfluencertothis,areeconomicmotives,whichconsequentlymakethese

businessespursuecopyingtogenerateacoherenttrend,wheretheyusebigdatato

forecastthesetrends.Fromadesignerperspectiveideasareprimarilyinfluencedby;

experience,encouragementfromtopmanagementandsubmersionintothetargetmarket.

Theresultsofthisresearchshowhowandwhereideasaregeneratedinthefashion

industry.

Keywords:Ideageneration,Innovation,FashionIndustry

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TableofContents

ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................................................... III

INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................................1

THEORYOFIDEAGENERATION................................................................................................................4INNOVATION ....................................................................................................................................................................... 5Innovationalprocess....................................................................................................................................5Typesofinnovation ......................................................................................................................................6

IDEAGENERATION............................................................................................................................................................. 7Ideagenerationinconcept .......................................................................................................................7Improvingideagenerationthroughideagenerationsystems..................................................8Creativityinideageneration ................................................................................................................10

IDEAGENERATIONANDCREATIVITYINTHEFASHIONINDUSTRY.......................................................................... 11SUMMERYOFTHETHEORYOFIDEAGENERATION................................................................................................... 13

METHODS...................................................................................................................................................... 14Researchphilosophy .................................................................................................................................15Researchapproach....................................................................................................................................15Researchstrategy.......................................................................................................................................15Researchchoice...........................................................................................................................................16Datacollectiontechniques .....................................................................................................................18Datacollection ............................................................................................................................................20Sample.............................................................................................................................................................20Researchsetting..........................................................................................................................................22Dataanalysis................................................................................................................................................23Reliability,validityandgeneralisability ..........................................................................................26

FINDINGS....................................................................................................................................................... 28IDEAGENERATION.......................................................................................................................................................... 28Individualvs.collectiveideageneration..........................................................................................28Positioning ....................................................................................................................................................30‘How’ ................................................................................................................................................................33Motivators .....................................................................................................................................................35Drivers.............................................................................................................................................................38

IDEATIONSYSTEMS......................................................................................................................................................... 41CREATIVITY...................................................................................................................................................................... 43

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DISCUSSIONS................................................................................................................................................ 45FUTURERESEARCH......................................................................................................................................................... 48LIMITATIONS ................................................................................................................................................................... 49

CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................................................ 50

REFERENCES ................................................................................................................................................ 51

APPENDIXES................................................................................................................................................. 57APPENDIX1 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 57APPENDIX2 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 59

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Introduction

Innovationisoneofthemaindriversofgrowthforbusinesses(BarringerandIreland,

2012),itisfoundthatestablishedorganisationsperiodicallyneedtoinnovateinorderto

achievethisgrowth(Kelley,2009;Amabile,1988).Importanceofinnovationtothesuccess

ofanorganisationhasbeenwidelyempiricallyrecognised(e.g.Anderson,DeDreu,&

Nijstad,2004;West,2002).

Inthelastdecadetherehasbeenachangeinrealisationthatbusinessesthatwantto

developormaintaintheircompetitiveadvantagehaveaneedforinnovation(Teece,2007;

Anderson,DeDreu,&Nijstad,2004;Elerud-TrydeandHooge,2014).Someprocessesof

innovationsdonotaccountfortheemergenceofideas,theyoftenonlyaccountforidea

evaluationbutskipthegenerationstage,or“theflowofideasisoftenviewedasrichand

generousorisnottreatedexplicitlyatall”(HustedandVintergaard,2004:300).Many

businessesarefoundtohavehaphazardprocessestowardsideagenerationcontrarytoits

relevancetowardsinnovation(BarringandIreland,2012;PinchotandPellman,1999),as

withoutideasgenuineinnovationishardtoreach.

Studyingthefashionindustryisinterestingduetotheireconomicsignificancebeinga

majordriverofeconomicgrowthonregionalandnationallevels(Camelo-Ordazetal.2012;

Potts2009;DeFeliceandPetrillo,2013).Basedonthefactthatthefashionindustryisvery

competitiveincombinationwiththeirshortproductlifecyclesmakestheconceptofidea

generationthought-provoking(Richardson,1996;Elerud-TrydeandHooge,2014).Asit

couldbearguedthatinnovationismoreimportantinthefashionindustry,duetothese

shortlifecyclesandcompetitivenature(CooperandKleinschmidt,1995;DeFeliceand

Petrillo,2013;Elerud-TrydeandHooge,2014).

Muchresearchhasbeenperformedinthefieldofthefashionindustry,numerousinthe

areaoftheirsupplychain,branding,pricingandaffectsoftheirnotoriousshortproductlife

cycles(Christopher,LowsonandPeck,2004).Butlessisknownabouttheirabilitiestobe

innovative(Malem,2008;Camelo-Ordaz,Fernández-Alles,Ruiz-NavarroandSousa-Ginel,

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2012).Particularlytheprocessbywhichtheseideastowardsinnovationaregeneratedand

inwhatpositionwithintheorganisation(Godart,Maddux,ShipilovandGalinsky,2015;

Malem,2008;HustedandVintergaard,2004).

Thislatterquestionisrelevanttoberesearchedasthefashionindustryhasbeenfoundto

bedifferenttootherindustriesinrelationtoideagenerationandsubsequentselectionof

ideas(Godart,Maddux,ShipilovandGalinsky,2015).Ideasaremostoftenselectedby

creativedirectorswithinthefashionbusinesses,wherethey“wieldalmostcomplete

controlovertheirhouses’collections,generatingandimplementingideasconcerninglooks,

colours,fabrics,orpatterns”(Godartetal.,2015:201).

“Thus,theprocessofgeneratingandimplementingcreativeideasinfashionisvery

centralised,andisattachedtothepersonofthecreativedirector.”(Godartetal.,

2015:202)

Thisgivesrelevancetodevelopinganinsighttowhereandhowideasaregeneratedwithin

thefashionindustry.

Settingthestagefortheresearchquestionofthisresearch:

Whereandhowareideasgeneratedtowardsproductdevelopmentinlarger

fashionbusinesses?

Thewhereisthepositionaljobtitleorplaceintheorganisationwheretheideacomesup,

thehowistheaspectsinfluencingideagenerationwhichincludeanaspectofwhypeople

comeupwithideaswhichcouldbeseenasathirdresearcharea.

Thisexcludedresearchintohowtheseideasareselectedanddeveloped,asthereismore

establishedresearchinthesefields(Malem,2008;HustedandVintergaard,2004;

Galbraith,1982).Productdevelopmentinfashionreferstothedevelopmentofnew

collectionsofclothes,accessories,apparels,shoes,bagsandrelatedproducts(Malem,

2008).Thisdoesnotexcludeideagenerationtowardsprocessesoutsideproduct

development,butseekstofocusonthisbusinessarea.Meaningtheusedsamplefordata

collectionisfocusedtowardsthis.

Throughthisresearchanempiricalcontributionismadeinthefieldoforganisational

processesinthefashionindustryandcorporateentrepreneurshipliterature.Multiple

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academicshaverequestedfurtherresearchduetothelackofthisinthespecificfieldof

creativityandstructuretowardsideageneration(Malem,2008;Camelo-Ordazetal.2012;

HustedandVintergaard,2004).

Furthermoreapracticalcontributionismadeintheunderstandingofthiscomplexmatter.

Asabetterinsightwillbegivenintotheprocessesthatareatworkinrelationto

innovation,whereknowledgeandunderstandingoftheseemergenceofideascan/might

leadtomorestreamlinedprocessflowandsomoreorbetterinnovationalperformance

throughutilisationofthecreativepotentialofthesebusinesses.Improvedinnovative

performanceeventuallycanleadtoanincreasedproductivityandorganisational

performance(LaursenandSalter2006).Moreoverthereisthehopethatpractitioners

outsideofthefashionindustrycanrelatetotheidentifiedwaysofideaemergenceand

translatethefindingstotheirrespectiveindustries.

Todevelopthecontributionaqualitativeresearchisconductedtogenerateaninsightinto

ideagenerationindifferentlargesizebusinessesinthefashionindustry.Throughfivesemi-

structuredinterviewsaninsightisdevelopedinhowandwheretheseideasaregenerated.

Themainfindingofthisresearchinrelationtothewherepartoftheresearchquestionis,

thatmainlydesignerscomeupwithideastowardsproductdevelopment,theseare

generallygeneratedindividuallyandthenputintoacollectiveteamforfurther

development.Themainfindingofthehowaspectisthatthisisnotimpactedbythe

creativedirectortotheextendexistingliteraturestatesittobe.Fewideationsystems,

outsideofbrainstorming,areatworkdevelopingpossibleopportunitycost.Whypeople

comeupwithideasisfoundtobetwo-fold,astheyaredirectedbytheartisticdirectionset

bythecreativedirectorandthroughtheirmoreintrinsicmotivatorsandabilities.This

artisticdirectionisfoundtobeprimarilyapursuitofeconomicperformance,inwhich

copyingiscommonand‘bigdata’isusedtoforecasttrends.

Thisthesisfirstexaminestheexistingliteratureofideagenerationanditsrelationto

innovation.Second,methodsofresearchandanalysisarepresented.Third,thefindings

anddiscussionofthesefindingsarepreformed.Finally,thethesisisbroughttoa

concludingstatement.

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TheoryofIdeaGeneration

Thisthesislooksatideageneration(inthefashionindustry),thisfallswithinthebroader

areaofinnovation,adjacenttothatistheliteratureoncreativity.Figure2.1presentsthe

mainareascoveredinthisliteraturereviewandthecoreliteratureused.

Figure2.1Keyliteraturethemesandsources

Source:Author

Mostconsistentindefininginnovationintheliteratureistheaspectofgeneratingnew

ideasandthepotentialofimprovementthroughchange(McFadzean,O'Loughlinand

Shaw,2005).Whereinnovationisseentohavedifferentphases,McFadzean,O'Loughlin

andShaw(2005)identifiedthefollowingphases;ideageneration,researchdesignand

development,prototypeproduction,manufacturingandsalesanddistribution.Thescope

ofthisresearchissolelyonthefirstphase;ideageneration.

Thefashionindustryfallswithinthegreatercreativeindustry,thecreativeindustrycrosses

abroaderrangeofsectors,fromvideogames,architecture,film,TVandadvertisingto

designerfashion.Thesesectorsareverybroad,buttheyallshareonecommon

demeanour,theyallrelyinindividualsskillsandtalentswhicharebasedinindividual

imaginationandcreativity(Green,MilesandRutter,2007).Thefashionindustryissubsetin

theproductdesignsectorwithinthecreativeindustry,amongsectorslike:graphic,

furnitureandwebdesign.

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Themajordifferencebetweenthecreativeindustryandthefashionindustryisthatthe

averagecompanyinthecreativeindustryisrelativelysmallinsize(MilesandGreen,2008).

Wherebusinessesactiveinthefashionindustryoftenneedeconomiesofscaleinorderto

staycompetitiveandduetothenatureoftheproductrequirebroadconsumerawareness,

beingaverysociallytrendsensitiveproductinnature.Makingthemmoreoften,largerin

size(Malem,2008).

Innovation

Notallinnovationisthesame,therearedifferentlevelsofinnovation.Thecontinuumof

incrementaltoradicalinnovationissimplestdifferentiationbetweenthedifferenttypesof

innovation(DewarandDutton,1986).Fourtypesofinnovationaredefined(Heany,1983),

whichareapplicableacrossallgenericindustries;productlineextensions,newproductsfor

eitherthedomesticoranewmarketorproductimprovements.

Kirton(2003)statesthatpeopleareinclinedtosolveproblems(basisofideageneration,as

laterdescribed)indifferentways,wherepriorexperience,internationalexperienceand

educationareafirmbasistothis(ChuaandIyengar,2008;Godardetal.,2015).Kirton

arguesforacontinuumfromadaptorstoinnovatorsintermsofproblemsolvingstyle.

Wherehestatesthatalotofinnovationsaremadethroughadaption,incaseofthefashion

industrythiscanbearguedtohappenmorefrequently,asallfashionbrandstake

inspirationfromeachothersstylestoacertainextend(Malem2008;Bianchiand

Bortolotti,1996).

Thefashionindustryisdifferenttootherindustriesinrelationtotheirinnovationalprocess,

astheyhaveauniquecontextdifferenttootherindustriesinregardtotheircreative

nature(Godartetal.,2015).Notinthewaythatinnovationisnotneededacrossall

organisationaldomains,butmoreinahighneedinaspecificorganisationaldomain,the

productdevelopment(Amabile,1996;Godartetal.,2015).Asstated,innovationalprojects

canbeonthecontinuumofradicalorincrementalinnovation.Needforinnovationinthe

fashionindustryisfoundtobemostoftenofanincrementalnature.

Innovationalprocess

Manyprocessestoinnovationhavebeendevelopedovertime.Amabile(1988)providesa

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goodoverviewofallmodelstoinnovationknownatthatmomentintime,thisoverviewis

basedonaninnovationprocessmodelreviewofSaren(1984).Theauthorofthisthesisis

awarethatthis31-year-oldresearchmightbeconsideredoutdated,wherethisis

consciouslyusedasitprovidesacomprehensiveoverviewofmodels.Whichhavebeen

subdividedintofivethemes.Theidentifiedtypesare:departmentalstagemodels,activity

stagemodels,decisionstagemodels,conversionprocessmodelsandresponsemodels.Of

thesemodelstheactivitystagemodelsareusedmostfrequentbyfar.Agoodexampleof

theactivitystagemodelisfoundbyCummingsandO’Connell(1978:1),theyhavedefined

thefollowingmodelstages:

“(1)searchforthesourceoftheproblem,(2)alternativegeneration,(3)alternative

evaluation,(4)selectionandinitiationofanalternative,and(5)acceptanceand

routinisation”.

Ideagenerationinthesensetowhichiscoveredinthisresearch(ideagenerationtowards

innovation)isactivelyusedinsteptwooftheinnovationalprocess,alternativegeneration,

asatthisstageactiveideagenerationisusedinorderto‘resolvetheproblem’(wherethe

problemistheneedforaninnovation).

