11 

 

ACADEMIC ASPECT OF THE LEATHER INDUSTRY: AN 

INTERPRETATION FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF BUSINESS 

SCIENCE 

 

 

Assist. Prof. Dr. Hatice ER   

Tekirdağ Namık Kemal University, Çorlu Vocational School,
 
her@nku.edu.tr  

 

 

 

Article history: 

Submission 01 November 2020 

Revision 20 October 2020 

Accepted 27 February 2021 

Available online 30 April 2021 

 

Keywords:  
Leather Industry,  

Business Science,  

Meta-Analysis. 

 

DOI: 

https://doi.org/10.32936/pssj.v5i1.205 

 

 

 

 

A b s t r a c t 

In the leather industry, a production process that is the subject of many different disciplines is 

dominant. Many studies on these branches of science have examined the sector in detail in terms 

of production. On the other hand, studies dealing with the sector in terms of business administration 

department and sub-disciplines are not common. 

 

In this study, academic publications examining the relationship between the leather industry and 

the business administration department are the subjects. 98 scientific studies obtained after the 

search in the Web of Science database were examined in terms of the form of publication, the year 

of publication, the country where the publication was made and the sub-disciplines of the business 

department. 

 

 

1. Introduction 

Leather is one of the first materials used by man to meet his needs. 

While it was used for covering purposes in primitive ages, it 

became a strategically important material as scabbard, stirrup and 

quiver in wars. 

 

Leather industry, is supplying the raw materials necessary for the 

production of the livestock sector. Raw leather is a byproduct of 

prime importance among the by-products of meat production. 

Leather and leather products sector has its own characteristics or 

differences according to many sectors (Leather and Leather 

Products Sector Report Western Black Sea Development Agency; 

December 2012). 

 

Leather and leather products are among the most traded products 

worldwide and are based on a renewable and readily available 

resource. It is estimated that international trade exceeds 80 billion 

dollars annually, and it is expected that developing and emerging 

countries will continue to become a member with the increase in 

population and urbanization. 

 

Considering this great importance of the sector, its relationship 

with many disciplines in scientific terms is clearly visible. It is 

known that this sector, which is indispensable for the disciplines 

of animal husbandry chemistry, management, economy, finance 

and marketing, is the subject of many scientific researches. The 

aim of this study is to examine the studies that deal with the sector 

scientifically in terms of business science and sub-disciplines 

other than livestock and chemistry. For the purposes of this 

article, we would like not only to look at what happens in a 

tannery from raw hide to finished leather, but also to consider the 

long journey of raw material to the finished product (handbag, car 

seats, gloves, or shoes) and the disciplines it needs in this journey. 

 

2. Leather industry 

Leather and leather products manufacturing industry covers the 

production of skins and furs of all kinds of animals, especially the 

raw hides obtained from animals slaughtered for their meat. The 

leather industry has a feature unlike any other industry. This 

feature is directly related to the unique texture of the leather, 

which is the raw material of the industry, and its ability to 

maintain this texture until it is consumed. At the same time, the 

https://prizrenjournal.com/index.php/PSSJ/issue/view/11
mailto:her@nku.edu.tr
https://doi.org/10.32936/pssj.v5i1.205
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2125-7406


 

 12 

supply of quality raw materials is of particular importance. For 

this reason, the leather industry can determine its profitability in 

the long term. Leather and leather products manufacturing 

industry; It operates in a wide range of production ranging from 

tanning and leather processing, from raw leather to artificial 

leather, from leather chemicals to leather garments, from shoes to 

footwear sub-industry, leather goods, leather clothing, sheepskin 

goods, and also includes main branches and sub-sectors that show 

quite different characteristics. . The Food and Agriculture 

Organization (FAO) collects the leathers and hides that come into 

output by being included in this process in 14 categories: Bovine 

hides and hides, calf hides and hides, buffalo hides and hides, 

sheep hides and hides, karakul hides and hides, goat skins. and 

hides, pig hides and hides, horse hides and hides, mule hides and 

hides, camel hides and hides, rabbit hides and hides, fur, other 

hides and skins (www.fao.org). From this point of view, the 

sector's value chain becomes important. 

 

One way to look at this is by examining what is called the value 

chain. The value chain looks at the value added activities within 

a business. It defines 'primary activities' in inbound logistics, 

production, outbound logistics, sales and marketing, and service 

(maintenance). "Support activities" include administration, 

personnel, R&D and purchasing. Most management tools such as 

management by objectives, business process engineering, and 

product life cycles have been developed by academics in the last 

fifty years (Redwood, 2006) . Value z fig was described and 

popularized in 1985 by Professor Michael Porter of Harvard 

University. 

 

The global leather value chain begins with animal husbandry and 

ends with leather goods manufacturing. Bovine hides, sheep and 

goat hides are the main hides used, and leather is processed in 

tanneries before becoming accessories such as shoes, clothes and 

bags and belts. Leather is also used for technical products and 

upholstery (Memedovic & Mattila, 2008). 

 

The leather value chain, in other words, the processes required for 

raw leather to become a wearable leather product, are 

summarized as follows by Memedovic (2005). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 1. Leather value chain 

 

Accordingly, the process begins with the recovery of the hides 

and skins of animals slaughtered in slaughterhouses. This is 

followed by the transformation of leather and hides into leather in 

tanneries. In other words, the process starts on a farm and ends 

with consumer or industrial products. As can be seen from the 

value chain, creating value in the leather industry requires full 

management skills. It is clear that the process is closely related to 

every field of business management, from pre-production idea to 

after-sales service. 

 

2.1. Leather Industry and Business Science 

Globally, the value chain of the leather sector is in a rather 

complex form. Quality raw material is the prerequisite for the best 

quality leather product and in this context it is in close 

relationship with the livestock sector. In other words, its main 

input is based on animal production rates and the ability to collect 

and maintain hides. In another sense, it can be said that the leather 

industry is in close relationship with meat production. Therefore, 

it is very meaningful to evaluate together with these two main 

sectors with which it is in relation, and to deal more intensely with 

these two main sectors of academic studies. 

 

On the other hand, additional features such as high production 

skills, design knowledge, computer-aided design systems, 

branding and marketing are required in the shoe, leather clothing 

and goods sector. For this reason, this particular sector should be 

considered academically in terms of business science. 

       

2.2. Leather Industry and Finance-Economy  

Leather industry with high added value is very important for 

Turkey's economy because it contains the largest product exports. 

Turkish leather sector, in terms of export potential is considered 

as one of the leading sectors of Turkey's economy. When 

evaluated in an industrial sense, the leather sector is among the 

main sectors that are seriously affected by the cyclical 



 

 13 

fluctuations in the economy (Yamamoto and Şekeroğlu, 2011). 

From this point of view, it is seen that the sector is in a close 

relationship with economy, finance and accounting disciplines. 

It is clear that quite high fixed investment costs will be needed in 

the leather value chain process. Covering the fixed investment 

cost will be through long-term liabilities or equity in terms of 

accounting. This situation confronts companies in the leather 

industry with important questions of finance science such as 

finding financing resources, ensuring that the costs of these 

resources are kept at a minimum and transferring the funds 

obtained to the right investments. 

 

Undoubtedly, the most basic income of a profit-making firm will 

come from its sales revenue. However, in the current capital-

intensive production situation and in production units where fixed 

costs are high, it will be difficult to reduce unit costs and hence 

achieve high profits. In this sense, improvements in the leather 

value chain seem inevitable. On the other hand, the general trend 

towards the leather industry in the world is environmental 

approaches. Environmental approaches are generally accepted as 

factors that increase the unit cost. 

