Will Modest Fashion Industry Survive? Covid-19 Puts Fashion Modest Business to the Test
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought changes to the retail world; this creates a challenge to businesses focusing on modest fashion. Many modest fashion business owners change their selling approach to online method. This creates challenges to the retail supply chain and online shopping activities because of the surge in online orders. This article examines how modest fashion business owners carry out their business activities during the pandemic situation. By adopting strategic orientations and economic sustainability theories in the content, 20 modest fashion business owners were interviewed using online or offline, and the interview questions are structured. The purposive sampling technique was used to collect data from the interview. The data was analysed by using thematic analysis. The results indicated that modest fashion business owners found that many of their customers converted to loyal customers since their business went online. This online thing gave a boost to their sales revenue denying the stigma of uncertainty about modest fashion business. Meanwhile, for the offline modest fashion business owners, they claim that they need to digitalize their business to stay relevant in the current business era. There was difficulty in getting information and support from the participants whom are both online and offline modest fashion business owners. It became the main weakness of this study. Nonetheless, this study was important for the modest fashion industry as it has discussed issues during the pandemic circumstance and business survival. The outcome of this study will assist the managers of the respective businesses whom may be in search of proactive strategies or value creation initiatives to benefit the future of their modest fashion business.
References
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Presutti & Odorici, (2019), Linking Entrepreneurial and Market Orientation to The SME’s Performance Growth: The Moderating Role of Entrepreneurial Experience and Networks, International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal 15(12):1-24.
Ramezan et al., (2013), Organizational Change Capacity and Organizational Performance: An Empirical Analysis On an Innovative Industry, Journal of Knowledge-based Innovation in China 5(3).
Sarpong, S. (2020). Sustainability Orientation and Business Perspectives: How Kazakhstan Is Coping with the Shared Imperative. In The Future of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (pp. 367-382). Springer, Cham.
Schmidt, H. J., Baumgarth, C., Wiedmann, K. P., & Luckenbach, F. (2015). Strategic Orientations and The Performance of Social Entrepreneurial Organisations (SEOs): A conceptual model. Social Business, 5(2), 131-155.
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Storey Chris & Mathew Hughes (2013), The Relative Impact of Culture, Strategic Orientation and Capability on New Service Development Performance, European Journal of Marketing 47(5-6).
Syahdan, R., Djaelani, Y., & Mahdi, S. (2020). Strategic Orientation and The Performance of Smes in Indonesia: The Mediating Role of Access to Finance. Management Science Letters, 10(5),1151-1160.
Yin, R. (1994). Case Study Research: Design and Methods (2nd edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Anizah Zainuddin, SI Ridzwan, SB Ridzwan (2022), Implementation of The Retail Halal Control Points: Assessment Leading to Sustainable Competitiveness in Cottage Food Businesses During Post-Pandemic Recovery, International Journal of Business and Economy, Vol 4 No 2: June 2022 Issue, 1-11.
Awang, Z., Afthanorhan, A., & Asri, M. A. M. (2015). Parametric and Non Parametric Approach in Structural Equation Modeling (SEM): The Application of Bootstrapping. Modern Applied Science, 9, 58-67.
Olawale Fatoki (2012), The Impact of Entrepreneurial Orientation on Access to Debt Finance and Performance of Small and Medium Enterprises in South Africa, August 2012Journal of Social Sciences 32(2):121-131.
Fernando, Y., Jabbour, C. J. C., & Wah, W. X. (2019). Pursuing Green Growth in Technology Firms Through the Connections Between Environmental Innovation and Sustainable Business Performance: Does Service Capability Matter? Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 141, 8-20.
Genc, E., Dayan, M., & Genc, O. F. (2019). The impact of SME Internationalization On Innovation: The Mediating Role of Market and Entrepreneurial Orientation. Industrial Marketing Management, 82, 253-264.
Hakala, H. (2011). Strategic Orientations in Management Literature: Three Approaches to Understanding the Interaction Between Market, Technology, Entrepreneurial and Learning Orientations. International Journal of Management Reviews, 13(2), 199-217.
Karl Haller, Jim Lee, and Jane Cheung. (2020), Meet The 2020 Consumers Driving Change, IBMhttps://www.ibm.com.
Herath, H. M. A., & Mahmood, R. (2014). Strategic Orientations and SME Performance: Moderating Effect of Absorptive Capacity of the Firm, June 2014 Asian Social Science 10(13):95-107.
Hingley et all., (2006); Supplier-Retailer Relationships in the UK Fresh Produce Supply Chain, Journal of International Food & Agribusiness Marketing, 18(1):49-86.
Hingley, (2005); Power Imbalanced Relationships: Cases from UK Fresh Food Supply, Industrial Marketing Management, 34 (8), 848-858.
https://www.investopedia.com
https://www.mckinsey.com
https://www.vocabulary.com
https://www.forbes.com
Hussain, J., Rahman, W., & Shah, F. A. (2016). Market Orientation and Performance: The Interaction Effect of Entrepreneurial Orientation. Pakistan Journal of Commerce and Social Sciences (PJCSS), 10(2), 388-403.