Typesofinnovation

BianchiandBortolottireviewedhundredsofobjectsfromlamps,chairs,clothesetc.in

assessingwhattypeofinnovationtheywerecreatedupon.Theyidentifiedinnovationtobe

“consistingchangeintheproductform,notnecessarilyassociatedwithchangesproduct

functionproductionprocess”(1996:1).Theyinsistonthisdifferentiation,asthedefinition

ofincrementalinnovationrequiresaproduct,process,serviceetc.tobeimproved

significantlyinitsperformanceduetotheinnovationperformed.Infashionthisdoesnot

oftenhappen,asmostinnovationisfocusedonstructuralchangeoftheproduct(58%).

Thischangecanbecomparedtodevelopingnewdesignsbasedonobtainedinspiration

fromallpossibleinfluences(Malem,2008).Thesecondmostidentifiedinnovationin

BianchiandBortolottireviewis‘Changesintheproductionprocess’(36%)whichrelatesto

designersusingtechnologiesorexploitingthepotentialoftheirsupplychain.Thirdmost

identified(22%)isthe“newusesofthesameproduct”whichisfashionrelatestore-using

archivedmaterialandvintagefashion,andalsore-usingstrategiesformarketentryor

expansion(Malem,2008).

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Ithastobenotedthatthedatapresentedisgatheredacrosshundredsofdifferentobjects

BianchiandBortolottireviewed,anunknownportionofthisareclothes.Thisdatadoes

provideanideaofthetypesofinnovationbutispossiblynotrepresentableofthewhole

fashionindustry.

Heavy(1983)seesinnovationsrelatedtothepreviouslydescribedtypesastheleastrisky,

tothecorebusiness,formofinnovation.Astheoutcomeislikelytobepredictabledueto

theincrementalchangeandthemarketknowledgethatthebusinessalreadyhas.

Ideageneration

Sowhyisthereaneedforideageneration,firstasthisistheself-evidentstartof

somethingdifferentasideagenerationisfundamentalasthisisthestartingpointofany

innovation(Teece,2007).Furthermorebusinesseswhowanttodevelopandmaintainhigh

levelsofinnovationneedaconsistentandqualitativeflowofgeneratedideas(Elerud-Tryde

andHooge,2014;Boeddrich,2004;BjörkandMagnusson,2009).Inrelationtotheactivity

stagemodeltoinnovationpreviouslydescribed,ideagenerationisusedinstageoneand

twosearchforthesourceoftheproblemandgeneratingalternativestothis.Wherebyfar

thegreatestamountofideasaregeneratedandneededinthelatterstage.

Ideagenerationinconcept

Ideagenerationisaprocess,wherethisisprocessisidentifiedas:

“Ideas’developmentinitiallyproceedingviaarelativelyrandomvariationprocessof

eithercompletelynewconceptualisationsornovelcombinationsofexistingideas.

Suchaprocessisrandomor“blind”inthesensethatthereisnoparticularlogicora

priorirationalefortheideas’generation.Instead,theinitialsearchproceedswhereby

manynewconceptualisationsorcombinationsarecreatedrelativelyhaphazardly

basedonwhateverdifferentinputsareavailable,inthehopethatsomethingofvalue

willeventuallybeproduced.Inthesecondstep,thatofselectiveretention,asubset

ofthemostpromisingvariationsarethenselectedforfurtherexplorationand

refinement,eventuallyleadingtoanendproductthatisconsideredbothnoveland

useful—inotherwords,creative(Campbell,1960;Simonton,1999,2011).”(Godartet

al.,2015:198)

Inotherwords,ideasaregeneratedatrandom,wherethereisabasicneedforcreativityto

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comeupwithnewconceptualideasorcombinationsofexistingideas,seenasthefirststep

ofideageneration.Thesecondstepisthatofpersonalselectiveretention,thisretentionis

basedintheperson’sperception,notasorganisationalretentionofideas.Astheperson

withtheideaalsohasanintrinsicretentionmechanism,oneideaisperceivedmore

valuablethenanother.Onepersoncangeneratemultipleideasandapproachestowardsa

problemstatement,buttheperceivedmostvaluableormosteffectiveideawillbe

pursued.

Improvingideagenerationthroughideagenerationsystems

“Theneedforconsideringnotonlytheidentificationofideas,butalsohowfirms

actuallytakeanactiveroleinstimulatingthegenerationandexplicitformulationof

ideas”(Björk,BoccardelliandMagnusson,2010).

Björk,BoccardelliandMagnusson(2010)foundthatlargefirmshavestartedusingactive

ideationsystemstogeneratemoreideas,whichistodevelopsystemsorpracticestoallow

ideastobeaccessibletoallrelevantpeopleintheorganisation.Theyidentifiedthreemain

systems:largebrainstormplatformsinwhichemployeescancontribute,idea-bootcampsin

whichthewholecompanyisprovidedwithincentivestogenerateideasinaparticulararea

andideacompetitions(whicharedifferenttoposttheirideasasthereisapublic‘winner’)

aswaysofideageneration.

Overallthegeneralconsensusisthatideastowardsinnovationarerarelygeneratedby

individualsinisolation.Duetothisprocessofinnovationbeingveryinteractivesuggests

thatpeopleinthisprocessrelyheavilyoninteractionwithallpartiesinvolvedinthis

process;users,suppliersandotherplayersintheinnovationalsystem(LaursenandSaulter,

2006).

Therearemanywaystoimprovethisinteractiveprocess,forexampledesigningthe

physicalpremisestoallowcrossfertilisationandremovingasmanybarrierstoinformation

flowsaspossible(PinchotandPellman,1999).Thisprocessofopeninguptheorganisation

toinformationflows,technicallyandphysically,islabelledopeninnovation(Chesbrough,

2003).Subsequenttoanopeninnovationalorganisationteamsorpeopletendtocome

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togetherthroughinformalbutdensenetworksbasedoninterestsandformerinteractions

(BrownandDuguid,2000).

Outsideofideationsystemscompaniescangenerallyapplytwointernalstructuresto

generateideas.First,traditionalR&Dexpenditures,whichisfocusedoninternalsearch.

Katila(2002)statesthatcompanies,basedonthetechnologicalpossibilitiesofmodernday,

haveanincreasedneedtoincorporateanappropriateinvestigationstrategyandthese

activitiesshouldbeassessedandmeasuredaccordingly.Inrelationtothefashionindustry

thismightbearelevantpoint,assomeresearcharguesthatthefashionindustryis

predominantlyactinanadaptor/copierwaytowardscoreproductinnovation(Camelo-

Ordazetal.,2011).

Second,internalventuredepartments,wherethesearenotcommoninthefashion

industryandsolessrelevanttoconsider.Venturedepartmentsaredepartmentsexisting

insideanexistingcorporationwhichaimstoinnovate,theyareoftenseencapableindoing

soastheyarenotrestrictedbycorporatepoliticsandrulings(HustedandVintergaard,

2004).Thesecorporateventuresarenotcommoninthefashionindustryasthe

developmentofnewproducts(clothesorapparels)isthecoreofthebusinessandsohard

toplaceoutsideofthis(WangandAhmed,2007).

Internalideagenerationisnottheonlywayforbusinessestogenerateideas,theaspectof

outsourcingorbringinginexternalconsultisoftenoverlooked,thesecompanieshelp,

contributeorcompletelydevelopideasonrequestofthecorebusiness(Chesbrough,

2004).Theexternalaspectisnotlimitedtothegenerationofideaswiththehelpof

externalsources,butalsoencompassestheirabilitytofindanduseknowledgethatis

createdexternallyandisfoundtobecriticalinacompaniesinnovationalcapabilities

(CohenandLevinthal,1990).Meaningthatobtainingandeffectivelyprocessingofoutside

knowledgeisimportant,aslearningisabasisoftheabilitytoconnectconceptsand

developthemintoideas(LaursenandSaulter,2006;Amabile,1988).Thisconceptof

drawinginoutsideknowledgeandideasinliteratureisincludedinopeninnovation

(Chesbrough,2004).Whenabusinessistoointernallyfocuseditismorelikelytomiss

opportunitiesasmanyoftheseopportunitieswillfalloutsideofthebusinessesscope,

wherebringinginexternalresourceswillunlockthispotential(Chesbrough,2003).

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Creativityinideageneration

“Innovationisbuiltoncreativeideasasthebasicelements.Organisationalinnovation

thesuccessfulimplementationofcreativeideaswithinanorganisation”(Amabile,

1988:3)

Thisstatementprovidesaneedforcreativitywithinorganisations,whichissupportedin

otherresearch.Whereapositivecorrelationwasfoundamongpeoplethatperceive

themselvesmorecreativelyinclinedandthenumberofideastheygenerated(Tierneyand

Farmer,2002).Whereitisnotsaidthateveryideageneratedisagoodone,and

subsequentlymeansinnovationalimprovement.Ahighcreativelevelorabilitywithinan

organisationhasbeenfoundtohaveapositiveeffectonideagenerationintermsofbreath

(numberofideas(Amabile,1996))anddepth(qualityofideas)(Hammondetal.,2010)),

whichdoeffectthenumberofqualitativeideas.Thisneedforbreathanddepthofideas

andtheneedforthisininnovationissupportedbyBurgelman(1983)instatingthat

businessesneedasignificantamountofqualitativeideasinordertomakeanappropriate

selection.

Amongacademicsthereislittleconsensusaboutthedefinitionofcreativity(Hammond,

Neff,Farr,SchwallandZhao,2010).WhereStein(1974)concludesthatmostresearchand

academicsadoptadefinitionwhichisproductfocused,recognising“noveltythatisuseful”.

Thereismoreagreementandtoasatisfactorylevelinthedifferencesbetweencreativity

andinnovation.CreativityfocusesbydefinitionofUnsworth(2001)onthegenerationof

novelideas.Whereasinnovationisabroaderprocesswithinacompany,thisdoesinclude

ideageneration(creativity),amongthegenerationofalternatives,selectionand

implementationofthese(Anderson,DeDreu,&Nijstad,2004).Godartetal.(2015)

concludesbasedonresearchofClegg,Unsworth,EpitropakiandParker(2002)thatper

definitionallinnovationiscreativetoacertainextendwhereasitisnottosaytheother

wayaround,thatallcreativityisinnovative.Thisasacreativeideahasthepotentialofnot

beingnovel,likereinventingthewheel.

Ifthelevelofinnovationisdeemedlowwithinorganisationstherearemultiplewaysto

improveinnovation,wheretopmanagementrecognitionofthisiskey,asfurther

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organisationalbehaviourisinfluencedbythis(PinchotandPellman,1999;Hustedand

Vintergaard,2004).Innovationinessenceisknowledgecreationandsubsequentlearning

(Lane&Lubatkin,1998),whichcanbestimulatedinvariousways.PinchotandPellman

(1999)haveperformedalotofresearchandpracticalobservationsonwaystoimprovethe

innovationalenvironment.Threemainthemesinwaystoimprovetheinnovational

environmentare;organisationalculture,organisationalstructureandorganisationalfocus.

Acrossliteratureitcanbeseenthattheorganisationalfocusinveryimportant,mighteven

bethemostimportant(Björk,BoccardelliandMagnusson,2010;HustedandVintergaard,

2004;Camelo-Ordazetal.,2011).Thisclearfocusonactivitiestopromoteideageneration

isacceptedacrossgeneralindustries,wherethereisnodataifthisincludedthefashion

industry(Björk,BoccardelliandMagnusson,2010).Onepracticalaspectthatisoften

overlookedistheneedforfocusandenforcementfrommiddlemanagementin

transmittingthispro-innovationvisiontolowlevelpeopleintheorganisationasthisisthe

placewheremostideasforinnovationaregenerated(HustedandVintergaard,2004).

Ideagenerationandcreativityinthefashionindustry

Inliteraturethereisastrongdividewithinthefashionindustry,whereSMEandlarge

fashionbusinessesaresegregated,astheyoperateindifferentwaysinrelationtotheir

organisationalstructuresandfieldsofexpertiseoftheiremployees.SMEfashion

businesses(upto250employees)haveanincreasedneedtobalancetheircreativeand

businessneedsasthefashionindustryneedtobalancetheircreativeandcommercial

needs,theseneedsareseentocontradicteachothertoanextent(Malem,2008).Onone

sidecreativelyinclinedpeopletenttolosetheneededbusinessfocustomaketheir

developedinnovation(ideas)commerciallyfeasible.Andontheotherthereareemployees

thatfocustoomuchonthebusinesssideandcomeupwithnon-ornotnovelenough

ideas.Ithastobestatedthatthisbalancingimplicationisevenmorepressingissuefor

smallbusinesses(upto49employees).Themajorimplicationhereisthatpeopleinsmall

businessarefoundtobelessbusinessdrivenandmotivated,whereaslargerfashion

businesseshavethecapabilitytohirewiththisdiscrepancyinmind.

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Asstated,innovationalprojectscanbeonthecontinuumofradicalorincremental

innovation.Godartetal.(2015)statethatallinnovationperdefinitionare,toanextent,

arecreative,wherethelevelofcreativityineveryinnovationvariestoagreatextent.Ideas

neededinthefashionindustryaremostoftenofanincrementalneed,eventhoughthey

havetoproducenewproductseverylifecycle(Malem,2008).Thishassomeinfluenceon

theprocessofcreativityandideageneration.Asthechangesfrominnovationalneedto

innovationalneed(theneedforproductstobedifferentfromeachother)implicatesubtle

incrementaldifferences,wherehighlevelsofcreativitycouldprovideforamoreefficient

routetothesolvingtheproblem,thatofcreatinganewinnovation.Basedonthisthereisa

conceptualcontradictioninthefashionindustrywhereononehandthetheoryimplicatesa

lowneedforcreativityandontheotherhandahighneed.Inotherwords,withinthe

fashionindustry,contrarytootherindustries,thereisahighneedforvariationofideas

whichareofanincrementalneedresultinginaneedforhighlevelofcreativity.