 

Improvement in the leather value chain should be understood as 

moving to activities that offer higher survival opportunities and 

higher returns. Higher returns can be achieved by shifting 

production to higher priced products or acquiring new functions 

in the value chain, such as participating in design and marketing. 

Indeed, Gereffi (1999) defines industrial development as the 

process of improving a firm's ability to become more profitable, 

technologically sophisticated, and serve more capital and 

technology-intensive market niches. 

 

2.3. Leather Industry and Marketing 

In today's conditions, while the Turkish leather industry has 

serious knowledge of production, changing world and consumer 

preferences and trends have made it necessary for consumers to 

adopt different expectations and develop new products with 

different characteristics. However, only product-oriented studies 

are not enough for companies to survive. Marketing activities 

should be improved, but should be carried out at minimum cost 

considering the current conditions (Yamamoto, Şekeroğlu and 

Bayramoğlu, 2011). 

 

Leather z value of the figs in the call and the different stages of 

the marketing of the final product, is the key to success in the 

modern business leather products. At the global level, market 

knowledge and complex supply chain for both ri mechanism to 

manage to have a broad network of sales channels that allow them 

to serve customers on time and must be exercised (Memedovic 

and Mattila, 2008). At the top of the value chain, design and 

marketing are very important to gain competitive advantage. 

However, these activities tend to be controlled by leading 

companies in the chain, putting leather manufacturers in 

developing countries in a difficult position. Because leather sector 

companies operating in developing countries lack the necessary 

knowledge, experience and management skills in determining the 

target market, making production suitable for the market, sales 

and after-sales service. 

 

Marketing activities in the leather sector are as critical as 

companies in the global competitive environment. It is extremely 

important to compare international activities, monitor the 

activities of competitors, adopt models from other countries' best 

practices and improve marketing activities. Following marketing 

activities and current general trends, marketing and promotional 

activities using various electronic media are among the issues that 

need to be followed meticulously in the leather industry 

(Yamamoto, Şekeroğlu, & Bayramoğlu, 2011). 

 

2.4. Leather Industry and Corporate Social 

Responsibility 

At the point we have reached today, no sector or any business is 

in a position to stay away from global climate problems. No one 

should be optimistic that "this issue is too far from me" or "the 

blessing of the world is inexhaustible." Serious global problems 

ranging from global warming anxiety to pollution issues, energy 

conservation, personal fitness and obesity are problems that 

require everyone and everybody to take responsibility. The 

leather industry has to do its part in this regard. We do not think 

the world has enough time left for the industry to say 'we are 

special; this does not concern us. 

   

When we consider all the problems we face globally in terms of 

the manufacturing industry, it is seen that consumers also impose 

certain sanctions on businesses. These sanctions are more related 

to supply and demand rather than being legal. For example, a 

group of consumers defined as LOHAS can be considered within 

this scope. In the USA alone, Lifestyles of Health and 

Sustainability (LOHAS) defines a US $ 270 billion market for 

goods and services focused on health, environment, social justice, 

personal development and sustainable living. Consumers who are 

interested in this market en masse " Cultural Creatives " as it is 

referred to, and represent a fairly large group is. About 30 percent 

of adults in the US, or 50 to 60 million people, are currently 

considered LOHAS Consumers (Redwood, 2006). 

 

While it is so essential for all sectors, all businesses and all 

consumers to act with a common consciousness, it would be 

wrong to put the responsibility only on businesses. Because the 

cost increases that businesses will bear due to some new 



 

 14 

regulations are a step to solve our global problems, but the prices 

that have to increase due to the increasing costs will directly affect 

the consumers. In this sense, it is essential to make the necessary 

arrangements to fulfill corporate social responsibilities, 

especially for public institutions, regardless of the sector. Due to 

the natural structure of the leather industry, its close relationship 

with the livestock sector, which plays an important role in the 

ecological system, requires the leather industry to pay more 

attention to the issue. Because the negative effect of animals 

hunted for their fur or skin on the ecological balance is obvious. 

 

3. Application 

3.1. Method 

Due to the importance of the leather industry in exports and 

national economies, the term "leather sector" has been handled 

from the perspective of sub-disciplines in the field of business 

administration. Management disciplines, which are seen as 

constraints, are covered under the basic headings of finance and 

accounting, marketing and management organization. 

 

3.2. Constraints 

The Web of Science database was scanned to reveal only relevant 

articles as "leather industry" keyword. The years 2000-2020 were 

preferred as the publication year range. The fields of "Business, 

Management and Accounting", "Marketing" and "Economics, 

Econometrics and Finance" were included in order to separate the 

search results from zoology, chemistry and other related 

literature, which are the origin of leather, and focus only on 

Business and its sub-branches. 98 publications were accessed 

through the Web of Science database within the framework of the 

specified restrictions. 

 

4. Results 

4.1. Descriptive Statistics 

Of the 98 publications reached within the scope of the study, 77 

were published as articles, 1 3 as papers presented at congresses 

or conferences, and 8 were published as books and book chapters 

(Graphic 1; B=Book or Book Chapter, J=Journal Article, 

S=Statement). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Graphic 1. Publication Type 

 

Publication years of 98 publications are shown in Graphic 2. 

According to this, the years 2017, 2018 and 2019 draw attention 

according to the number of scientific studies conducted with the 

leather sector in terms of business administration. It was 

determined that there were 10 publications in 2017, 12 in 2018 

and 11 in 2019.   

 

 

Graphic 2. Number of publications by years 

 

When the distribution of 98 publications included in the study by 

countries is examined, the distribution of the publications is 

shaped as shown in Figure 1. Countries with less than 4 

broadcasts were not considered in the list led by India, China and 

the UK. 

 

 

Figure 2. Number of Publications in Terms of Countries 

 

On the basis of universities, it is seen that only Ege University has 

2 publications in our country in universities that have 2 or more 

publications. 

 

 

 

 



 

 15 

 

 

Figure 3.  Number of Publications in terms of Universities 

 

The main purpose of the study is to determine to what extent the 

scientific studies on the leather sector are handled together with 

the business discipline and horse disciplines. When viewed for 

this purpose (Figure 3), it is seen that most publications are under 

the titles of management and operation. Considering the 

importance of the sector in exports and imports, the number of 

publications in economics and finance disciplines becomes 

important. 

 

 

Figure 4. Number of Publications in Terms of Business 

Discipline and Sub-Disciplines 

 

Considering all the results, it is striking that the number of joint 

scientific publications in the leather industry and business are 

insufficient. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

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5. Article Data 

The author, title and summary information of 98 publications considered within the scope of the study are as follows. 

 

P
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T
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p
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Author Full Names Article title Abstract 

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A
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Kittikunchotiwut, 

Ploychompoo 

The Roles of Organizational Learning Capability 
and Firm Innovation in the Relationship between 

Entrepreneurial Orientation and Firm Performance 

This research aims to examine the relationships among entrepreneurial orientation, organizational learning capability, firm 

innovation, and firm performance. To achieve a data collection, a mail survey procedure via questionnaire was implemented 

by using executives or managers of gems & jewelry industries, textile and clothing industries, leather and accessories, fashion 
apparel industries in Thailand as the key informants. Of the surveys completed and returned, 388 were usable. Hence, a model 

with a structural equation was used to evaluate the data survey of 388 respondents. The results reveal that, in terms of the 

mediating effect, organizational learning capacity and firm innovation can complement each other in order to improve 
entrepreneurial orientation. Findings show that entrepreneurial orientation improves firm innovation, which in turn improves 

firm efficiency. Firm innovation acts as a variable mediating between enterprise orientation and firm performance. Our 
findings contribute to the current emergence of organizational learning capacity that mediated the relationship between 

entrepreneurial orientation and firm performance. Entrepreneurial orientation is normally a firm performance that enterprises 

develop which can have use the information available and make an impact. It can be considered through the mediation of 

organizational learning capability, and firm innovation variable and as stated in previous literature, it can influence firm 

performance. 

