Department

Consumer and Food Sciences

Degree

MConSci Clothing Management (Distinction)

The clothing and textile industry plays an enormous role in contributing to environmental and social issues. In order to address these issues and save our planet for future generations, implementing more sustainable practices is necessary and can be done through corporate social responsibility (CSR). Research focusing on the clothing and textile industry in emerging markets, more specifically, measurement scales relating to this specialised concept seem to be lacking at this point in time. Therefore, this research study focusses on developing and validating a scale pertaining to consumers’ perceptions of clothing retailers CSR (CPCRCSR) in South Africa. A quantitative, cross-sectional approach by means of a structured, self-explanatory online survey was used for research purposes. Subsequently, SPSS software was utilised during data analysis and the entire dataset (N = 1632) was randomly split into two datasets to perform measurement model development and refinement on dataset one (n = 816) as well as measurement model validation on dataset two (n = 816). The findings of this study resulted in a valid and reliable CPCRCSR scale pertaining to South African consumers. Furthermore, the results indicated a direct and positive relationship between CPCRCSR and purchase intention (PI). This research makes marketers and retailers aware of consumers’ perceptions of clothing retailers’ CSR. Thus it could help retailers to better understand their target market and therefore implement better marketing strategies. Finally, implications, limitations and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Email

[email protected]

Supervisor

• Primary supervisor: Dr H Taljaard-Swart