Onewaythefashionindustryhasbeenidentifiedtogenerateideasisthroughtheconcept

of‘coping’ortrendwatching(RaustialaandSprigman,2006).Fashionperdefinitionmeans

thatsomethingispopular,thishastheconsequencethatpartieswithinthisindustry

engagein‘copying’.Asotherwisetheremightbenosuchthingasacoherenttrendor

‘popularstyle’(Hilton,ChoiandChen,2004).Inordertobeattractivethesepartiesstill

havetheneedtodifferentiatethemselves,asotherwisetheirproductsbecometoo

homogeneoustotheircompetitorandnocompetitiveadvantageisdevelopedinwhich

ideagenerationandcreativityareimportantaspects.

Oneaspectthatwasrecognisedtobeusedinspottingtrendinfashionistheuseof‘Big

Data’,bigdataaresetsofdatathatgobeyondusualsetofdatauptoterabytesofdata

(Snijders,MatzatandReips,2012).Whereanalysisofthisdatacanrevealbusinesstrend

andpredictwhereconsumerpreferenceswillgotowardsinfuture(TheEconomist,2010).

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SummeryofthetheoryofIdeaGeneration

Inanattempttosummarise,ideagenerationisoneofthefirststepsintheinnovational

process.Ideasgenerationisablindorrandomprocessinwhichconceptualisationsare

combinedinanattempttocomeupwithanideaofvaluetotheidentifiedproblemor

need.

Ideasareneededinthefashionindustry,asthereisahighconceptualneedinbreathof

ideas,asthenatureofthefashionbusinessrequiresahighamountofincremental

innovations.Creativityisidentifiedasoneofthefacilitatorsofideageneration.Thefashion

industry,contrarytootherindustries,hasahighneedforvariationofideaswhichareofan

incrementalneedresultinginaneedforhighlevelofcreativity.

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Methods

Thischapterwillprovideaphilosophicalunderpinningoftheresearch,includingthe

researchdesign.Itwillgiveanswerstothe;how,whyandwhatquestionsinrelationtothe

approachtothisresearch(Denscombe,2007).SapsfordandJuppdescribedthe

methodologyas“aphilosophicalstanceofworldviewthatunderliesandinformsastyleof

research”(p.175,2006).Inthischapterthechosenresearchdesignisjustifiedintheview

ofansweringtheresearchquestionmostappropriately(Creswell,2009).

Thedesignoftheresearchhasaprofoundinfluenceontheoutcomestheresearchwill

have.Allresearchdesigndimensionswillhavetobenefittheansweringoftheresearch

question(Creswell2009).InstructuringthisresearchdesigntheSaunders,Lewisand

Thornhillstructureflowwillbeappliedforthefirstandsecondoutsiderings(2012),which

canbeseeninfullinFigure3.2.Thisasthespherearoundtheresearchwillbeset.After

whichthefirstinnerlayer(timehorizons)willbeidentified,asthissequenceismore

relevantandnaturalinflow(Sauders,LewisandThornhill2012;Creswell2009).

Figure3.2Sauders,LewisandThornhill’sResearch‘Onion’.

Source:Sauders,LewisandThornhill,2012:160

15

Researchphilosophy

Themostouterlayerthatinfluencestheresearchisthephilosophytheresearcheroperates

in.Philosophicalworldviewtakeintoaccounttheviewoftheresearcherontheworld,

whereasetofbasicbelievesorattitudeguidestoacurtaindecisionoraction.After

considerationofmultipleadoptableworldview(positivism,epistemologyandpragmatic

worldview)theinterpretivismworldviewisadopted.Theinterpretivismviewisadoptedas

theresearchreallylooksatpeopleandthewaytheyact,wherethisviewisdeemed

appropriatetoasresearchshouldaimtounderstanddifferencesamongpeopleintheir

socialroles(Saunders,LewisandThornhill,2009).Socialrolesandthewaythisshapes

behaviourisconsideredimportantinthisview.Thisviewisdeemedappropriateinbusiness

andmanagementstudiesandinparticulartofieldslikeorganisationalbehaviour,towhich

thisresearchcouldbesubjectedto(Saunders,LewisandThornhill,2009).The

epistemologyviewwasstronglyconsideredasthisallowsforuseofmethodsdeemedby

theresearcher,wherethiswasnotselected,asthehumaninteractionsideofresearchwas

notconsidered.

Researchapproach

Thesecondlayertotheresearchistheapproachchosentogroundtheresearchin,this

commonlymeansconsideringinductiveanddeductivereasoning.Inthisresearchahybrid

approachistaken.Thoughprimarilyininductivereasoning,thisapproachischosenasthis

researchdoesnotseekanabsolutetruthlinkedtoatheory,astherearemanywaystohow

ideasaregeneratedandwheretheyemerge.Seekingtodevelopedanabsolute‘truth’

seemsnotapplicable,asaprocesstoideagenerationisnotrightorwrong(Amabile,1988).

Adeductiveapproachhasbeentakeninidentifyingthemainthemesfromliteraturein

ordertodevelopastructuralunderstandingandconsequentlyusedfortheinterview

protocolandthecodingoftranscripts.Deductivereasoningfindsisbasisintheory,after

whichatop-downstructureisfollowedwherefirstthe‘truth’isfoundintheory(Horn,

2009;Vickers,2006).

Researchstrategy

Thestrategytotheresearchisthenextstageoftheresearchdesign.Asstatedbefore

differentresearchhavedifferentaims,wheresomeaimtoexplore,describeorexplaina

16

phenomenawheredifferentapproachesareneededineverycase(Creswell2009).Broadly

therearethreegroupingsintermsofbasisofapproaches,exploratoryresearch,descriptive

researchandexplanatoryresearch(Kumar,2005).

Thecurrentresearchaimstodevelopclearinsightsintowhatishappeninginthefashion

industryinrelationtoideageneration.Aspreviouslystatedinthetheorysection,thereis

verylittleknownaboutthisphenomenainliterature.Thismakesthisresearchalmostper

definitionexploratory.Asexploratoryresearchprimarilyseekstodevelopnewinsightsin

unknownphenomena(Robson,2011).Wherethisresearchstrategyisveryappropriate

whenthereistoolittleknownaboutphenomenatomakeconceptualdistinctions(Shields

andRangarajan,2013).Thisapproachisfurthermoreinlinewiththehybridresearch

approachadopted(Saunders,LewisandThornhill,2009).

Explanatoryresearchseekstoexplainasituationandidentifyacausalrelationshipamong

orbetweentwoormultiplevariables.Whichisnotinlinewiththeresearchquestionand

thenatureofthisresearch.

Descriptiveresearchaimstodescribethesubjectathandortoestablishaprofileofa

situation,personorevent.Thisnatureofresearchisoftenusedaspreliminaryresearchto

exploratoryresearch,asaclearpictureofthetopicisuseful(Saunders,LewisandThornhill,

2009).Asstated,thereislittleknowaboutthephenomenadiscussedinthisresearchand

soadoptionofthisstrategyisnotappropriate.

Researchchoice

Researchchoiceisthenextlayerintermsofresearchdesign,thesearedifferentiations

betweenqualitativeandquantitativeapproachesintermsoftheresearchstrategy(Bryman

2008).Furthermoremixedmethodsresearchersareusedtousebothtypesofresearch,

whichisalsostatedastriangulation(Creswell,2009).

Inthisresearchaqualitativeapproachisused,thisresearchaimstogetaninsightinto

whereandhowideasaregeneratedwithinthefashionindustry.Wheregettinganin-depth

understandingofthisisimportant,speciallyaslittleisknown.Usingthisapproachis

furthermorecommonlyusedinexploratoryresearches,wheregainingabetter

understandingisaimedforandthisapproachdeemedagoodmethod(Creswell,2009).

17

Ithastobestatedthatthisdecisionisnotoneitherdefinitesideofthecontinuum

betweenqualitativeandquantitativeastheresearchstrategyanddatacollectionmethods

willrequireablendwithoutitbeingamixedmethodapproach.Asthismixedmethod

approachwouldrequiremultipledatacollectionmethodswhichisnotthecaseinthis

research,laterdescribed.

Qualitativeresearchusesalessbroadbasisofparticipants,butgoesmorein-depth,this

broaderstudyallowsformorein-depthquestionsthroughopennessinfollow-up

questions.Aswellasavoidingprejudgementsasparticipantsareabletoelaborateonthe

answersgivenandarenotrestrictedtosimpleclosedorLikertscalequestions.Thereare

disadvantagesaswell,samplesizesareoftensmaller,thereisalowerpossibilityfor

generalisation,systematiccomparisonishardertomake,thepotentialopportunitycostin

termsoffollow-upquestionsnotaskedandtheskillsoftheresearcherhaveagreateffect

ontheoutcomeofthedata(Kruger,2003).

Quantitativeresearchisbasisofresearchwhereoftennumericalbasisisgiventoresearch.

Advantagesinusingthistypeofresearchisthatthereisalownumberofpersonalbias,is

easytoreplicate,comparisonacrosssourcesismorestraightforwardandmoreoften

studiesagreaternumberofparticipants.Oneofthebiggestdisadvantagesisthatthere

mightbeastructuralbiasinthewayquestionsareformulated(Creswell,2009).

Mixedmethodsallowforusingthebestofbothworlds,wherebiasesstatedinprevious

methodsarelargelycancelledandallowsfordevelopingamoreextendedunderstandingof

theresearchproblem.Thebiggestdisadvantage,andalsotheprimereasonwhynotused

inthisresearch,isthatitisacostly,timelymethodwheredatamightbehardtocombine.

Manystrategiescanbeselectedinordertoobtainthisqualitativedata,whereexperiment;

survey,casestudy,actionresearch,groundedtheory,ethnographyandarchivalresearch

areidentifiedbySaunders,LewisandThornhill(2009)asthemostcommonlyused

strategies.Whereithastobestatedthatallstrategiesarenottobelabelledtoonecertain

researchstrategy,approachandmethodasthesechoicesareguidedbytheresearch

objectivesincombinationwithlimitationstotheresearch(Saunders,LewisandThornhill,

2009).Whereforthisresearchmultiplewereconsideredbutonlyoneselected.

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Hakim(1987)disputesthatqualitativeresearchpreseneedstobegroupedintoareasof

strategies,whereshestatesthatthedatacollectionmethodsandtheconsequentuseof

thedatainformulationofdiscussion,conclusionandcontributionistheparamountdriver

ofresearchdesign,whichissupportedinconclusionsofStraussandCorbin(1990).This

wayofthoughtisadoptedinthisresearch,asstatedbeforethecurrentresearchneeds

flexibilityintermsofresearchdesigninordertoreachthestatedaim.Hakimfurther

identifiesinterviewsasthemostcommonlyusedformofdatacollection,whichisusedin

thisresearch.Tobespecific,collectionwillbeperformedusingsemi-structuredinterviews,

as“individualsareinterviewedinsufficientdetailfortheresultstobetakenastrue,

correct,completeandbelievablereportsoftheirviewsandexperiences”(Karim,1987:27).

Thebiggestdrawbackisthatduetotherelativesmallnumberofrespondentsthefindings

cannotbetakenasrepresentativeforthewholeindustry.

Inthisprocessofresearchchoicecasestudiesasastrategywereconsidered,where

Robson(2002)definesthecasestudystrategyasastrategyofresearchingofaphenomena

initsrealcontextusingmultiplesourcesofevidence.Advantagesofadoptingthisstrategy

isthatitallowsfortheidentificationordescriptionofbehaviourofagroupasawhole

insteadofthedescriptionofindividualbehaviourwherethiswouldbeappropriatetothis

research(Yin,2013).Thisstrategyrequiresdatacollectionoveranextensiveperiodoftime

wherewiththelimitationsofthisresearchtherewasnosuchapossibility,duetothetime

constrainsofthisproject.Wherethisstrategyofcollectionwouldhavebeenappropriate

andagoodmeanofcollectionwithintheexploratoryresearchstrategy,butduetothe

reasonpreviouslystatednotadopted,whereitcouldbeconsideredinafurtherstudy

(Saunders,LewisandThornhill,2009).

Datacollectiontechniques

Semi-structuredinterviewwillbeconductedasadatacollectiontechnique,where

structuresinterviewcontainsasetlistofquestionsfromwhichcannotbediverted,semi-

structuredinterviewsareopen.Theresearcherdoesguidetheinterview,butleavesroom

toopenupthediscussion,thisinordertogetanevenmoredetailedandin-depth

understandingofthematterathand(EdwardsandHolland,2013).Inthissemi-structured

19

approachtheresearchisallowedtowordquestionsflexible,clarificationmaybemadeto

theparticipantandquestionsmaybeaddedordeleted(Kawamura,2011).Drever(1995)

identifiedsemi-structuredinterviewsasacommonlyusedandoftenappropriatemeanof

collectingdataforsmalltomidscaleresearcheswiththeaimofcompletinganeducational

degreeasthiscurrentresearch.

Thismeanofdatacollectionisdeemedappropriatetothisresearchastheexploratory

natureoftheresearchrequirestheresearchertoaskopenquestionsthataredeemed

relevantinordertogetamorein-depthunderstanding(andsubsequentdatacollection),

basedonaquestion-listorrangeoftopicthattheresearcherwantstocoverinthe

interview(EdwardsandHolland,2013).Thisstillfacilitatessomestructureinorderto

subsequentlycompareanswersacrossallintervieweesthroughuseofthesamequestions

orsametopics.

Theapproachtakeninrelationtoformulatingtopicsandspecificquestionwasbasedin

highleveltextualanalysisofthetheoryaspresentedinthetheorysection.Inthisalmost

abstractprocesstheauthorhasgroupedthemesthataredeemedrelevant(Blaxter,

HughesandTight,2006).Thesequestionsandthemesweredeemedrelevantastheir

representedalogicalreasoninginthelineofideageneration.Wheretheparticipantwas

askedaboutideageneration,ideationsystemsandcreativityafterwhichinquestionform

theywereaskedtoelaborate.