J
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P
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p
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Karaosman, Hakan; Perry, 

Patsy; Brun, 

Alessandro; Morales-
Alonso, Gustavo 

Behind the runway: Extending sustainability in 

luxury fashion supply chains 

From a resource-based view, this paper investigates sustainability integration across multiple tiers in two Italian luxury supply 
chains producing fashion and leather footwear, a complex and fragmented industry sector that is highly dependent upon raw 

materials and a human skills base. Qualitative in-depth interview data were collected from senior industry informants within 

10 businesses, spanning multiple supply chain tiers. Industry practices are systematically decomposed into product, process 
and supply chain levels to analyze supply chain sustainability. Findings reveal that product-level practices focused on raw 

materials more than design initiatives, with operational benefits of cost reduction and market benefits of consumer value-

add. Process-level practices in water and energy reduction were motivated by cost reduction benefits more than environmental 
concerns. At supply chain level, traceability projects and supplier audits were limited by a lack of end-to-end supply chain 

visibility, despite the criticality of raw materials and evidence of close and long-term trading relationships. Supply chain 

transparency and supplier engagement are critical areas for development. Both technical and relational resources must be 

developed across supply networks. Current practices are geared towards reducing negative impacts associated with current 

operations, falling short of the radical strategies needed to address root causes and embrace sustainability at large. 

J
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Boffelli, 

Albachiara; Golini, 

Ruggero; Orzes, 
Guido; Dotti, Stefano 

Open the box: A behavioural perspective on the 
reshoring decision-making and implementation 

process 

In the realm of manufacturing location decisions, reshoring has increasingly attracted the attention of practitioners, policy 
makers and scholars. While many articles have analyzed the drivers of reshoring decisions, the decision-making and 

implementation process still lacks empirical analyses. This paper addresses this gap with a grounded theory approach, in 

particular, through an iterative process going back and forth between the theoretical and empirical worlds. By analysing four 
cases from the textile-clothing-leather-footwear industry, we demonstrate that the process characteristics are affected by the 

behavioral features of the decision itself, such as rationality, complexity and anchoring. Our study highlights the relevance of 

the behavioral approach in reshoring decisions and provides evidence of many challenges that managers should be prepared 
to face. It further offers advice to policy makers, warning them about the dark side of reshoring and emphasizing their role in 

supporting companies to take structured rather than intuitive sub-optimal decisions. 



 

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Al Hasnawi, Hussien 
Hurajah; Abbas, Ali 

Abdulhassan 

Workplace Ostracism as a Mediating Variable in the 
Relationship between Paradoxical Leader 

Behaviors and Organizational Inertia 

Background and Purpose: Many organizations suffer from an increased in the paradoxical behaviors of leaders, leading to 

followers to feel lonely and the workplace ostracism, which negatively effects the emergence of organizational inertia. The 
main purpose of this study is to examine direct and indirect effect of paradoxical leader behaviors on organizational inertia 

through the mediating role of the workplace ostracism. Design / Methodology / Approach: Using the convenience sampling 

technique, a self-administered survey was conducted at the level of a sample (n = 564) of employees in the factories of the 
State Company for Textile and Leather Industry in Iraq. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to test the 

proposed research model using the AMOS v.24 software. Results: The findings revealed that paradoxical leader behaviors 

have a significant effect on workplace ostracism and organizational inertia. Further, workplace ostracism significant effect on 
organizational inertia. In addition, the study empirically supports the mediating effect of workplace ostracism on the 

relationship between paradoxical leader behaviors and organizational inertia. Conclusion: When paradoxical behaviors arise 

in the behavior of an organization's leaders, it will have an influence on the emergence of workplace ostracism amongst 
employees, hence the subsequent emergence of organizational inertia in general in the work environment. Based on these 

results, this study should be of help to leaders in avoiding paradoxical behaviors in terms of maintaining a certain equilibrium 

in dealing with employees to find a positive work environment that reduces staff ostracism, and thus organizational inertia. 

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Djastuti, Indi; Rahardjo, 

Susilo Toto; Perdhana, 

RVvan 
Surya; Daryono; Supriyati

, Sri 

Internationalization Model for Increasing the 

Competitiveness of Local Creative Industries in 
ASEAN Economy Community 

The main problem in this study is the weak performance of SMEs. This can be caused by business culture factors (market 

orientation and entrepreneurial orientation) as well as competitive strategy factor in SMEs. The research problem raised was 

how the effect of market orientation, entrepreneurial orientation, and competitive strategy on SME performance. The purpose 
of this study was to analyze the effect of market orientation, entrepreneurial orientation, and competitive strategy on SME 

performance. The research sample was 100 creative industry SMEs in Special Region of Central Java Province with business 

field of handicrafts (various handicrafts of silver, natural fibers, earthenware, leather, and wood) and fashion business field 
(various batik). Hypothesis testing used path analysis. The results show that there is a positive and significant influence 

between market orientation and entrepreneurial orientation on competitive strategy (differentiation, low cost, and focus 

strategies). Market orientation and entrepreneurial orientation have a positive effect on SME performance. Competitive 
strategies (differentiation, low costs, and focus strategies) have a positive effect on SME performance. Entrepreneurial 

orientation has a higher direct influence than market orientation. 

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Shafique, Imran; Saeed, 
Munazza 

Linking elements of entrepreneurial orientation and 

firm performance: examining the moderation of 

environmental dynamism 

This research is designed to examine the impact of elements of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) on firm performance by 
considering environmental dynamism as a potential moderator. Data was gathered from 143 textile and leather manufacturing 

small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Pakistan. Partial least square (PLS) was employed to analyze the 
hypotheses. The findings reveal that EO elements positively affect firm performance directly, except in the case of 

reactiveness. However, the nexus between the elements of EO and firm performance are also positively moderated by the 

environmental dynamics. Managers can exploit the EO elements according to the environmental situation of the 
industry. Further, scholars can comprehend better the EO-firm performance link by considering the environmental dynamism 

of the industry. Innovativeness, reactiveness and risk-taking as distinctive EO elements are hypothesized and their individual 

effects on firm performance analyzed considering the environmental dynamism as a potential moderator. 

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Eyasu,Anteneh 
Mulugeta; Endale, 

Mamenie 

Corporate social responsibility in agro-processing 

and garment industry: Evidence from Ethiopia 

Currently, large industries like agro-processing and garment (Textile and Leather) industries in Ethiopia have interested to 

implement CSR activities. Hence, this study examined the causal relationship between stakeholders 'and CSR implementation 

in agro-processing and garment industries based on employees' perceptions. After reviewing several works of literature we 
developed CSR implementation measurements. For analysis of CSR implementation, a total of 891 respondents were taken 

from agro-processing and garment industries of the Amhara region, Ethiopia. Then we applied frequency, percentage, 

Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation model for this data analysis. The empirical result showed that 
environment, customer, owner / shareholder, community have a significant positive effect on CSR implementation in agro-

processing and garment industries. However, it was also confirmed that employees have a negative significant effect on CSR 

implementation. Consider identified evidence of determinant factors of CSR implementation, managers of agro-processing 
and garment industries should take actions to improve CSR implementation and to alleviate those problems. 