Kohli Ajay K and Bernard J. Jaworski, (1990), Market Orientation: The Construct, Research Propositions, and Managerial Implications, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 54, No. 2, pp. 1-18
Lapple, D., & Thorne, F. (2019). The Role of Innovation in Farm Economic Sustainability: Generalised Propensity Score Evidence from Irish Dairy Farms. Journal of Agricultural Economics, 70(1), 178-197.
Liu, G., Takeda, S., & Ko, W. W. (2014). Strategic Orientation and Social Enterprise Performance. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 43(3), 480-501.
Mandal, S., & Saravanan, D. (2019). Exploring the Influence of Strategic Orientations on Tourism Supply Chain Agility and Resilience: An Empirical Investigation. Tourism Planning & Development, 16(6), 612-636.
Migliori, S., Pittino, D., Consorti, A., & Lucianetti, L. (2019). The Relationship Between Entrepreneurial Orientation, Market Orientation and Performance in University Spin-Offs.
Morgan & Anokhin, (2019), The Joint Impact of Entrepreneurial Orientation and Market Orientation in New Product Development: Studying Firm and Environmental Contingencies, Journal of Business Research 113(2).
Morgan, R. M. & Hunt, S. D. (1994a). Relationship-Based Competitive Advantage: The Role of Relationship Marketing in Marketing Strategy. Journal of Business Research, 46(3), 281–290.
Morgan, R. M. & Hunt, S. D. (1994b). The Commitment-Trust Theory of Relationship Marketing. The Journal of Marketing, 58(3), 20–38.
Morgan, Anokhin, Kretinin, & Frishammar, (2015), The Dark Side of the Entrepreneurial Orientation and Market Orientation Interplay: A New Product Development Perspective, International Small Business Journal Forthcoming.
Morgan, N. A., & Vorhies, D. W. (2018). The Business Performance Outcomes of Market Orientation Culture and Behaviors', Innovation and Strategy (pp. 255-282). Emerald Publishing Limited.
Morgan, T., & Anokhin, S. A. (2019). The Joint Impact of Entrepreneurial Orientation and Market Orientation in New Product Development: Studying Firm and Environmental Contingencies. Journal of Business Research.
Morgan, T., Anokhin, S. A., & Wincent, J. (2019). Influence of Market Orientation on Performance: The Moderating Roles of Customer Participation Breadth and Depth in New Product Development. Industry and Innovation, 26(9), 1103-1120.
Stanley F. Slater and John C. Narver, (1995), Market Orientation and the Learning Organization, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 59, No. 3, pp. 63-74.
Presutti & Odorici, (2019), Linking Entrepreneurial and Market Orientation to The SME’s Performance Growth: The Moderating Role of Entrepreneurial Experience and Networks, International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal 15(12):1-24.
Ramezan et al., (2013), Organizational Change Capacity and Organizational Performance: An Empirical Analysis On an Innovative Industry, Journal of Knowledge-based Innovation in China 5(3).
Sarpong, S. (2020). Sustainability Orientation and Business Perspectives: How Kazakhstan Is Coping with the Shared Imperative. In The Future of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (pp. 367-382). Springer, Cham.
Schmidt, H. J., Baumgarth, C., Wiedmann, K. P., & Luckenbach, F. (2015). Strategic Orientations and The Performance of Social Entrepreneurial Organisations (SEOs): A conceptual model. Social Business, 5(2), 131-155.
Silva, S., Nuzum, A. K., & Schaltegger, S. (2019). Stakeholder Expectations on Sustainability Performance Measurement and Assessment. A Systematic Literature Review. Journal of Cleaner Production.
Slater, Stanley F. & Narver John C., (1994), Does Competitive Environment Moderate the Market Orientation–Performance Relationship, Journal of Marketing 58(1):46-56.
Storey Chris & Mathew Hughes (2013), The Relative Impact of Culture, Strategic Orientation and Capability on New Service Development Performance, European Journal of Marketing 47(5-6).
Syahdan, R., Djaelani, Y., & Mahdi, S. (2020). Strategic Orientation and The Performance of Smes in Indonesia: The Mediating Role of Access to Finance. Management Science Letters, 10(5),1151-1160.
Yin, R. (1994). Case Study Research: Design and Methods (2nd edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Published
2022-09-01
How to Cite
ZAINUDDIN, Anizah; RIDZWAN, Sarah Irdina; RIDZWAN, Sarah Batrisyia.
Will Modest Fashion Industry Survive? Covid-19 Puts Fashion Modest Business to the Test.
Asian Journal of Research in Business and Management, [S.l.], v. 4, n. 3, p. 345-356, sep. 2022.
Available at: <https://myjms.mohe.gov.my/index.php/ajrbm/article/view/19369>. Date accessed: 24 june 2025.
Section
Articles