Theinterviewswereguidedbasedonacreated‘interviewprotocol’,whichcanbe

reviewedinAppendix1(Pratt,2009).Thisprotocolwasdevelopedtohelptheinterviewer

createstructureintheinterview,wheresetthemeswerediscussedeveryinterview.Ithas

tobenotedthatthesingleauthorofthisresearchinallcasesisalsotheinterviewer.

Dependingontheinterviewandtheflowoftheinterviewthesequenceoftheinterview

questionswasdifferentandwordingofquestionmighthavebeendifferent.Thiscould

havehadtheunconsciouseffectthatsimilarquestionsweredifferentlyperceivedbythe

participants.Thisthreatcomeswitheverysemi-structuredinterviewwherethisisvery

difficulttomitigate.Neverthelesstheinterviewerconsciouslytriedtokeepthequestions

mostsimilartoeachotherinconsiderationofflowoftheinterviewbylettingthe

participantstalk.

20

Datacollection

Collectionofdatawasperformedthroughdistanceconference(Skypeortelephone).As

thegeographicaldistanceoftheresearchertotheparticipantswasconsiderableand

conveniencethroughonlinemeetingswashighforbothinterviewerandparticipant.

Furthermoreinpreparationtotheinterviewtheintervieweeswereprovidedwithalistof

themesthatwerediscussedduringtheinterviewasproposedbySaunders,Lewisand

Thornhill(2012).

Oneconsiderationthatneedstobemadeinanyresearchmethodsectionistheethical

considerationtowardstheresearch,itspurpose,theparticipantsandtheuseofthedata

thatwascollected(Russell,HoganandJunker-Kenny,2013).Theactualinterviewswere

recordedinordertobetranscribedatalaterstage.Wheretheethicalconsiderationwas

thatupfronttheparticipantsweremadeawarethattheinterviewwasrecordedandthat

everythingtheysaidmayhavebeenusedtowardstheresearchfindings.Quoteswere

recordedandusedindiscussionwithoutpersonalapprovalfromtheparticipants,whereas

thestatementsweremadeanonymous.Alloftheabovewasisthebasisofinformed

consent(Hakim,1987).

Sample

Inordertofulfiltheresearchquestionthesamplethatisobtainedneedstobepeople

relatedtotheconceptofideagenerationtowardsproductdevelopmentwithintheir

respectivecompany.Basedonlogicalreasoningandpriorexperienceoftheauthorthese

peoplewouldbedesigners,stylists,creativedirectors.Asthesepeoplewillhaveanotionof

wheretheoriginalideacamethroughorshouldbeabletoretrievethisinformation.

Ingatheringdataasamplesizeneededtobeconfigured,asanappropriatebroadsample

sizewillcreatevalidityandreducedbiasoftheresearch(Sauders,LewisandThornhill,

2012).Karim(1987)statesthatinterviewsfocusondetailedin-depthdata,whichusually

involveasmallnumberofparticipants.Aimingtodistinguishsub-groupsaswellasspecific

clustersofattitudesandrelatedbehaviour.Thesizeofthesampleisdependantonthe

designandthenatureoftheparticularstudythatisbeingperformed(Edwardsand

Holland,2013).Otherresearchersstatethattheterminologyofsamplesizeiswrongasthe

21

focusshouldbeondatagenerationasaprocess,opposedtoaquantitativeendpoint

(Seale,Gobo,GubriumandSilverman,2007).

Thisresearchsetouttoreachasaturationpoint,whichisthepointatwhichnonew

themesorsub-categoriesareidentified,whichwasreachedininterviewfive.Anotehasto

bemadethatthefactthatnofurthercodeswereidentifieddoesnotmeantherearenon

more,aspossiblemoreinterviewswouldhavegeneratedsuch.Theauthorofthisresearch

isawarethatstatisticiansandeconomicsregulardisputetheuseofrelativesmallsample

interviewsasareliableandvalidatedmeanofdatacollection,inthecaseofthisresearch

theauthordeemsitappropriateaslittlefactsareknowninrelationtotheresearchaim

andsothisresearchisagoodfirststepingettingabetterinsightinideagenerationinthe

fashionindustry.

Ininitialpursuitofparticipantstheauthorspersonalnetworkinthefashionindustrywas

used,afterwhichasnowballapproachwouldbetakeninordertofillthedesiredsample

size,bothoftheseapproachesareinlinewithpracticeinsocialsciences(Edwardsand

Holland,2013).Thisapproachistakenasthefashionindustryisseenasan

incomprehensivenetworkofpeoplewheregettinga‘footinthedoor’isdifficultwhennot

insidethenetwork(Malem,2008).

Thisapproachwasinitiallypursuit,butdatacollectioninthefashionindustryturnedoutto

havecertainhurdles.Theauthorspersonalnetworkprovedtobefruitless.Alimitingfactor

istheaspectthatsomepeopleinthefashionindustryworkunderanon-disclosure

agreement,asstatedintheanswerbyparticipantAnonquestion;I’mlookingformore

peopletointerview,couldyourefermetosomeinbiggerfashioncompanies?“Theonesat

thebiggercompanies,Idon’treallythinkso.Astheseworkundernon-disclosure.”Inorder

tomitigatethisrestrictingfactortheauthorineverycommunicationstressedthefactthat

participationinthisinterviewwouldbecompletelyanonymousandthatnosensitive

intellectualpropertywouldberequestedorrequired.

InordertoobtainparticipantsthesocialmedianetworkLinkedInwasused,thissocial

mediaplatformforprofessionalsprovidedastrongsearchfunctioninwhichthejobtitleof

peoplecouldbeentered.Thisallowedforadirectapproachtoseekingparticipants,three

oftheparticipantswereobtainedthisway.Anotherapproachtakenwasbasedonthe

author’ssecond-levelpersonalnetwork,theauthorstudiedhisbachelorsdegreeatthe

22

RobertGordonUniversityinAberdeen,Scotland.Thisuniversityteachesawell-ranked

fashionmanagementdegree,throughanadvertintheirFacebookgrouptheauthorwas

abletoobtainonealumniwhograduated7yearsagoandnowhasacareerintheBerlin

fashionindustry.Thelastparticipantwasresearchedthroughasecondlevelconnection

afteractivelyaskingpeopletopotentiallybereferredto.

Allparticipantswerescreenedoninitialrelevancethroughafewshortquestionsinorder

todetermineiftheywererelevanttoparticipateinthisresearch,thisalsomeansthata

handfulofpeoplewere‘rejected’toparticipate,astheywereperceivedtonothavean

accuratepositionorexperienceintheideagenerationaspecttowardsproduct

development.Theauthorisawarethatthisissubjectiveandbasedonhispersonal

judgementwherethiswasneededinordertomakeafirstscreeningofrelevance.

Researchsetting

Basedonthefactthatthisinterviewhasbeenheldinconfidentiality,thenamesand

companiesoftheparticipantsarenotrevealed,table4.1showsallparticipantsdetails

whatisconsciousrevealedandtherespectivecodewhichtheywillbediscussedby.

Table3.1:Participant’sdetails

Name Careerdescription

“An” Currentfreelancerwithagoodnotionoftheindustrythrough

personalcontactsandpastexperienceinlargefashion

companies.

“Ch” Currententrepreneurinfashion,formerexperiencedtailorfor

formalwear.

“Se” Currentlystylistandtrendwatcheratoneofthebiggestonline

retailers.

“Le” Extensivecareerinsportsactive-fashion,designerin

performanceouterwearandaffiliatedtolifestylefashion.

“Ji” Careerinvariouspartsofthefashionindustry,fromwriting,

advertising,marketingandthelasttwoyearsinstyling.Working

foroneofSweden’sbiggestfashionbrandsandconsulting5

otherscreatively.

Source:Author

23

Thecompanieswerelocatedinthreedifferentcountries;UnitedKingdom,Germanyand

Sweden.Allcompaniesareactiveinmainstreetfashionbusinesses,andsorathersimilarin

businessactivity,exceptChwhoisactiveinthemainstreettailoringbusiness.Allthe

participantsallhadinternationalexperienceatdifferentfashionbusinessesandnotevery

participantseducationwasfocusedtowardsfashion.

Interviewswerebetween40and90minutesandwereallheldattimesconvenienttothe

participants.Thefactthattheseinterviewswereextensiveintimefurthermorejustifiesthe

useofasmallersamplesize(EdwardsandHolland,2013).

Self-memosweredevelopedforeveryinterviewinlinewithSaunders,Lewisand

Thornhill’s(2012)recommendationtowardsqualitativeanalysis,thiscanbefoundin

Appendix2.Thesememosstatetheobjectivesituationinwhichtheinterviewwasheld,

andtheperceptionoftheinterviewerontheabilityoftheparticipant.

Dataanalysis

Analysisofthecollecteddatacanbeperformedinmultipleways,whereMerriam(1988)

concludesthatthereisnosuchthingasastandardtechnique,andisdependableonthe

methodsused.

Analysisisperformedbasedonatemplateanalysisstrategy(King,CassellandSymon,

2004).Atemplateanalysisisalistofcodesthatshowsthethemesthatarereviewed

throughthecollecteddata.Thisapproachisdeemedappropriateasitisthoroughyet

straightforwardinuseandappropriateinuseforexploratorynaturequalitativestudies

withaprimarilyinductiveapproach(Saunders,LewisandThornhill,2012).

Thefirststage,‘rawdata’,wastheprocessoftranscribing,thiswasdonemanuallybased

onaudiorecordingsthatweremadefromallinterviews.

Thesecondstagewastoorganisethedataforanalysis,whichwastheprocessofrepeating

thefirststageinreadingovertranscriptionswhilelisteningtoaudiofilestomakesureno

errorsweremade.Furthermoreaspellingcheckwasperformedinordertoensure

accuracy.Theauthorperformedtheinterviewsinthetimespanoftwoweeks.Afterwhich

transcriptionwasdoneassoonaspossibletoensurereliability.

24

Thefollowingstageofanalysiswasthecodingofthedata.Initiallybasedonthreebroad

categories:ideageneration,ideationsystemsandcreativity.Thesecategorieswerederived

fromliteratureandalsousedasleadingthemesintheinterviewprotocol(Appendix1).

Wherethesubsequentstageofthemingandcategorisingfollowedbasedonopen-coding.

Furthersub-categoriesweregeneratedbasedonreadingthroughtheinterviews,defining

andnamingthesebasedonthemesandtermsthatemergedfromthecollecteddata

(Saunders,LewisandThornhill,2012).Thefulllistofthemes,categoriesandexampleof

thetranscriptionquotescanbeseenonpage25.Thetablepresentedstructuresthe

distilledcodesbasedonfirstandsecondordercodes.Bothfirst-ordercodesandsecond-

ordercodeswerederivedinductivelyfromthetext,whereastheoverarchingthemeswere

deriveddeductivelyaspreviouslystated.

Categoriesweredevelopedduringthisprocess,constantchangeswereperformedtothe

categoriesnamesanddescriptionsbasedontheanalysisofthedata,inlinewithDey

(1993)andSaunders,LewisandThornhill(2012),astheystatetheprocessofrefinementof

categoriesthroughintegratingthemorsub-dividingthem,focusestheanalysisandisan

importantpartofquantitativeanalysis.Whichwasdonetodevelopamoreappropriate

code-setasmakesanalysisandconsequentfindingsmorecomprehensiveandappropriate.

Anexampleofthisistheadditionofthe‘experience’sectiontotheresearch,inthe

interviewprotocolandcoding.Asthroughanalysisofthefirsttwointerviewsthisindicated

tobeimportant.

Theflowingstagewastorelatethethemestoeachothertomakeamorecompactdata

set.Theconstantrefinementofthecategoriesarguablymadetheabilitytoanalysemore

profoundandin-depth(Saunders,LewisandThornhill,2012).Thisrefinementwas

performedthroughrealisation(whetherintrinsicallyorthroughassessmentoftheory)that

somecategoriesshouldbegroupedtogetherorfallunderanothersecond-ordercode.As

thelistofcodeswassubstantiallylongeratpointsintimebutneededtoberefinedbased

onwhatbelongstogethertobemadecomprehensive.

25

ExampleofQuotes(FirstOrder) Second-OrderCodes

First-OrderCodes

“They(designers)workmoreinteams,wheretheycomeupwithideasontheirown.”-Se

Individualvs.collectiveideageneration

“Iwouldsaythatit(ideageneration)isstillquitedependantonthedesignertoactuallylikemakeanitemthatishis”-Ji

CreativeDirector

Positioning

“Ithinkits(ideageneration)veryfluidmotion...SoIthinkyoucontinuouslyhavetoworkonit,andwhenIhaveanideaIwillsketchitout“–Le

Mechanismofideas

“Yes,butthatforpracticalreasons,becauseit’sabusinessattheendoftheday”-Le

Limitationstoideageneration

“Implementationsofnewproductsornewdesigns”–Ch

TypesofInnovation

‘How’

“Wearealsochallengedbytheheadofdesign.Tobringsomethingnewtoacategory,soyougetafocusstimulationthen”-Le

Encouragement

“Itendtothinkinthisindustryalotgoesonpastexperience”–Le

Experience

“(whatmakespeoplehaveideas)peoplethatgoskiingeveryyear,gosnowboardingeveryyearorsurf...Imean,(companyname)doprovidelike,wecangolikeStandUpPaddlingandkiteboarding.”–Le

Submersionintargetmarket

“Withacreativenothingmighthappenforacoupleofdaysandthenmaybetheywilldoa16hdaybecauseitsstruckthem,andtheywilljustseeitthroughtotheend”-Le

Intrinsicinterestandmotivation

Motivators

“It’sdefinitelythecommercialinterestthatisadrivingforcebehindideas”-Ji

Economicreasoning

“It’smoreaboutcopyingandlookingatproductsthatalreadyexist,andtryingtomakeityourown”–An

Copying

“theyreallyusedatatocreateahighturnoverandrevenue”-Se

Datadriven

Drivers

Idea Generation

“Thenwewillbrainstormtogether”-Le Ideationsystems

“It(creativity)isvital.Alsothatyouhavelessrestrictions.Withoutcreativityyouwillneverbesuccessfulinfashion.Impossible.”–Se

Creativity

26

Findingswillbepresentedfollowingtheidentifiedcorethemesandsub-categories.