 

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Rivera Godoy, Jorge 

Alberto 

Accounting Performance and EVA in the SME of 

the Leather, Footwear and Leather Goods Industry 
in Colombia 

This article presents the results of an investigation that aims to evaluate the financial performance of the SME of the leather, 

footwear, and leather goods sector in Colombia in the period 2010-2016, by means of a study that follows as a methodology 
the analysis of accounting indicators and economic value added that measure its growth, efficiency, and effectiveness. The 

research showed that this sector's SME generates accounting returns in the period, which are superior in small business because 

they have greater efficiency in the administration of production and sales costs. and greater efficiency in the use of the assets 
and positive financial leverage. SMES destroy economic value added (EVA) in each of the years; however, small business is 

the one that least destroys EVA for each monetary unit invested. This destruction of value is due to the fact that the cost of 

financial resources is higher than the operating income after taxes. These findings will be strengthened with similar studies for 
more homogeneous SMES in age and geographic location. 

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Gupta, Sandeep 
Kumar; Gupta, Sanjeev 

Veera tanneries private limited: an indian leather 
enterprise's drive towards sustainability 

It is essential to monitor the development of resource and pollution intensive industries such as textile, leather, pharmaceutical 

etc., under burgeoning pressure of environmental compliance. Keeping the above-mentioned objective in mind, the case 
analyzes the sustainability strategies of a leading leather enterprise in India - Veera Tanneries Private Limited. Veera has 

undertaken initiatives to determine how it should address sustainability challenges to reduce environmental impact and ensure 

business growth. A discussion on such a problem would allow the case to look at the company's motivations for adopting eco-
friendly measures in the Indian leather industry (to address sustainability), the potential impact on business performance of 

such measures, for instance increasing cost to production and other business strategies to support the company's growth. 

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Sato, Andre 

Kubagawa; Martins, 

Thiago Castro; Gomes, 

Antonio Miguel; Guerra 

Tsuzuki, Marcos Sales 

Raster penetration map applied to the irregular 

packing problem 

Among the most complex problems in the field of 2-dimensional cutting & packing are irregular packing problems, in which 
items may have a more complex geometry. These problems are prominent in several areas, including, but not limited to, the 

textile, shipbuilding and leather industries. They consist in placing a set of items, whose geometry is often represented by 

simple polygons, into one or more containers such that there is no overlap between items and the utility rate of the container 
is maximized. In this work, the irregular strip packing problem, an irregular packing variant with a variable length container, 

is investigated. The placement space is reduced by adopting a rectangular grid and a full search is performed using preprocessed 

raster penetration maps to efficiently determine the new position of an item. Tests were performed using simple dotted board 
model cases and irregular strip packing benchmark instances. The comparison of our results with the state of the art solutions 

showed that the proposed algorithm is very competitive, achieving better or equal compaction in 9 out of 15 instances and 

improving the average density in 13 instances. Besides the contribution of the new best results, the proposed approach showed 
the advantage of adopting discrete placement, which can be potentially applied to other irregular packing problems. (C) 2019 

Elsevier BV All rights reserved. 

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 Filketu, Sisay; Dvivedi, 

Akshay; Abebe, Birhanu 

Beshah 

Decision-making on job satisfaction improvement 

programs using fuzzy QFD model: a case study in 

Ethiopia 

Research interest in job satisfaction (JS) seems solely focused on cause identification. Understandings about solution proposals 

have not advanced at a pace commensurate with research efforts. The purpose of the current study is twofold. First, the study 

aims to propose the possible solutions for the improvement of JS in the leather products manufacturing industry in 
Ethiopia. Second, the study aims to demonstrate the fuzzy quality function deployment (QFD) model in the sphere of JS 

construct with an attempt to prioritise JS improvement programmers. At first, to facilitate the main issue of the QFD problem, 

the 'WHATs' (ie JS attributes) have been investigated, followed by identifying the 'HOWs' (ie JS technical solutions) and 

proposing procedures for the use of a fuzzy QFD model. Subsequently, a fuzzy relationship matrix (ie the house of quality) is 

constructed to link the WHATs and HOWs based on cross-functional expertise. Then, the rank of HOWs for their order of 

implementation is identified. The successful application of the fuzzy QFD has provided an idea with attention focused on 
'remuneration packages' followed by 'incentive packages' and then 'participating in decision-making'. This finding is important 

for the industry for making optimal decisions on the implementation of JS improvement strategies. 



 

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Dwivedi, 
Ashish; Agrawal, 

Dindayal; Madaan, 

Jitender 

Sustainable manufacturing evaluation model 

focusing leather industries in India A TISM 

approach 

Purpose Sustainability is an integrating concept and demands strategic attention in developing countries like India. Due to 

strict environmental regulations and ongoing government sustainable policies such as Namami Gange, leather industries are 
extensively facing challenges to conform themselves toward these sustainable policies. The major challenge faced by leather 

industries is the exponentially increasing cost of adaptation to sustainable product and process. Under these operational 

constraints, survival of Indian leather industries has become a major challenge. In this context, this paper aims to identify and 
evaluate sustainable manufacturing policies. The key performance indicators (KPIs) based on triple bottom line of 

sustainability can assist leather industries that are about to initiate adopting sustainable practices. Design / methodology / 

approach This paper demonstrates the role of KPIs for evaluating sustainable manufacturing policies for leather industries in 
India. Initially, an in-depth literature review analysis has been carried out to identify indicators for evaluation of sustainable 

manufacturing policies. In this work, an integrated methodology has been developed to refine the priority map of the 

aforementioned KPIs based on consensus building among experts using Kappa analysis. Total interpretive structural modeling 
(TISM) has been used to demonstrate relationships which explain the significance of the KPIs. Further, Matriced Impact 

Croises Multiplication Applique analysis has been carried out to explore the relationships amongst KPIs. Findings Based on 

above analysis, identified interactive relationships among the KPIs will assist managers and decision-makers to incorporate 
effective sustainable policies in leather industries. Originality / value This study carries out an in-depth literature review 

analysis of sustainable manufacturing policies in leather industry. The author proposes an integrated methodology using kappa 

analysis, consensus building and TISM for evaluation of sustainable policies based on the literature review analysis and expert 
opinion. 

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Gupta, Sandeep 
Kumar; Gupta, 

Shivam; Dhamija, Pavitra 

An empirical study on productivity analysis of 
Indian leather industry 

Purpose It is essential to track the development of resource and pollution intensive industries such as textile, leather, 

pharmaceutical, etc., under burgeoning pressure of environmental compliance. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to 
analyze the progress of Indian leather industry in terms of individual factors and total factor productivity. Design / methodology 

/ approach This study applies and examines the various concepts of productivity such as labor productivity, capital productivity, 

material productivity and energy productivity. Further, it assesses and compares the performance of Indian leather industry in 
Tamil Nadu (TN), West Bengal (WB) and Uttar Pradesh (UP) based on productivity analysis, spatial variations determinants 

in productivity and technology closeness ratio. Findings The findings suggest that as per the productivity analysis, WB leather 

clusters have performed remarkably better in terms of partial factor productivity and technical efficiency (TE), followed by 
TN and UP. This can be attributed to shifting of leather cluster of WB to a state-of art leather complex with many avenues for 

resource conservation. Further, the findings reveal that the firm size and partial factor productivities have significant positive 
correlation with TE which supports technological theory of the firm. Practical implications The results of this study can be 

useful for the policy makers associated with the Indian leather industry specially to design interventions to support capacity 

building at individual firm level as well as cluster level to enhance the efficiency and productivity of overall industry. Social 
implications The findings also support the resource dependence theory of firm according to which the larger size firms should 

reflect on resource conservation practices, for instance the concept of prevention is better than cure based upon 3R (reduce, 

recycle and reuse) principles. Originality / value The paper gives an explanation of the productivity in the leather industry in 

terms of its factor productivity and TE. 



 

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Swiadek, 

Arkadiusz; Dzikowski, 

Piotr; Tomaszewski, 

Marek; Goraczkowska, 

Jadwiga 

Sectoral patterns of innovation cooperation in 

Polish industry 

Research background: Contemporary research on industry concentrates on the relations between enterprises and their 

environment. Research on industrial structures conducted throughout the world, including Poland, are not extensive and limited 
due to the confidentiality of statistics. K. Pavitt (1984) was the first researcher who evaluated the relationship between industry 

structure and innovation activity. According to Pavitt, innovation dynamics and trajectory depend on the structure of domestic 

industry and is unique. In Poland T. Rachwal (2010) determined that over the studied years, changes in the indicator defining 
diversification in industrial divisions were minimal, but at the same time there was an observable fall in the importance of 

traditional divisions, such as the production of clothing, textiles, and the leather. In contrast, divisions as the production of 

metal, rubber, and plastic goods increased their share in terms of employees, as did furniture and vehicle 
manufacturing. Purpose of the article: The purpose of the paper is to identify sectoral patterns of innovation cooperation as 

revealed by data on about 5209 Polish enterprises. The authors attempt to find the answer to the following three questions: (1) 

Is the domestic aggregation sufficient for stimulating innovation cooperation in the Polish industry? (2) Is there any sectoral 
heterogeneity in innovation cooperation? (3) Are enterprises representing high technology industries the most involved in 

innovation cooperation? The main goal of the study was an attempt to seek out the directions and influence of various industries 

on the innovation cooperation of enterprises in Poland. Methods: Empirical data that served as the basis for conducting 
calculations were collected with the help of a questionnaire survey sent to industrial companies throughout Poland. A total of 

5,209 properly completed forms were collected. The average rate of return was 11,6%. The collection was held over the years 

2008-2013. The methodological part of the study was developed using the logistic regression method based on probability 
theory of the study. Findings & Value added: The study has shown that the higher the technology, the more often enterprises 

cooperate in the area of innovation. The research has not only shown the specifics of the domestic industrial system as well its 

level of technological advancement, but it has also taken into account the significance and input into the analyzed system. 

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de Klerk, Helena M 

.; Kearns, 
Madelein; Redwood, 

Mike 

Controversial fashion, ethical concerns and 

environmentally significant behavior The case of 

the leather industry 

Purpose The purpose of this paper to report on the role of luxury value perceptions and ethical concerns in consumers' 

environmentally significant behavior and purchase intent for genuine leather products. Design / methodology / approach Non-

probability sampling was done and 429 South African males and females, aged 26 years and older and who fell in a household 
income bracket that allowed them to purchase genuine leather products, completed a structured questionnaire during September 

2016. The study determined that South African consumers' strong functional and individual luxury value perceptions drive 

their above-average purchase intent for genuine leather products. Strong individual value perceptions correlated negatively 
with their purchase intent. Respondents' expressed strong ethical concerns but almost never participate in environmentally 

significant behavior. Originality / value This study was the first of its kind about the multi-cultural South African leather 
market's luxury value perceptions, ethical concerns and environmentally significant behavior. 

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Liliana Serrano-Junco, 

Claudia; Lucelly Urrego-
Marin, Maria; Salcedo-

Mojica, Jesus 

How the Knowledge Management Impacts Small 

and Medium-Sized Enterprises (smes) of The 

Footwear Industry in Bogota, Colombia 

The phenomenon of globalization has generated that competitiveness will be one of the main concerns for organizations in the 

business ecosystem because it will depend on their long-term sustainability. In that sense, this article presents the impact of 
knowledge management on SMEs in the footwear sector in the Rafael Uribe Uribe, Antonio Narino and Tunjuelito locations 

in the city of Bogota. This research is exploratory, where initially the theoretical framework is exposed, followed by the 

methodology. The results are in the final section, where it points out the profound lacks of the knowledge management in the 

Leather and Footwear sectors of three locations under study, thus leading to a reflection on the need to implement a road map 

to increase productivity in the light of knowledge management. 

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Horvathova, 

Miroslava; Lacko, 

Roman; Hajduova, 
Zuzana 

Using Industry 4.0 Concept - Digital Twin - to 
Improve the Efficiency of Leather Cutting in 

Automotive Industry 

Purpose: The aim of this study is to propose alternatives of increasing the efficiency of material selection and processing in 
the selected company and reduce costs and leather sustainability as a result. Methodology / Approach: In this case study, an 

automotive company processing a natural leather material that enters the process of a large-scale production was explored. For 

this purpose, the internal documents of the firm selected including its internal database and know-how of its employees were 
used. The ways of improving the efficiency of the material processing were proposed and tested in a digital environment. In 

the proposed solutions, Industry 4.0 principles were implemented. Findings: By the use of Digital twin and other Industry 4.0 

principles and solutions in the process of material selection and processing in the company selected, the increased efficiency 
and cost savings were achieved. Research Limitation / implication: The solutions proposed in this paper were based on 

exploration of the chosen data set of the selected company. For the future research, testing of the given proposals in other 

companies should be conducted. Originality / Value of paper: Although there is an increasing number of publications 

describing the concept Industry 4.0, the research providing evidence of its benefits for business entities is still scarce. This 

paper offers such a research in the enterprise selected. Category: Case study 



 

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Lee, Minjung; Karpova, 
Elena; Baytar, Fatma 

The effects of information on young consumers' 

attitudes and purchase intentions of fashion 

products made of fur, leather, and wool 

The purpose of this study was to examine how sidedness of information affects consumer attitudes, subjective norms, and 

purchase intentions of fashion goods made of fur, leather, and wool. An experimental study using a randomized multi-group 
design with four levels of treatment was conducted. Participants (N = 1,533) were assigned to read one of four product 

information texts before completing an online survey. Participants' attitude and subjective norms toward purchasing fashion 

products made of fur, leather, and wool were significantly different depending on whether they were exposed to: (1) one-sided 
information against using animal-based materials, (2) one-sided information promoting use of animal-based materials, (3) two-

sided information presenting both sides; or (4) information not related to fashion products made of animal-based materials 

(control group). The findings are useful for marketing professionals, consumers who want to make informed and unbiased 
purchase decisions, and fashion educators for developing curriculum to prepare ethical and responsible future industry 

professionals and implementing effective teaching strategies. 

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Nam, Changhyun; Lee, 

Young-A 

Multilayered Cellulosic Material as a Leather 

Alternative in the Footwear Industry 

The purpose of this study was to develop a biodegradable material that could be used as a leather alternative material for the 
footwear industry, leading to reduce the negative environmental impact. Using an experimental research design, the researchers 

developed a multilayered cellulosic material (MCM) by bonding nonwoven cellulosic fiber mat, denim fabric, and hemp fabric 

and examined its properties compared with those of two-layered leathers, consisting of calf and pigskins (multilayered calf 
and pigskin leather [MCPL]), often used in the footwear industry. We hypothesized these two materials would have similar 

properties. No significant mean differences were found between MCM and MCPL in total heat loss and break force. The values 

of air permeability, evaporative potential, and permeability index of MCM were higher than those of MCPL. The findings of 
this study confirm the effectiveness of MCM for use as a leather alternative material when developing sustainable shoes and 

provide insights to the footwear industry. 

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Nestic; Danijel; Babic, 

Zdenko; Buric, Sanja 
Blaievic 

Minimum wage in Croatia: sectoral and regional 

perspectives 

In this paper, we identify the sectors and regions in Croatia most affected by minimum wage changes. By using four criteria, 
we identify 13 low-wage sectors. The analysis also reveals five regions (counties) in which the minimum wage can play an 

important role. Low-wage sectors in Croatia are found to be manufacture of textiles, manufacture of clothing, manufacture of 

leather and related products, manufacture of wood and of products of wood, manufacture of rubber and plastic products, 
manufacture of furniture, construction of buildings, specialized construction activities, retail trade, food and beverage services, 

security and investigation activities, services to buildings (cleaning etc.) and personal services. We analyze the employment 

and wage changes for these low-wage sectors in the period 2009-2015. It turns out that tradable low-wage sectors are highly 
affected by minimum wage changes due to a high concentration of employees with wages just above the minimum 

wage. However, during the recession, these sectors had a smaller employment decline and higher wage growth compared with 
both the manufacturing industry as a whole and non-tradable low-wage sectors. 