Presentationofthefindingsisstructuredbasedoncodesfromthetranscripts,whichisin

linewiththetemplateanalysisstrategyusedinanalysis(King,CassellandSymon,2004;

Saunders,LewisandThornhill,2012).

Inlinewiththeresearchquestion;toidentifywhereandhowideasaregeneratedinlarger

fashionbusinesses,themajorityofinterviewtime,questionsandanswersweregeared

towardsthisaspectofideageneration.Wherethesupportingelementsofideationsystems

andcreativitytoideagenerationwerediscussedlessfrequent.

InlinewithPratt’s(2009)suggestionstopresentationoffindingsofqualitativeresearch

‘powerquotes’and‘roofquotes’areused.“Powerquotesarethemostcompellingbitsof

datayouhave,theonesthateffectivelyillustrateyourpoints(Pratt,2009:860),andproof

quotesarequotesforeachpointorargumentyouaremakingsothatyouhavesome

“proof”ofwhatyouaresaying.

Reliability,validityandgeneralisability

Overalltheresearchershouldperformeverythinginhisorherpowertoensurethatthe

datacollectedwouldbethesameaswhencollectedbyotherresearchersaskingthesame

questions,whichcouldbereachedbybeingverytransparenthowconclusionwere

developedbasedontherawdata(Easterby-Smith,Golden-BiddleandLocke,2008).

Therearethreatstotheuseofinterviewsasadatacollectionmethodintermsofreliability

andvalidity,Robson(2002)identifiedthreemostimportantways.

First,theremaybeparticipantbiasinthewaythattheyanswerthewaytheinterviewer

wouldlikeandnotstatetheirrealopinionorexperience.Thedesignofthequestionsasked

willbeinawaytoensurenon-biasedanswers.

Second,observererrormightcomeintoplayastheresearchwillbeconducted,

transcribed,analysedanddiscussedbythesingleauthorofthisresearch,mitigatingthis

threatisverydifficultbutawarenessisafirststep.

Third,theobserverisbiasedandinterpretsthedatainawayheorsofindsmost

appropriate.Incaseofmultipleauthorsthisthreadwouldbereduced,awarenessofthis

factisthebestwayofmitigation.WhereBell(2014)statesthatitisveryunlikelytoremove

biascompletely,andthiscouldevencauseharm(Yin,2013).

27

Furthermoreallinterviewswereperformed(atparticipantsconvenience)intheafternoon.

Wherethisconveniencewasparamount,astheparticipantsneededtobeabletoreflecton

eventswhichinastressfulinterviewenvironmentorsituationmightbeimpaired.And

guidedbytheinterviewprotocolwhichappliesstructureandduecausegenerates

reliability.Anotheraspectappliedimprovethereliabilitywastherecodingofinterviewsfor

transcriptionandtheconstantrestructuringofthecodesbasedontheopen-coding

approach,whichallseekstodevelopamorereliabledatasetforanalysis.

Alimitationtothegeneralisabilityofthisresearchisthesmallsampleasthiscanbe

presumedtonotfullyrepresentthegreaterfashionindustry.Eventhoughtheparticipants

allrepresentedarelevantpartoftheindustrythisdoesnotmakeitgeneralisable.Arguably

evenmoreasonlyoneparticipantsviewpercompanywastakenintoaccount.

Nevertheless,basedontheexploratorynatureofthisstudyinanareathatcontainsvery

littleresearchthisdoesprovideafirstinsightintothisareaofideagenerationtowards

productdevelopmentinthefashionindustry.

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Findings

Inthischapterthedatafindingswillbepresentedandinterpretedinrelationtotheir

meaningtoanswertheresearchquestion.Whatwasfoundinthisresearchisthatidea

generationisaveryfluidprocessinwhichlittlestructureisapparentfromacognitive

perspective.Inordertoapplysomestructurethecreativedirectorsetsanartisticdirection

(influencedbyi.e.economicreasoning),whichistobefollowedbytheideagenerators,

mostoftentheactualdesigners.Thesedesignersfollowacollaborativeprocesstoproduct

developmentandareinfluencedbymanyaspects,experience,encouragement,

submersioninthetargetmarket.

Inthischapter,astory-tellingpictureispaintedtopresentthepreviousstatement.Itflows

naturallyfromthethreeidentifiedpillarsoftheabilitytogenerateideas;first,idea

generationanditsacquaintedsubjects.Second,ideationsystemsthatareusedto

structurallygenerateideas.Thirdandlast,creativity,whichwasidentifiedintheorytobea

majorinfluencertowardsideageneration.

Ideageneration

Thestructureadoptedinpresentationofthefindingsintheideagenerationsectionisdone

throughinductivereasoningandcomprisesoffourcategories.First,theideastarts

somewhere,butisitacollectiveoranindividualcomingupwiththeidea.Second,thereis

ajobtitle/locationoftheperson(s)havingtheidea(positioning).Thethirdandfourth

categoriesidentifyhowthesepeoplecameupwiththeseideas,alsopartlythewhy

question,the‘motivators’ofideasand‘drivers’ofideas.

Individualvs.collectiveideageneration

Thisreferstowhetherindividualcomeupwiththeideaoragroup/team/multiplepeople.

Atotalof25statementswerecoded,whichisthemostoffallindividualcategories.When

tryingtoquantitativelylookatthedatathereisanalmostequaldividebetween

individualisticandcollaborativeideagenerationstatements.Notallstatementsareclear-

cutinopinion.Havingacloselookandinterpretingthedata,lookingatthe(sometimes

29

subjective)meaningbehindthestatement,showsaclearmessage,thatinthefashionideas

startswiththeindividual;

“They(designers)comeupwithideaontheirown”–Se

FurthermorestrengthenedbyLeinregardthequestionifideagenerationtendstobemore

individualisticathiscompany,towhichherepliedasimple“Yes”.

Asstateditisnotalwaysasclearcutasthisstatement.Whereotherparticipantsstated

morecomplexsituations.Areoccurringaspectinthisarestatementsthatitisalmost

alwaysanindividualwhocomesupwiththeideaandthenbringsitintoateamorgroupof

people.

Allparticipantsstatedthatthefashionindustryworkswithateambasedefforttowards

productdevelopment.WherethemosttellingstatementcomesfromLe,ashestates:

“adesigneroftenhasanideabutanotherpersonhastodosomethingwithit,it’scollaboration…inabiggercompanyitsmoreateamthing(ideagenerationanddesign).”–Le

Leconcludesthisaspectinaninterestingideaandstatementas“Ithinkthatitsmore

successfulifmorepeoplejoinin(onideageneration)”.Wherethislastpointmakesmost

senseinthefactthatwhenmorepeoplejoininonideagenerationthereisabroader

consensusonthecreatedideaandmorebroadbasedsupportisapparentinthe

organisationwhichcanseetheproductdevelopmentthrough,whichrelatesandconfirms

PinchotandPellmansstatementsinthisregard(1999).

Inrelationtothetheoryitcouldbearguedthatthisisinlinewiththeportrayedmatterin

fashion,asideasperdefinitionarecreatedbyoneperson,“developmentinitially

proceedingviaarelativelyrandomvariationprocessofeithercompletelynew

conceptualisationsornovelcombinationsofexistingideas”(Godartetal.,2015:198).Itis

veryunlikelythatthemultiplepeoplehavetheexactsameideaattheexactsametime.

Where‘novelcombinationsofexistingideas’canbethecollaborationofteamsthatbring

anideaforwardasacollective.

Thisallowsforapreliminaryconclusionthatideasinfashionaregenerallygenerated

individually(afterwhichit’sratherquicklybroughtintoagroup).Whichisinlinewith

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theory,thisaspectofindividualideagenerationbecomesmorerelevantandinteresting

whenthenextaspectofpositioningisconsidered.

Positioning

Thiscategoryreferstothejobtitle/positionanideaisactuallygeneratedormostoften

generated.

Intermsofjobtitletowardsideagenerationinproductdevelopmentseemstobepretty

clear,allparticipantsstatepositioningofideagenerationtowardsproductdevelopmentis

afocusedmatter.

“Thedesigner…thiswillbeit!”-An

SeandLehavearguablyevenstrongerpositionsonthis.

“At(companyname),Ithinkthenewproductscomefromthedesigneritself,definitely”–Se

“Alotoftheactualproductinnovationscomesdirectfromthedesigners”-Le

Jireflectshowtheindustry(used)towork.

“whenyoulooktraditionallyhowfashionworks.Thatyouworkfromsketch,thatthedesignergivesthepatternmakerasketch.Andthenthepatternturnsthatintoanimagea3Dgarment.Alotactuallyhappensthere,butthosearesosubtlethatyoumightneverlikerecognizingthemasideas.”–Ji

Hisstatementdescribesatraditionalmanner,wheredrawingmeaningtothisstatement

theauthorrecognisesthispositioningofideastobeamoderndaycommonpractice.His

statementmustbeinterpretedmoreinthewayofaclassicalapproachinsteadofthe

commonmeaningoftraditionally,beingoldfashioned.Thislineofthoughtissupportedby

Leinstating:

“Butgenerallyitsacollaborationbetweenthedesignteam,fromjuniordesignertodesignmanagerinadiscussioninhowcanwebringthingsforward”-Le

FurthermorebasedinthestatementofJiaboutwhereideascomeup

“Sotheyareworkingverytight,andIthinkitisthebuyerandthedesignertogetherwithdirectionoftheheadofdesign”-Ji

Eventhoughtheprocessisdifferentbetweenthetwotheybothworkincollaboration

betweenthedesignerandanotherfigureindevelopingthisdesign.Wherethisinteraction

isthebasisoffurtherdevelopmentofideasinordertoimprovetheinitialone.

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Ingeneralallparticipantsstatethatideasaregeneratedinpositionsorjobtitlesinwhich

theideageneratorisresponsiblefororprimarilyactive.

“He(thedesigner)isthinkingaboutnewproductsanddesignsalltheday,heisdoingnothingelse.”-Se

Wherethisisalmostlogicalasthetimesspendintheseareasisfarmoresubstantialbeing

yourcorejob.Whichallowsforapreliminaryconclusionthatideasdonotjustcomeup

anywhere,theyarechannelledtothepositionthedesignerisactivein.

Creativedirectors

Inthepositioningoftheseideasthereisoneaspectthatismajorlydirectingandgoverning

theaspectofideageneration.Asstatedintheorythecreativedirectorhasalotof

influence;“thus,theprocessofgeneratingandimplementingcreativeideasinfashionis

verycentralised,andisattachedtothepersonofthecreativedirector.”(Godartetal.,

2015:202).

Confirmedinthestatement:

“Thereisalwaysacreativedirector!Yeshehasthemainpower,hemakesthedecisions.”-Se

Thematterthatheorsheisaveryinfluencingfigureintheoperationsrunwithinthe

fashionindustrydoesnotstatethatheispersethepersoncomingupwiththeideas.

Wherethecreativedirectorisnotthepersonwhoistheonecomingupwiththeideas

themselvesasAnandJistate:

"Theydon’tcreatealloftheseideasthemselves”-An

“Creativedirectorsareworkingverylittlehandsonwiththeproduct.”-Ji

Inpreliminaryconclusion,thereisacontradictiontothedefinitionpreviouslystatedasitis

notnecessarilythatstraightforward.Yes,intermsofimplementation(whichthisresearch

doesnotlookat)atendencycanbedetected,baseduponinterpretationofallinterviews,

thatthisfigureisverymuchthecentreofthisandallaspectofthisgoesthroughhimorher

thoughtthedirectionset.

Wheregenerationofideasseemstobemoredistantfromthisperson,andclosertheto

designersthemselvesandtheirinterpretationoftheartisticdirectionthecompanywants

togo.

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Thisdirectionofthecollectionsetbythecreativedirectorismostdefinitelyanimportant

directorofideageneration.Theinitialideaofwheretodirectthecompanyfromthe

personinthispositionisdeemedoneofthemostimportantideasinfashion.

“Themostcrucialideasarenotsomuchabouthowyoumakethesleeveorhowyoumakeagarment.It'sratherwhatkindofdirectionweshoulddo,andthatisthemostcrucialidea”–Ji

Thepracticeofthe‘loneruler’infashionbeingthecreativedirectordoesrelatetothe

morehigh-endfashionwherethedesignerispersonallyjudged,thecontrolofthisperson

alsotendstobemorevigorous.

“ForexampleYvesSaintLaurent,youcanbesurethattheircreativedirectorhaspersonallylookedateverysinglegarment”–Ji

Thisdecisionisnotalwayssolelymadebythecreativedirector,asitisinfluencedby

differentfactors

“Generallyitsdesignteamlet,throughheadofdesignanddesignershavediscussionsperdepartment”-Le

Inanattempttopreliminaryconcludethissectionofideagenerationithastobestated

thatitisverydifficulttogeneralisewhereideasaregenerated,therearealotofdifferent

companieswhoallworkinaslightlydifferentway.Wherethisresearchseekstodevelop

aninitialnotionofwherethismightbe.

Basedonthecollecteddataitcanbe,cautiously,statedthatthestartingideastowards

productdevelopmentaregeneratedbythedesigners,basedonthesetartisticdirection,

whichisdevelopedbythecreativedirectorincollaborationwithhisteam.Whereinthe

processofdevelopingtheproductthereisalotofinteractionwithintheteamsinwhicha

lotof‘follow-up’ideascomplementtheinitialone.Whichcontributesanddevelopsaslight

deviationfromtheexistingtheoreticalunderstandinginthisindustry.Eventhoughthe

creativedirectorsetsadirectionforideas“theprocessofgenerating…creativeideasin

fashionisverycentralised,andisattachedtothepersonofthecreativedirector”(Godart

etal.,2015:202),thegenerationofideasismoredetachedfromthecreativedirector.