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Kusum, PP Ajith; Song 

Yinghua 

How do entrepreneurs 'perceptions on innovation 

effect inindustry competitiveness and sustainability 

Entrepreneurs' perceptions on innovations remain crucial in successfully facing competitiveness challenges in industry 

enterprises that produce range of products in economies in transition all over the world. Economies transit from factor driven 
to efficiency driven in which use of modern technology increases. This paper explores the effects of entrepreneurs' perceptions 

on product innovations which have impact on industry enterprises sustainability in leather products and footwear industry of 

Sri Lanka. This country is in transition from factor driven production process towards efficiency driven production processes 

based on technology. An expert reviewed and piloted questionnaire was used to gather primary data related to entrepreneurs' 

perceptions and competitiveness of enterprises in the industry. The research has found that the majority of entrepreneurs do 

not have an intention to engage in new product innovations in near future. They use designs already available which lead to 
competiveness and sustainability issues in this industry. Level of innovations and use of Internet for routine business activities 

in enterprises in the industry remains low. No similar research study done before in this industry thus the study is an original 

work which adds knowledge for academic and development purposes 



 

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 Brautigam, 
Deborah; Weis, 

Toni; Tang, Xiaoyang 

Latent advantage, complex challenges: Industrial 
policy and Chinese linkages in Ethiopia's leather 

sector 

Industrial policy is back on the African policy agenda, with a number of countries following new strategies for rapid 

industrialization. None have done so more eagerly than Ethiopia. The present paper draws on Justin Yifu Lin's framework of 
New Structural Economics to assess Ethiopia's industrial policies and engagement in the leather industry. Making use of two 

rounds of semi-structured interviews (2012 and 2015) with all of the foreign firms and more than a dozen local firms in the 

leather sector, as well as other key stakeholders, it examines seven steps the government took to build the industrial policy: 
Create a high-level focus on the sector; make strategic use of international development partners; attract a lead goose (Chinese) 

in the footwear sector; build government capacity to support the sector; strengthen business associations; shock-to-shape 

upgrading; improve input supply. Ultimately, while government interventions have led to improvements across several steps 
of the value chain, the paper identifies a number of factors that have prevented the country from fully realizing a latent 

comparative advantage in the leather sector. (C) 2017 PEDL - Private Enterprise Development in Low-Income Countries - 

CEPR / DFID joint research initiative. Published by Elsevier Inc. 

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Lopez-Hurtado, 
Jonnathan; Rojas-Santoyo, 

Francisca; Carolina 

Elizalde-Bobadilla, Lucy 

Recurrent practices to generate innovation based on 

non-r & d capabilities in the leather, footwear, and 
leather goods industry 

The purpose of this work is to develop a theoretical and practical proposal for the analysis of innovation that, in organizations, 

can be generated by alternative or different routes to Research and Development (R&D). Based on an exploratory study with 

a qualitative approach, the theoretical bases on non-R & D innovation are proposed, in which activities, capacities, and 
mechanisms are considered to establish an interaction with the internal and external environment. Subsequently, in a fieldwork 

phase in the leather goods and footwear sector in Bogota, Colombia, the application of theoretical assumptions in the 

organizational reality was validated, finding recognition of knowledge, technology, and design activities, as sources of 
innovation. In contrast, a low perception about associativity was found as an input for the generation or incorporation of 

innovation. 

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Gupta, Sandeep; Gupta, 

Shivam; Dhamija, 

Pavitra; Bag, Surajit 

Sustainability strategies in the Indian leather 
industry: an empirical analysis 

Purpose Burgeoning challenges of climate change and poverty alleviation across many parts of the world have enforced the 
policy makers and researchers to develop an alternate system for performance assessment of an individual, a country, and a 

corporate. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the sustainability strategies of three leading states in the Indian leather 

industry - Tamil Nadu (TN), West Bengal (WB) and Uttar Pradesh (UP) - to gain insights into their efforts and progress in 
generating economic, social, and environmental values. Design / methodology / approach This study used case study approach 

for investigative analysis, and triangulation method - interviews and field visits, for data verification. The study examines the 

various sustainability strategies by applying economic value creation (evaluation of growth in total turnover, evaluation of the 
growth in profitability, evaluation of leverage), social value creation (evaluation of the growth in wages, evaluation of the 

growth in employee welfare expenses), and environmental value creation (conservation in raw material consumption, 
conservation in energy consumption, evaluation of waste management practices). Findings The findings reveal that the three 

states differ significantly from each other both in terms of efforts made and progress achieved during the period of study, 1998-

2013. UP seems to be making the most consistent progress in achieving economic value, while WB shows the most progress 
in creating social value, and TN leads the pack in terms of creating environmental value. Thus, the three leading states in the 

Indian leather industry have been allowing trade-offs to get competitive advantage over others. Research limitations / 

implications The opaqueness with which the Indian Leather Industry conducts social and environmental practices clearly limits 

the sources of accurate and reliable data, and the ability of researchers to precisely identify the problems and suggest 

solutions. Practical implications The opaqueness with which the Indian Leather Industry conducts social and environmental 

practices clearly impacts the policy makers, practitioners, and researchers to continue such initiatives and improve the lives of 
people in India for whom continuing this profession is a big challenge and a hurdle to accomplish their livelihood. Originality 

/ value The paper gives a theoretical explanation of the sustainability in the leather industry with respect to its strategies in 

terms of economic value, social value, and environmental value. 



 

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Wahga, Aqueel 
Imtiaz; Blundel, 

Richard; Schaefer, Anja 

Understanding the drivers of sustainable 
entrepreneurial practices in Pakistan's leather 

industry: A multi-level approach 

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the drivers of sustainable entrepreneurial practices in SMEs operating in a 

developing economy. The secondary objectives are to explore the relationship between these drivers and to draw out the 
implications for policy and practice. Design / methodology / approach The paper is informed by the literature on sustainable 

entrepreneurship, and on the drivers of pro-environmental practices in SMEs. It reports on the results of an intensive multi-

level empirical study, which investigates the environmental practices of SMEs in Pakistan's leatherworking industry using a 
multiple case study design and grounded analysis, which draws on relevant institutional theory. Findings The study identifies 

that coercive, normative and mimetic isomorphic pressures simultaneously drive sustainable entrepreneurial activity in the 

majority of sample SMEs. These pressures are exerted by specific micro-, meso- and macro-level factors, ranging from 
international customers' requirements to individual-level values of owners and managers. It also reveals the catalytic effect of 

the educational and awareness-raising activities of intermediary organizations, in tandem with the attraction of competitiveness 

gains, (international) environmental regulations, industrial dynamism and reputational factors. Practical implications The 
evidence suggests that, in countries where formal institutional mechanisms have less of an impact, intermediary organizations 

can perform a proto-institutional role that helps to overcome pre-existing barriers to environmental improvement by sparking 

sustainable entrepreneurial activity in SME populations. Originality / value The findings imply that the drivers of sustainable 
entrepreneurial activity do not operate in a piecemeal fashion, but that particular factors mediate the emergence and 

development of other sustainability drivers. This paper provides new insights into sustainable entrepreneurship and motivations 

for environmental practices in an under-researched developing economy context. 

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Wahga, Aqueel I 

.; Blundel, Richard K 
.; Schaefer, Anja 

Case study: human capital and environmental 

engagement of smes in Pakistan - a comparative 
analysis of the leather industry 

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the drivers of sustainable entrepreneurial practices in SMEs operating in a developing 

economy. The secondary objectives are to explore the relationship between these drivers and to draw out the implications for 

policy and practice. The paper is informed by the literature on sustainable entrepreneurship, and on the drivers of pro-
environmental practices in SMEs. It reports on the results of an intensive multi-level empirical study, which investigates the 

environmental practices of SMEs in Pakistan’s leatherworking industry using a multiple case study design and grounded 

analysis, which draws on relevant institutional theory. The study identifies that coercive, normative and mimetic isomorphic 
pressures simultaneously drive sustainable entrepreneurial activity in the majority of sample SMEs. These pressures are exerted 

by specific micro-, meso- and macro-level factors, ranging from international customers’ requirements to individual-level 

values of owners and managers. It also reveals the catalytic effect of the educational and awareness-raising activities of 
intermediary organisations, in tandem with the attraction of competitiveness gains, (international) environmental regulations, 

industrial dynamism and reputational factors. 

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Lim, Heejin 
Thematic Analysis of youtube Comments on 
Disclosure of Animal Cruelty in a Luxury Fashion 

Supply Chain 

While consumers' increasing demands for luxury leather goods drives luxury brands to secure supplies of exotic and high-

quality animal skins, animal welfare activists have attempted to raise the public's awareness of cruelty in the luxury fashion 

supply chains. Adopting the attribution theory, this study aims to uncover the pattern of consumers' responses to the issue of 
animal cruelty in the luxury fashion industry. Data were collected from consumers 'responses to animal cruelty as revealed in 

PETA (People of Ethical Treatment of Animal)' s video on YouTube. Data analysis revealed distinct blame attributions and 

coping strategies, which depend heavily on viewers' attitude toward the video content. Findings from this study suggest that 

consumers' blame attributions are dispersed among different stakeholders, with luxury fashion brands and their customers 

treated as the causes of animal cruelty, slaughterhouse workers, and humans in general treated as perpetrators, and PETA and 

commenters that support PETA's message treated as accusers. Implications for the luxury fashion business and animal welfare 
promotion are discussed. 

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Addis, Sisay; Dvivedi, 

Akshay; Beshah, Birhanu 

Determinants of job satisfaction in Ethiopia: 

evidence from the leather industry 

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the contextual work factors in Ethiopia and to evaluate the relative influence 

of each of these factors on job satisfaction (JS) of employees. Design / methodology / approach The study draws on a sample 
of shop floor workers from the leather products manufacturing industry in Ethiopia. Data were collected using a structured 

survey questionnaire and focus group discussions. After testing scale reliability and validity, multiple linear regression was 

used for the analysis. Findings The study results suggest that the JS is mainly explained by extrinsic factors. Pay is found to 
influence overall job satisfaction (OJS) at least four times of other work factors. Training opportunity and ethnic diversity 

showed unexpected negative relationship with OJS. Originality / value Given the importance of understanding JS in labor-

intensive industries, and paucity of research on the topic in Ethiopia, the study provides practical insights and groundwork that 

can guide practitioners to understand the drivers of JS in the region. Moreover, the study adds to the empirical literature that 

may yield important insights on organizational behavior for under-researched emerging economies, particularly for the eastern 

part of Africa, where nations share similar cross-cultural norms, economic and ethnic settings. 



 

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Xu, Jiajun; Hubbard, Paul 
A flying goose chase: China's overseas direct 

investment in manufacturing (2011-2013) 

This paper examines whether rising wages have driven Chinese manufacturers to make foreign direct investment abroad to 

reduce the costs of production. We match the Chinese Ministry of Commerce's register of Overseas Direct Investments with 
China's Industrial Enterprise Survey data from 2011 to 2013 and annual average wage data for prefecture-level cities. Although 

high-income developed economies are the preferred destinations for Chinese manufacturing investment abroad, labor-intensive 

light manufacturing sectors related to the textiles, clothing and leather industries are focused on the low-income countries - 
consistent with a 'flying goose' effect. But, these are only a small part of the Chinese investment - account for 6% of the number 

of matched official ODI registrations. Yet, it might be still too early to observe that rising factor prices are systematically 

driving investments offshore. 

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Soleman ,lazar; Subroto, 

Athor 

Development Model for Creative Industry in 

Indonesia: A Case from Leather Craft Cluster in 

Magetan District by Using System Dynamic 
Approach 

This study has a purpose of modeling the industrial leather craft cluster development by dynamics system approach. The 

construction of the model based on a research study by Afonso, Monteiro, & Thompson (2012) that adopted in Concept of 

Creative Industry Development Planning in Indonesia with Quad Helix Model Approach for analyzing how the role and actors 
can influence the development of the industry. The actors of this approach are Government, Business, Academic, and Civil 

Society. System Dynamics Approach is a way to analyze parts of the system that have interactions and emerges for specific 

goals. This study also takes insights from the diamond model of cluster development by Porter (1998). Small Medium 
Enterprises (SMEs) Production influenced by the amount of Desired Production and Capacity Planning. The most business 

unit in the cluster industry has the form Home Industry or SMEs that have small to medium business scale. The simulation is 

run in 3 scenarios and compared with base scenario. Thus, we found that labor availability and labor productivity are the 
primary dynamics source of the situation to develop the cluster. 

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Park, Yong An; Medda, 

Francesca Romana 

Spatial effects of container ports on production of 

the leather, bag and shoe industry in Korea 

Container port operations are widely regarded as being beneficial to regional economies, particularly in aggregated terms. The 

present paper examines this common knowledge in the specific case of the leather, bag and shoe industry in Korea. The authors 
use two panel datasets of the industry, one dataset of 16 regions and the other dataset of enduring establishments from 1991 to 

2011. In our analysis with panel data of the regions, the authors find that an increase of container throughput in ports affects 

production of the industry positively during the examined period. When dividing the examined period into two periods, the 
authors observe the negative effects during the period before 2003 and primarily in the groups of regions without large 

ports. The panel data model of enduring establishments presents a negative coefficient of port throughput on production. The 

contradictory results may be caused by the characteristics of the two different panels. 

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Correa, Santiago; Parente-

Laverde, Ana-Maria 

Consumer Ethnocentrism, Country Image and 
Local Brand Preference: The Case of the Colombian 

Textile, Apparel and Leather Industry 

The present article shows the relation that Colombian consumer ethnocentrism has with country image and local brand 

preference in the textile, apparel and leather industry and it infers the possible implications this relation has when planning 
marketing strategies for the Colombian market in such industry. This study follows an interpretative approach which included 

a survey of Colombian consumers in Antioquia. Results show that (i) gender and age are not determinants of ethnocentric 

consumer tendencies, (ii) the less income a Colombian person has, the more ethnocentric he / she is, (iii) consumer 
ethnocentrism does not have a universal pattern but varies from country to country, (iv) the more educated a Colombian person 

is, the less ethnocentric he / she is, (v) the developed or developing condition of the countries where the consumer is from, is 

not a determining factor to conclude whether or not a consumer has a tendency towards ethnocentric behavior patterns and (vi) 

if a person has a positive image of his / her own country, he / she is likely to develop ethnocentric behavior patterns.  This 

article contributes to filling the gap in the literature since it shows that ethnocentrism is positively related to preferences for 

local brands in Colombia. 