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‘How’

Ideasaregeneratedbypeopleinpositionsorjobtitleswithintheorganisationsas

identifiedinthelastsection.Thissectionlooksathowideasaregeneratedandinwhat

contextideasaregenerated.

Mechanismofideas

Mostoftheparticipantsseethemechanismofgettingideasorgeneratingideasasavery

flowingmotionthatissomethingthatisveryhardtoputintoastructureorprotocol.

“Ithinktheideagenerationprocessisveryspontaneous…youcannotplantogetthatcreativeidea”–Se

Lookingatthedatathereisanobviousneedforflexibilityinordertobeabletocomeup

withideas,wherethereisaveryunclearlinetowhatextendthisflexibilityisneeded.As

thereisalsocounterargumentationforstructure.

“Havingasetframeworkandobjectiveis100%crucialforcreativityandgeneratingideas.”-Ji

Wheretheretendstobeanaturalbalancewithinthefashionorganisationthatcould

potentiallybetheanswertoaneffectiveworkingenvironment.

“Obviouslyneedstructuredsidetoit,differentpeopleinbusinesswillgiveyouthat...Theyarenaturallyinclinedfororganisation,Ithinkifabusinessbalancescreativepeopleandorganisedpeoplewellyougetaverysuccessfulcompany.–Le

Inpreliminaryconclusiontotheoryitisobviousthatpeopleshouldbeallowedtodotheir

jobthebestwaypossible,inthefashionindustrythereseemstobeanaturalbalance.

Beingawareofthisbalanceandconsciouslymonitoringthiswillpotentiallygeneratea

balanceforcreative’sandorganisationalstructuretoworkeffectivelytogether.

Limitationtoideageneration

Therearealsofactorsthatlimitideagenerationatdifferentlevelsintheorganisation.Most

fashionbusinessesworkwiththeirsuppliers,wherethesesuppliershavelimitstotheir

technologicalcapabilities.Thislimitstheideageneratorsinthewaythattheyarenotfully

abletothink‘outsidethebox’astheyinteractwiththesesuppliers,wherethisinabilitycan

beonapersonalcognitivelevelorimposedbythedirectionfromthecreativedirector.

Thedirectionthatisset(bytheteam,companyorthecreativedirector)generateslimits

theabilityofideageneration.

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“Wellofcourseacertaindirectionalsomeansyournotgoinganotherway.Sothatdoestechnicallylimit(ideageneration)”-Ji

Thatdoesstatethatyouguysarelimitedthatinthesortofideasthatyouguyscanhave?

“Yes,butthatforpracticalreasons,becauseit’sabusinessattheendoftheday”-Le

Somecompaniesarelimitedintheirideasbasedontheethicalandenvironmental

considerationsthegreaterorganisationhassetout,wheretheywerelimitedinidea

generationoffuranduseofleather.

Theseexternalinfluencesmightnotalwaysbenegativelimitationstoideageneration,but

ratherrefocusingimposedbyanexternalfactor.

“Andwhenitcomesbackandtheysayit’snotfeasibleorworksbetterwhenyoudothis”-Le

Afterwhichtheresponsibledesigner(team)cangetonwiththeprojectthatisproduct

development.

Summarising,limitationstoideagenerationinfashiontendstobeimpactedbytheartistic

directionset,thisincombinationwithexternaloutsidelimitationmakessomeideasnot

feasible.Ithastobesaidthatallotherindustriesalsoexperiencelimitationinthisform.

Wherethesefactorspotentiallyimpactthefeasibilitymoreofcreatedideasopposedtothe

abilitytothegeneratesthese.Wheretheauthorisuncertaintotheextendtowhichthese

factorsliewithinthesetwodifferentaspectsoftheinnovationalprocess.

Wherethepotentialfeasibilityofideasisoutsideofthescopeofthisresearch.

Typesofinnovation

Thetheoryinthesecondchapterpresentstheaspectofthetypeofinnovationinrelation

toideageneration.Somemightwanderwhythisaspectwasputintotheory,throughthe

collectionofthedatathisaspectoftypeofinnovationcameupinrelationtotheprevious

describedaspectofpositioningofideageneration.Whereasstatedintheprevioussection

ideascomeupmostofthetimeinthefieldinwhichtheideageneratorisactive.

Inrelationtothedata,thereisnorealsignificancetopresentaboutwhatkindof

innovationismostlyusedinfashion,wherethislineofquestioningwaspursuitasatestof

thestatedtheoryinrelationtotypesofinnovation.

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Firstoffthereistoolittleofasampletogeneraliseupon,inattempttocomparetoabroad

quantitativestudy(BianchiandBortolotti,1996)andstatementsfromparticipantswere

verybroadandfarapart.Furthermoreanswersgivenmaybeverylimitedtothe

positioningoftheideastheparticipantshave,aspreviouslystated,ideagenerators

primarilygenerateideastowardstheirownareaofexpertise.Wheretheymightbeunable

togeneraliseitappropriatelyacrosstheirorganisationbasedontheirrestrictedfocusand

view.

Overallandinpreliminaryconclusion,itcanbestatedthatallthepreviousdescribed

aspectsofideageneration(fromtoindividualvs.collective,positioningandother

describedaspects),pictureacomplexpainting.Sowhatarethemotivationsanddriversof

theideageneratorstoactuallycomeupwiththeideasthattheycomeupwith.

Motivators

Outsideofthe,fromtheideageneratorsperspective,externalstructuresandenvironment

aroundhimorhertherearemoreintrinsicmotivatorstowardsideageneration.This

sectionwilldiscussaspectsofthecollecteddatainthisregard.

Encouragement

Themostcodedmotivatorwasactiveencouragementtohaveideasfromseniorpeoplein

theorganisation.

“Weactivelyencouragedpeopletosendideasinanyideasthattheyhavethatcanimprovetheproductsweoffer”–Ch

InLe’scompany,encouragementisguidedandsubjectedtothesetdirection.

“He(creativedirector)initiallywillencourage”-Le

Nodatawasretrievedinotherinterviewsinordertogeneralisethis.

Partofthisencouragementisalsoempoweringpeopletohavetheiridea,togivethemthe

authoritytocomeupwiththeiridea.Butalsotoallowthemtofail

“Likehavingtimetothinkaboutthings,todowrong,tomakeideasandthatthenalsocanbediscarded”-Ji

Theauthorseesthisasaneffectivewayofworking,thecreativedirectorbecomesthe

motivatorandfacilitatorofstructurethatisneededaspreviouslystated.Thisactive

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encouragementfromseniorpeopleandempoweringthemtodotheirjob,andsometimes

failatit,isinlinewithPinchotandPellman’s(1999)basicsofeffectiveideageneration.

Thisaspectinthefashionindustrymightbeofgreaterimportance,asstated,idea

generatorsneedorganisationalflexibilitytogenerateideasbutneedtofeelbackedinthis

process.Wherearguablymoreencouragementtohaveideasandcomeupwiththismight

allowforgreaterfeelingofflexibilityinbeingallowedtobecreativeandcomeupwith

ideas.Wherethereislittlebasisinthedatatodevelopacompellingconclusioninthis

matter.

Experience

Throughanalysisofthefirsttwointerviewstheauthorrecognisedthereismoretothe

motivatorsofideageneration,wherethismightbemorefocusedonknowledge.Upon

incorporationofthisintheinterviewapicturedistilledprettyquickly.Participantsthreetill

fivewereinmajoragreementthatexperienceisoneofthefundamentalsoftheabilityof

ideageneration.Sowhatdoyouthinkmakesthesepeoplehavetheideasthen?

“Iwouldpersonallysaythatmoreexperienceandworkingforalongtimegivesyoubetterideas”-Ji

Thisexperienceisnotjustpastexperience,butalsothecontinuousdevelopmentofthisexperience.

“Isverymuchexperienceandeducation.AndIdon’tjustmeanformaleducation”-Le

Whereontheotherhandalackofthisexperiencetendstoresultinlessideageneration,

wherethiscanhavemultiplecauses.

“Peoplethathavecomeupthroughfreelancingforthemselvesorsmalleroperationstendtofollowwhat’salreadybeenletbytheindustry…lessknowledgeableincertainareasinordertobringinnovationtothetable,sometimesitsjustlessconfidentalthoughtheyseeitandareawareofit,theyarenotconfidentinhowtoachieveit”-Le

Notfeelingconfidentcanbeintensifiedbyalackofexperience(MorganandCleave-Hogg,

2002).Beingawareofthisaspectasanorganisationmightbenefitideageneration,where

organisationalmeasurescanbetakeninordertoallowtheseindividualstomore

effectivelyvoicetheirideas.

Allstatementsareinlinewithexistingtheory,thatexperience,educationandwideranging

perspectivesallowsforideageneration(Lampel,LantandShamsie,2000).Whereprior

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experienceisarguablymoreimportantinthefashionindustry,duetotheemotionalnature

oftheproductathand.Wherebasedonlogicalreasoningthisemotionalfacetofthetrade

canbetaughtlesseasilyineducationalsettingopposedtoexperience(Dewey,1986).

Submersionintargetmarket

Oneaspect,whichcouldbesub-categorisedunderexperience,isthesubmersioninthe

targetmarket.Sub-categorisationisconsciouslynotdone,asthesubmersionintothe

targetmarketrequiresamoreactiveapproachfromtheideageneratoropposedto

(sometimes)passiveactofobtainingexperience.

Submersioninthetargetmarketinthisresearchmeanstoactivelyseektointeractwiththe

targetmarketforwhichyoudevelopproducts.Submersioncanbeperformedindifferent

ways,andcangenerateideasindifferentways.

“Ithinkbeinginthefrontline,ifyouweretalkingtothecustomeranddoingitwellpeopleengagewellwithyou.Customerstellyouwhattheywant.”–Ch

“Yeahmyjobistogothroughthestreets,talktopeople,andobservethemandidentifythelatesttrends”–Se

“Surroundingyourselfwithlike-mindedpeople.”-Ji

Briningmeaningtotheaspectofsubmersioninthetargetmarketalsorelatesbacktothe

aspectofexperience,astheabilitytogeneratediverseperspectivesallowsforidea

generation.Wheredevelopingfirsthandexperienceoftheneed,thattheproducthasto

fulfil,willgenerateperspectives.Theimportanceofthisissomethingtheparticipantsagree

uponasbeingimportantforideageneration.Theprocessofsubmersioninthetarget

marketcanarguablyalsopositivelycontributetotheconfidencelevelofthedesigner,as

developingfirsthandexperienceoftheproductwillallowyoutounderstandtheproduct

anditsneeds.Whereasstatedthisconfidenceisanimportantdriverofideageneration.

AninterestingwayinwhichLeandhiscompanyuseaversionofsubmersionofthetarget

marketistheuseofsocalled‘teamriders’.Mostoften-usedinsportandactivewear

relatedbrands,thesepeopleare(paid)athleteswhotest,useandpromotetheproductsof

thebusiness.

“Fromthetechnicalsideofthings,sowehavesurfteam,swim,yougetalotoffeedbackfromtheriders,becausetheyareactuallytheonesusingtheproductandputtingitthroughitspacesdaybyday.Soalotofinnovationcomesthroughthem

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…theridersusesomethingforawhileandthink;holdon,ifitwaslikethisitwouldbefarmoreconvenientforme”–Le

Thistypeofsubmersionmightnotbeveryrelevanttotheothermain-streetfashionas

everyoneusesit,wherethereisanelementof‘testing’theproductbeforehand.

Intrinsicinterestandmotivation

Asinalotofthingsintheworld,havingagenuineinterestinthecraftthatyou’re

performingisanimportantaspectinordertobeproductiveinit(PinchotandPellman,

1999),wherethedataseesthisasasupportingaspecttowardsideageneration.

“Reallylovewhattheyaredoing.Andthatisthemostimportantpartwhenyouhavetocomeupwithnewideas”–Se

Alsosomeaspectsofsubmergingyourselfinthetargetmarketcomebackintothisaspect

ofgenuineinterestinwhatyoudo.

Drivers

Notallgenerationofideascomesfromtheintrinsicmattersoftheideagenerators.There

arecertainaspectsthatdrivetheirideagenerationinan(specific)area.Thissectionwill

presenttheemergeddriverstowardsideageneration.

Economicreasoning

“Onewell-knowneconomictheoryteachesthatthepurposeofbusinessismaximizing

profitfortheshareholders”(Rimanoczy,2015).Thisisnolessofthecaseinthefashion

industry.Whereallparticipantsstatethattheprimereasonproductdevelopmentis

performedistogeneraterevenue,thisalsomeansthatoneofthemostimportantaspects

thatinfluenceideagenerationaretheseeconomicinterests.

“Sosometimestheywillhavetocurbcreativityinordertoensurethateveryoneisstillworkingnextseason”-Le

Wheredevelopingproductsbaseduponrecognisedmarketneedsisalsopositionedunder

theeconomicinterestsofabusiness.

“FirstIhavetoidentifytheneed,ifthereisoneforanewproduct”–Se

Inanattempttoconcludethisitmustbestatedthatthisdoesnotcomeasasurprise,

companiesaretheretogenerateareturnfortheirshareholders.Wherethemeanto

achievethisisachievethisistoproduceanattractivecollection.Tobeabletodothisthe

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businessneedsideas,wherethenextpartslookatwhatdrivestheideageneratorsfroma

non-intrinsicperspective.

‘Copying’

Alltheparticipantswereinagreementonwasthattheonethingthatthefashionindustry

doesinrelationtoideadirectionis:copying.Thismightbeobviouswherethereislittle

knowntotheextendthisimpactsthegenerationofideas.Wheretheparticipantsstateno

objectiontothepracticeofcopyinginthefashionindustry.

“WheretheygotoParisandgotoZara,Mangoyouknow,alltheotherstoresandcheckwhattheyhave.”–An

Thiscopyingtendstohappenmoreamonglowendfashionbrands.

“Sothat’showitworksinthelowendofthepricerangethepricespectrum,theycopythemostofeveryone”-An

Eventhoughthehigh-endfashionbrandsarenotexcluded.

“buyingthingsthattheylikeabroadandusethisintheircollection.”-An

TheonlyparticipantthatwasthisdirectaboutcopyingwasAn,wherewhenreading

betweenthelinesandinterpretingthedata,itcanbereasonablystatedthatallpartiesdo

so.

Allotherparticipantsratherseethisasinspiration.Inrelationtothisstatementithastobe

saidthatthereisaverythinlinebetween‘copying’anddrawinginspiration.Asitis

officiallydeemedcopyingwhenthishasbeenidentifiedbyanindependentparty,where

thereisalotofjuridicallawsandregulationstogovernthis.Thisistotallyoutsideofthis

researchscope.Rather,thetermcopyinginthisresearchisusedasadriverofinspiration

andtheimportanceofthistowardsideageneration.

Mostoftenidentifiedcategoryinrelationtothisaspectiswatchingtrends;

“Onthemorefashionsideofthingsitsverymuchinkeepingyoueyeonwhatthecoolerpeoplearedoingonthestreets”-Le

Wherethisisdonethroughmultiplemeans:

“Wesitdownanddiscusswhereitrelevantinourindustrytogoanddoatripto.Designerwillgoofftocitiesanddosomeresearchshopping…Whilewedothat,thedesignmanagerormoreoftenthebuyerswouldtravelouttothesuppliers”–Le

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“Thesedayspeopleworkalotwiththeinternet,sotheyusetheinternet,pinterest,theyusewhatevercollectionsareinVogueetc.”–Ji

“Welltheydogiveadesigningteamopportunitytogooninspirationtripseachseason.”-Ji

Whenlookingatthesestatementsitcanbeseenthatthewholeindustrylooksatthe

wholeindustry,whichisinlinewiththeorythatfashionengagesin‘copying’.Asotherwise

theremightbenosuchthingasacoherenttrendor‘popularstyle’(Hilton,ChoiandChen,

2004).Whereitisinterestingtonotethathigh-endfashionhousestendtouseless

‘copying’,thiscouldbepotentiallyexplainedbythestronginfluencetheircreativedirector

hasontheideagenerationprocessintermsofdirection.Wherethereisnoconclusivedata

gatheredinthisresearchtoconclusivelyclaimthis.

Thedatashowsawidespreaduseofthisformofideagenerationdrivers,wherethe

participantsstatethistobeoneofthemostimportantaspectstodevelopingnewideas,as

thisallowsthemtogeneratemoreperspectives.Thiscanbebasedinthefactofseeing

theseproductsandmaking‘completelynewconceptualisationsornovelcombinationsof

existingideas’(Godartetal.,2015:198),ortheexperiencegainedfromattendingfairs,

showsandconferences.Wherethesedifferentperspectivesareimportantasstatedinthe

‘motivators’section.

‘Bigdata’

Anothermajordirectingforceinideagenerationtowardsproductdevelopmentinfashion

turnsouttobe‘BigData’.Thisoftencomestogetherwiththepreviouslydescribedaspects

ofcopyinganddirectingfashionideastowardsmostlikelyeconomicwinners.

“Statisticsofonlineclicks!Soforexample,purpleisamupcomingclickthing,sotheydecidelike,ok,5%ofourtopswillhavetobepurple”–An

“Weusebigdata,weanalyseitandlookwhichitemsarebestsellers”-Se

Usingthisformofdataanalysisallowsforforecasting,asdataisusedtopredictwhere

fashiontrendsaregoing.Thereisaneedforforecastingthistrendinadvance,as

“Wehavetogettheideaatleastoneortwoyearsinadvanceforeachseason.Soitverydependsonforecastingandtrendresearch”–Se

Useofthisformofforecastingisusednotinallpartsofthefashionindustry.As;

“EspeciallyatfastfashioncompaniesandforexampleZalandoorAmazon,theyreallyusebigdataincombinationwiththedesigners”–Se.

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TheuseofthisbigdatahasbeenidentifiedbyAntobe“definitelysomethingthathasbeen

happeningmoreandmore”.Indicatingthelackofpriortheoryinthisissurprisingand

somethingthatshouldpotentiallybedeveloped.

Arelatedaspecttotheuseofbigdataistheuseoftrendwatching.Thesearemostoften

thirdpartiesthatestablishtrendsbasedonanalysisofwhatishappeningtheindustryin

termoftrends.

“Well,it’sstillbaseduponfairsandbooks.Whichyoucanbuyorgo,whichcheck'whataretheongoingtrends”-An

Asstatedinthepreviousstatements,useoftrendwatchersisstillcommonuse,although

toadiminishingeffect.

“Toadiminishingextend,becausepeoplearedoingtheirresearchthemselvesusingtheinternet”-Ji

Theuseofthesetrendagencieseffectideagenerationinthewaythatideasgeneratedare

directedbyanexternalinfluence.Towhatthedesignerdoeswiththis,andtowhatextend

thecreativedirectorincorporatestheseinhisorhervisionofdirectionisnotsomething

thatwaspossibletoconcludefromthesample.Havinganotionofthiscouldbeinteresting.

Theuseofthisbigdataanduseoftrendwatchersfacilitatescopying,inparticularthefirst.

Asusingbigdatafromawiderangeofexternalpartiesdilutesthefactofexactcopying

trends.Wheretheuseofin-housebigdatamustbemoreconsideredastrend-researchand

copyingofownideas.

Ideationsystems

Asstatedinthetheorypartofthisresearch,ideationsystems“allowideaproviderstopost

theirideasinasystemaccessiblebyothers”(Björk,BoccardelliandMagnusson,2010:387).

Thispartoftheresearchpresentsthefindingsinrelationtotheidentifiedideationsystems

atworkinthefashionindustry.Thesesystemsaredeliberatesystemsadoptedbythe

organisationsinordertofacilitateideagenerationthroughmeansofthemedium(like

email)orthroughfacilitatingcollaborationlikebrainstormingsessions.

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Theuseofbrainstormingsessionseemsawidespreadsystemofideagenerationinthe

fashionindustry,wherethiscontributestothepreviouslyidentifiedcollaborativenatureof

ideagenerationinthisindustry.

“Theydobrainstorming”–An

“Yeahtheyworkmoreinteams,wheretheycomeupwithideasontheirown,butdefinitelythroughbrainstorming.”–Se

Inotherindustriestheuseofexternalconsultantsisawidelyusedwayofgeneratingideas,

asthesepeoplebringin‘fresh’andnewperspectiveswheretheyoftenhaveabreathof

experienceastheyworkorusedtoworkinothercompanies.Theuseofthismeantoidea

generationseemstobenon-excitantorverylimited.

“Wedon’tuseexternalconsultants”-Le

“Notreallyforideas”-Ch

“Youwanttostaycompetitive.Whenyoushareyourideaswithconsultantsthereisalwaysthedangerthatthenewideasaresharedwithothercompanies”-Se

Sestatesthistobeindustrywide.

“Ithinkitsindustrywide!Thecompetitiveadvantageisalwaysimportant.”-Se

Oneofthestatedreasonsifforthefearislossofcompetitiveadvantage,asthefashion

industryisahigh-competitivemarkettheyallcompeteforthemostinterestingand

valuableideas.Thepotentiallossoftheseideasthroughtheuseofexternalconsultants

seemstobelimitingtheuseofit,inotherwords,theriskisnotworththepotentialreturn.

Mostparticipantsstatethatthereisnouseofstructuredideationsystems,asstatedtobe

awidespreadmeanofideagenerationinotherindustries,whereChdoesuseastructured

systemofideageneration.

“Wehadanemailaddresswhichwascalledideasact.Andweactivelyencouragedpeopletosendideasinanyideasthattheyhavethatcanimprovetheproductsweoffer”–Ch

Overallitcanbeconcludedthatstructuredideationsystemsthatfacilitatesubmissionof

ideastolaterbedistributedarenotwidelyused.Whereeffectiveusofthismightallow

furthercrossfertilisationofideas,whichgeneratedeeperorwiderperspectivesand

consequentlyideas.

Theuseofbrainstormsessionsiswidelyadopted,wheretheextenttowhichthisisso

excessivelyusedseemssurprisinginrelationtotheliterature,astheliteratureimplied

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moresignificancetootherideationsystems.Forexampleexternalventuringisseenasa

theoreticalgoldmineofideas.Usingbrainstormingasameantoideagenerationisinline

withtheidentifiedcollaborativenatureofideageneration.Thefactthatotherkindsof

morestructuredideationsystemsarenotusedinfashionbeckonsthequestionifthisisnot

alostopportunity,opportunitycost.Beingawarethattherearemultiplemeansavailable

tothefashionindustrymightproofusefulwhencurrentlyusedsystems(potentially)under

deliver.

Creativity

Asstatedinthetheorysectionofthisresearch,creativityisanimportantaspectofidea

generation.Wherethissectionpresentsthefindingsinrelationtocreativitydistilledfrom

thecollecteddata.

Theorystatesthatthereisaneedforcreativityinideageneration.Whereahigherlevelof

creativityallowsforideageneration.

Thefactthatcreativityallowsfordifferentperspectivestocometogetheringenerationof

anideaalsohasaturnside.Whentherearelittlerestrictiontowhereyourcreativityis

allowedtogo,itgeneratestheneedformorecreativityinordertobeabletocomeupwith

the(right)idea.

“Ithinkitdependsontheindustry,becauseinfashionyouhavetobecreative,innovativeyouhavetofindnewwaystofindsolutions.Inotherslikefinance,youalwayshavethelaw.Youhavebiggerrestrictions.”-Se

Thisevokesaneedforcreativity

“Ithinkit(creativity)hugelyimportant,becauseifyou’renotnurturingcreativityIdon’tthinkyougetnewideageneration.Ithinkcreativepeopletheyprovidethatidea,thatspark,it’sthatcreativesparkthatleadstoinnovation.Andideageneration”–Le

“Becausetheyarebecomingbigspectacles(collections).Soeverythingneedsmoreandmoreideasbasicallytobeexecutedinagoodway”-Ji

Thereisalsoacollaborativeelementtocreativity,whichrelatestothecollaborativeneed

forideagenerationandtheactualprocessofideagenerationinfashionbusinessesas

previouslydescribedinthediscussiononindividualvs.collectiveideagenerationandthe

widespreaduseofbrainstormsessionasanideationsystem.

44

“Differentperspectivesaresomethingthatreallygeneratescreativity.Ifeelthatwhenafashionbrandcollaborateswithacompletelydifferentsector(AppleandHermes).Whensomeonewithadifferentperspectivefromadifferentworldmeetandtheycreatesomethingtogether,that’swhenreallyinterestingthingsusuallyhappens”-Ji

Differentperspectivesareaspreviouslydescribedimportantinordertodevelopideas,

wherecreativityfacilitatethistohappen.

IntheinterviewwithAnsheseemstohaveanegativeinclinationtowardsthelevelof

actualcreativityinthefashionindustry.

“WhereIwouldsaythatmostpeopleinthefashionindustrydon’treallyworkcreatively”–An

Apossibleexplanationforthisstatementisthatpriortothesestatementsseveral

discussionsrelatingthecommercialanddatadrivennatureofideagenerationwere

discussed.Thismighthaveinfluencedherlineofanswering,wheretheauthorstill

consciouslypresentsthisfinding.Asthereisadifferencebetweentheneedforcreativity

andtheactuallevelofcreativityinfashion.

Mostparticipantsseecreativityasanessentialaspecttowardsideageneration.Towhatextentdoyouthenseethepeoplethatcomeupwithideastobemorecreative?

“Yes,definitely!100%”–Se

“ThenIwouldliketocomebacktothepointthatpeopleinfashionhavetobemorecreative.Becausewhenyouaremorecreativeyougetmoreideasandyouwillgetyourideasveryfast.”–Se

Thereisatendencyamongtheparticipantstoseeahighcreativeneedintheindustryin

ordertogenerateideas,whichisinlinewiththeory.Whereoverall(exceptAn)the

participantsseethereisasufficientlevelofcreativityintheindustryinordertodevelop

theseideas.

Complacencyinthismattercouldpotentiallybethecase,wheretheindustrywoulddowell

andshouldbecomeconsciousaboutthepotentialdangersofthis.Asstated,highlevelsof

creativityareimportantforideagenerationandideagenerationisessentialforthe

business.

45

Discussions

Thischapterseekstobringthisthesistoanappropriateend,whichisachievedthrough

establishingthisresearch’skeyfindingsbutalsoitsobviousandlessobviouslimitations.

Furthermorethischapterseekstoidentifyareaoffutureresearchthatwouldbevaluable

andinteresting.

Thisstudyhadtheaimtoidentifywhereandhowideasaregeneratedtowardsproduct

developmentinlargerfashionbusinesses.Inordertoachievethisaimaprimary,

qualitative,interviewapproachwastakeninterviewingfivepeopleinthefashionindustry.

Aspreviouslystatedthissampleissmall,andsotheconclusionwillhavetobeconsidereda

preliminaryresearch,andininitiateinsightintotheconceptofideagenerationtowards

productdevelopmentinthefashionindustry.

Consideringthequestionwhereideasaregeneratedwithinthefashionbusinessesitcanbe

cautiouslyconcludedthatindividualpeopleinthejobrole/positionofdesignerscomeup

withtheideastowardproductdevelopmentmostlyrelatedtotheirareaofexpertise.

Theseideasareinfluencedbyarangeoffactors,wherethemostimportantfactoris

identifiedastheartisticdirectionsetbythecreativedirectororheadofdesign.This

directionsetbythecreativedirectorismostoftenperformedincollaborationwiththe

designteam.Wherethisfindinggoesagainstcurrenttheoryinwhichtheideagenerationis

“attachedtothepersonofthecreativedirector”.Thisdirectionononesidedevelops

artisticandideagenerationlimitationsas“acertaindirectionalsomeansyournotgoing

anotherway”-Ji,ontheotherhandhisallowsforfocussingofideagenerationinthis

directionandfacilitatingstructurethatisneededwithinthecreativemind.Theoverall

tendencyofthedatashowsthatthis‘limitation’isperceivedtobepositive.

Thequestionhowideasaregeneratedinthefashionindustryisfoundtobeinathree-way,

thefirstaspectbeingintrinsicandorganisationalenvironmentfacilitators,secondly

externaldriversandcommercialinterestsandthethird,organisationalstructure.

46

Organisationalenvironmentalfacilitatorsarefoundtorelatecloselytothepreviousstated

needforflexibility.Ideagenerationisfoundtobeaveryfluid,unstructuredthingmajorly

influencedbycollaborationandinteractionwithothers.Ideascancomeupatanymoment

whichrequirealevelofflexibilityfromtheorganisation,whereasstatedthislevelof

flexibility(or‘spacetobecreative’)tendstobenaturallyimposedbyorganisational

focusedpeopleintheorganisationandthesetartisticdirectionofthecreativedirector.

Intrinsicelementsthatarefoundtogenerateideasbasedinamorepersonalaspecttothe

ideagenerator.Encouragementandempowermentareindicatedasfacilitatorsinallowing

ideageneration,thisisinlinewithexcitingliterature.Someimplicationwereidentifiedin

relationtothefashionindustry,asencouragementandempowermentfacilitatethestated

neededflexibility.Aspeopleinpositionsthatrequireideagenerationtodotheirjobneed

tofeel‘backed’inattemptingthis.

Anotherintrinsicelementthatwasdeemedveryimportanttodriveandfacilitateidea

generationwasexperience.Thefashionindustrytendstoallowspeoplerelatedtoidea

generation,totraveland‘experience’theirproduct.Thispreviousaspectisspecifictothe

fashionindustry,whereasinotherindustriesbroadexperienceprovidesdifferent

perspectiveswhichfacilitateideageneration.This‘emotional’experienceinthefashion

industrymightarguablybeofgreaterimportanceduetotheemotionalfactorsaproduct

hastosupply,whichwerearguedtosolelybeobtainablethroughexperience.Addingto

thisexperienceandofgreatimportanceforideagenerationinfashioninfoundtobe

submersioninthetargetmarket,wheregainingessentialexperienceoftheproduct,its

customersandtheuseoftheseproductbythecustomersandpersonallyprovedtobea

greatfacilitatorofideageneration.

Majordriversanddirectorsofideagenerationinfashionisfoundtobethecommercial

interest,thisisnosurpriseasitisabusinessafterall.Furthermorethefactthatfashionper

definitionrequiressomesortof‘copying’isnotnew.Thesurprisingaspectisthewaythese

businessesgettothis‘copying’wheretheymakeuseofbigdatainordertoforecastfuture

trendsinordertoguidetheirideagenerationprocess.

47

Akey-wordsearchwasperformedaftertheinterviewsinordertopursueafurther

theoreticalunderstandingoftheuseofbigdatainfashion.Inmajoracademicsearch-

enginesnorelevantmatchesweregenerated,BusinessSourcePremier,ScienceDirectand

GoogleScholar.Meaningthatthereisnotoverylittleacademicknowledgeregardingthis

industryandtheuseofbigdata.

Duetothisverylimitedliteraturedevelopingmeaningfulconclusionsinthismatteris

difficult.

Thethirdfactorfacilitatingideagenerationistheorganisationalstructurearoundthis,and

morespecificallytheintentionallyputinpracticeprocessesthatfacilitateideageneration.

Contrarytowhatliteraturesuggestformaximumideageneration,thefashionindustry

adoptsalimitednumberofideationsystems.Brainstormingsessionarefoundtobemost

commonlyused,thisisinlinewiththecollaborativenatureofideageneration.Concluding

thatalimitednumberofsystemsareusedevokesthedangerofopportunitycost,the

fashionindustrycouldandshouldlookintoalternativeideationsystemsinorderto

maximisetheirideagenerationcapabilities.

Anoverallsupportingelementinideagenerationisthelevelofcreativityamongindividuals

andwithinorganisations.Wheretheparticipantsstatedawidelyrecognisedneedforthis

insupportofideageneration,butallinlinewithliterature.Theonlycontributionmadein

thisregardisthattheindustryshouldbeawarethatcomplacencyinassumptionofhaving

enoughcreativityintheorganisation,couldleadtopotentiallowerideageneration.

Overallthisthesisisanattempttodevelopaninitialinsightintotheworldofidea

generationtowardsproductdevelopmentinthefashionindustry.Throughtheestablished

primaryresearchitcanbeconcludedthatthefashionindustryoperatesinadifferent

manner.Wherehighlevelsofinteractionamongdesigners(alsothroughbrainstorming),

creativedirectorssettingartisticdirections,highlevelsofcreativity,encouragementfrom

seniorpeople,submersionintothetargetmarketanddatadrivenideadirectionallowfor

appropriatelevelsofideageneration.

48

Apracticalcontributionismadetotheextendthatpractitionersintheindustryaremade

awareofcertainaspects.Forinstance,thatthereareotherideationsystemsthatcouldbe

ofusetotheindustrytofacilitateanddriveideageneration.Furthermore,astheresearch

coverdifferentcompaniesacomparisonfromthepractitioners’perspectivecouldbe

performed.

Futureresearch

Thisstudyhasattemptedtodevelopsomeinsightintotheareaofideagenerationtowards

productdevelopmentinthefashionindustry.Asstatedbefore,thisresearchshouldbe

seenasapreliminarystudyinthisfield.Whereverylittlewasknownincurrentliterature

andthisresearchwasanfirstattemptintoarea.Asstatedalimitedsamplesizewas

obtained,wheretobeabletodrawmoreconclusiveandgeneralisableconclusionsasimilar

studywithalargersamplesizewouldbeinteresting.Furthermorethissamplecouldand

arguablyshouldincludemultiplesourcesinsimilarpartsoftheindustryandacrossthese

partsoftheindustry.Thisinordertoachieveanindustrywide,solidandgeneralisabledata

set.

Intheviewoftheauthoroneofthemostinterestingaspectsencounteredinthisresearch

istheuseof‘bigdata’infashion.Asstatednonorverylittletheoryhasbeendeveloped,

whereinrelationtothesignificanceofthetopicthisisodd.Researchisthisfieldcould,for

instance,researchtowhatextendthisaspectinfluencesideagenerationordiscussion

makinginproductdevelopmentinthefashionindustry.Abetterunderstandingofthis

couldstreamlinethebusinessaspectofforecasting.

Awidersamplewillalsoallowforamorein-depthstudyoftheideationsystems,an

attempttodiscoverwhichideationsystemswouldbebestsuitedandappropriatecould

leadtoaneffectiveimplementationanduseofthese.

Amongthemotivatorstowardsideagenerationseveralaspectsareidentifiedtocontribute

toideageneration(encouragement,experience,submersionandintrinsicinterest).Inan

HRfocusedstudythemostinfluentialaspectscouldbequantified.Discoveringthiswould

allowforamoreeffectiveandfocusedhiringprocessandoptimisationofdesignteam

competences(i.e.throughtrainingorsubmersionwhereskillslack).

49

Limitations

Asubstantiallimitationistheobtainedsamplesize,fiveinterviewsisnotasignificant

amount.Wheretheauthorsisveryconsciousofthelimitationofgeneralisabilityofthis

researchandtherepresentationofthegreaterfashionindustry.Wheretobeabletomake

itverygeneralisableabroadersamplecouldbeused.

Onelimitationencounteredisthatsomeoftheintervieweeswerealsoinchangeofthe

ideaselectionprocess,inregardtothistheymighthavedisregardedideasthatthey

thoughttobe‘badideas’andsohavenotregardedtheminasanidea.Eventhoughthese

arerelevanttothecurrentresearch.Thisastheoutcomeoftheideasselectedhavegreat

influenceontheselectors(oftencreativedirectors)personallyandontheircareer(Godard

etal.,2015).

Anotherlimitationisthetimeavailabilitytoconductthisresearch,whereinthetwomonth

periodthereisassigneditmightnotbefeasibletogeteverystoneturnedtowardsthis

subject.

50

Conclusion

Innovationisneededincompaniesinordertoexistandgrow.Ideasareneededwithinthe

innovationalprocess,inthisresearchitisarguedthatthefashionindustryhasanincreased

needforideasduetotheiruniquenatureofbusiness.Theyareinneedofahighnumberof

ideastofacilitatetheirhighnumberofincrementalinnovations.

Theseideasarefoundtobegeneratedbyindividuals,mostoftendesigners,afterwhich

theyarefurtherdevelopedwithindesignteams.Theseideasareguidedbytheartistic

directionsetbythecreativedirector,wherethisresearchfoundhisorherinfluencenotto

betotheextentliteraturesuggested.Thisdirectionwasfoundtobeinfluencedbyalotof

factors.Thecollaborationwiththedesignteambutalsoexternaldrivers,inwhichthe

economicinterestofthebusinessseemstobeparamount.Thismakesmostfashion

businessengageintheactofcopying,whetherthisisthroughtheuseoftrendsorbigdata.

Moreintrinsicfacilitatorsofideagenerationareconcludedtobetheencouragementfrom

topmanagement,theexperienceoftheideagenerator,theirgenuineintrinsicinterestand

motivationinfashionanditsproductandthesubmersioninthetargetmarket.

51

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57

Appendixes

Appendix1

Intervieweeinitials:

Brieflydescribeyourrole(office,department,etc.)asitrelatestoideagenerationfor(if

appropriate).

Probes:Howareyouinvolvedinideageneration?

Canyouwalkmethroughtheprocessofideagenerationinyourcompanyfromyourjob

perspective?

Whereintheorganisationdotheseideascomeup?Fromwhom?(jobtitle)

Probes:Aretherespecificpeopleinyourorganisationthatoftencomeupwiththeideas?

-Aretheyalone?Inclusterstogether?Alltogetherinonegroup?

Whatdoyouthinkmakesthemhavetheideas?

(doesthevariationcomefrompeopleorprocess?Dosmallamountofpeoplecomeup

withmajorityofideasversusallpeoplecomeupwithsmallnumber)

-Incaseofsmallamountofpeople?Whydothesepeoplecomeupwithloadsofideas?

Personalcharacteristics,experience,education,exposuretocontacts(network).

-Howaretheyimbeddedinlife?Dotheytravelalot?Experienceornotatall(green

leaves)?Location(maybeclosetoleadingfashionbrandswhoinfluence)?

Howdoestheproductdevelopmentcycle(seasons)looklikefromitsverybeginning?

(Thisquestionwillthenpolitelybeinterruptedafterideagenerationstagehasbeen

displayed,wherethislikeistakentoouttakepotentialbias)

Inwhatwayisideagenerationstimulatedwithinyourorganisation,whatideationsystem

(formalised)?

58

• largebrainstormplatformsinwhichallemployeescancontribute,

• idea-bootcampsinwhichthewholecompanyisprovidedwithincentivesto

generateideasinaparticulararea,

• ideacompetitions

• Externalconsultants

Inthephysicalstructureoftheofficesaretherei.e.informalgatheringrooms,longdining

tables,openfloorplan,flexdesk.Overallpromotionofcross-fertilisationofdepartments

andideas.

Whatareyourthoughttowardstheseideagenerationsystems?Doyouthinktheyfittheir

purpose?

Howdotheythinkaboutideagenerationsystemisdifferentintheircompanydifferentto

others’

Howbigdoyouseetheinfluenceofthecentralfigure(creativedirector)

Towhattypeofinnovationaremostidea’sgearedtowards?

structuralchangeoftheproduct(58%).Thischangecanbe“closelyrelatedto

designersreflectingnewculturalinfluencesinthewaytheirdesignsarecreated”

(Malem,2008:5).ThesecondmostidentifiedinnovationinBianchiandBortolotti

reviewis‘Changesintheproductionprocess’(36%)which“aretheinnovativeways

employedbyadesignerofexploitingthesupplychainandtechnology”.Thirdmost

identified(22%)isthe“newusesofthesameproduct”whichisfashionrelatestore-

usingarchivedmaterialandvintagefashion.Thisdoesnotlimittotheproductionof

actualclothesbutalsore-usingstrategiesformarketentryorexpansionwhere

marketsarefoundforthecompaniesproductsby(international)expansion

Towhatextenddoyouthinkahighcreativitylevelallowsforideageneration?

Whatistheprocessaroundthiscreativityaspectofyourjobinyourposition?

Towhatextendtodoseepeoplewhocomeupwithideastobe‘morecreative’?

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Appendix2

Self-memos on participant behavior. An Was very relaxed where she talked out freely and seemed not to be in a hurry what so ever. Came across very knowledgeable with great in-depth understanding of how the fashion industry worked. Where this is I think based in her education and broad working experience with other designers. An displayed a negative disposition towards the fashion industry, not negative in the way she thinks it should not exist but negative in the way she feels the way the fashion industry works and operates at the moment is not in line with the way she was educated in her creative education. Her main point was that the fashion industry uses a lot of copying from other companies in order to create their products. Ch Felt a little bit hurried at the beginning, where this did not feel like it was uncommon to him. He felt like a person who just wants to cut to the chase, straight in what I needed from him. This made my interview protocol not too useful in terms of approach to structural categories I wanted to discuss, but was for sure very time effective. He was very very knowledgeable in the way he spoke where from out his position in the company had a good recollection and knowledge on where in the organization the ideas came up from. Se He felt very relaxed. Was on his day off and so was very willing and able to have a long interview. Felt very knowledgeable due to his history in different companies and his position within the idea generation process. Le The interviewer knew Le from his days in the fashion industry. This has no negative connotation and made it very easy and relaxed to talk. The setting was really relaxed which produced a positive atmosphere. Due to his extensive experience in different companies within the sport-fashion industry within the designer teams, he has a good knowledge and notion towards idea generation. Ji This was the last interview conducted. He indicated to have just returned from holiday and had all the time in the world to speak. Having worked within different aspect of the fashion industry (stylist to copywriter) made him knowledgeable in fashion and the processes surrounding idea generation.