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Belvedere, 
Valeria; Goodwin, Paul 

The influence of product involvement and emotion 
on short-term product demand forecasting 

Sales forecasters in industries like fast-fashion face challenges posed by short and highly volatile sales time series. Computers 

can produce statistical forecasts, but these are often adjusted judgmentally to take into account factors such as market 

intelligence. We explore the effects of two potential influences on these adjustments: the forecaster's involvement with the 
product category and their emotional reactions to particular products. Two forecasting experiments were conducted using data 

from a major Italian leather fashion goods producer. The participants' judgmental adjustments tended to lower the forecast 

accuracy, but especially when the participants had strong preferences for particular products. This appeared to result from a 
false consensus effect. The most accurate forecasts were made when the participants had no knowledge of the product and 

only received time series information, though a high level of involvement with the product category also led to a greater 

accuracy. (C) 2017 International Institute of Forecasters. Published by Elsevier BV All rights reserved. 



 

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Chakraborty, 

Pavel; Chatterjee, 

Chirantan 

Does environmental regulation indirectly induce 
upstream innovation? New evidence from India 

Exploiting a quasi-natural experiment, which involves the imposition of a ban by Germany in 1994 on an input ('Azo-dyes') 

used by the Indian leather and textile industries, we estimate the indirect impact of the environmental regulation on innovation 
activities of upstream (dye-producing) firms in India and examine how it varies by different firm characteristics: size and 

ownership. We find robust evidence of a significant increase (11-61%) in innovation expenditure for the dye-makers in 

response to the 'Azo-dyes' ban. Additionally, we find: (i) increase in technology transfer to the tune of 1.2-2.5 times more than 
that of internal R & D; (ii) increase in innovation expenditure with firm size; (iii) domestic firms investing more in technology 

transfer as compared to R&D, whereas foreign firms only undertaking the latter and (iv) decrease in investments towards 

innovation by downstream firms, thereby pointing towards a possible substitution effect in aggregate innovation by upstream 
firms. Our results are consistent with a variety of estimation methods and robustness checks. (C) 2017 Elsevier BV All rights 

reserved. 

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Jorge, Ricardo 

Reolon; Faco, Julio 
FB; Acacio, Alexandre 

Andrade 

Credit Risk Transmission in Supply Chains 

This paper aims to analyze the potential credit risk transmission among commercial firms and industry of the Brazilian leather 
footwear supply chain. The data correspond to the monthly average of the delinquency index. The analyzed period embraces 

January 2008 to July 2013. Time series analysis, the Augmented Dickey Fuller (ADF) and the Kwiatkowski, Phillips, Schmidt 

e Shin (KPSS) unit root tests, the Johansen co-integration test, the Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) , the Granger 
causality tests, the variance decomposition of the variance, and the estimation of impulse-response function were used. The 

results indicate the existence of a unidirectional transmission of credit risk at the supply chain studied, as well as its long-run 

equilibrium, confirming the importance of analyzing the credit risk of companies in an enlarged context that includes other 
firms in the supply chain. 

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Kusum, PP Ajith; Song 
Yinghua 

Competitiveness of leather products and footwear 
industryof sri lanka 

This research paper explores the relationship among skills of entrepreneurs of leather products and footwear industry in Sri 

Lanka and entrepreneurs' involvement of innovations in product, process, raw material and market in the industry. Further, the 
survey investigates firms' competitiveness and innovation in the industry. Database of firms in the industry available in Sri 

Lanka Industrial Development Board was used to administer an expert reviewed and piloted questionnaire among the 

population of firms. Personal interviews and a mail survey were undertaken which jointly brought above-average response rate 
of completed questionnaires used for analysis. The research has found that there is a strong link between skills of entrepreneurs 

and their involvement in innovations. Research has found that entrepreneur focus on product innovations rather than process, 

raw material and market innovations due to their low level of general education and the main mode of acquiring skills remains 
on-the-job-training. Usage of technology has been found to be lower level which has a negative effect on 

innovations. However, the entrepreneurs have a positive attitude towards innovations the relevant agencies can capitalize-on 
for expansion of the industry and increase competitiveness. The research unearths an intelligent view that in an efficiency-

driven economy, what matters is productivity where skilling of entrepreneurs will yield enormous results for harnessing the 

potential of this ever growing industry. 

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Gebrewahid, 

Gebreyohannes 

Gebreslassie; Wald, 
Andreas 

Export Barriers and Competitiveness of Developing 

Economies: The Case of the Ethiopian Leather 

Footwear Industry 

Export competitiveness is an important success factor for developing economies. However, several barriers can prevent firms 
from exporting. This study empirically investigates export barriers in the Ethiopian leather footwear industry. We identify 10 

conceptually linked barriers that are prevalent in the industry. Whereas some of the export barriers are in line with previous 

research, we find several new barriers such as logistics and export marketing. On the firm level, we identify different clusters 
of firms that are facing specific sub-sets of barriers. Depending on cluster membership, management must focus on certain 

export barriers for increasing competitiveness. 



 

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Muhyi, Herwan 

Abdul; Suryanto 

The Development of the Leather Industry Center of 

Sukaregang District Garut Regency West Java 

The leather industry center of Sukaregang is located in Sukaregang, Garut Regency. It is the center of small and medium 

industries that become the mainstay of Sukaregang District residents. It is important to develop this industrial center to increase 
local economy. This research was conducted to analyze the development process and the effort of stakeholders. This research 

used qualitative research method to describe and analyze the real facts in the research field. The informants were leaders of 

entity or institutions who involved in developing the industrial center. Triangulation technique was used to ensure the data 
validity. This research found that there are five parties who have roles in developing the leather industry center of 

Sukaregang. They are the local government, academician, business, society and media. This study found three main problems 

in the development of the leather industry center of Sukaregang. The three problems are the ineffective coordination between 
the five parties, the limited facilities and development budget, and the low business management capability of the 

entrepreneurs. The authors recommend other researcher to explore the effectiveness of coordination between five institutions 

that have roles in developing the leather industry center of Sukaregang, Garut Regency. This is interesting because there is still 
overlap of industrial development activities. 

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Yuan, Hua; Zhang, 
Yun; Zhao, Hongzhong 

Research on total factor productivity of 

manufacturing enterprises in the Yangtze River 

economic belt 

Manufacturing, the important industries in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, is a hot issue for many scholars to study. In this 

paper, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method is used for calculating the total factor productivity (TFP) of enterprises in 

the Yangtze River Economic Belt. The results show that TFP of manufacturing enterprises in these areas has gone through 
four stages of development: steady decline - decline - fast rise - maintenance from 2005 to 2014. As for industrial sectors, 

seven sectors including tobacco, textiles, leathers, furs, feathers, shoemaking and medicine manufacturing showed rise in TFP, 
and TFP of high-tech manufacturing enterprises increased while low or medium-tech declined. 

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Zakharchenko, OV 
Assessment of waste formation and prospects of 
implementing environmentally friendly wasteless 

technologies in livestock industry 

Urgency of the research. The main objective of functioning livestock enterprises is to provide population with food (meat, 

milk, eggs, and other) and to provide food industry with raw materials (meat, milk, eggs, leather, wool, feathers, and 

other). During the vital activities of animals and poultry get, there is a big quantity of waste (manure), which is the main 
pollutant for the environment together with sewage. Most of disposing facilities that are in operation of agricultural enterprises 

are technologically obsolete, physically overused, and do not comply with sanitary standards. Target setting. Emissions from 

livestock farms pollute the air, ponds, reservoirs, groundwater, rivers with biologically active bacteria, which affects not only 
the ecological situation around the enterprise, but also adversely affects the health of the population of the adjacent areas. Thus, 

the specified problems must be solved comprehensively taking into account all the aspects directly or indirectly involved in 

this process. Analysis of actual scientific researches and issues. The problems of livestock industry waste attract the attention 
of many researchers. The research of environmental problems of livestock industry is carried out by MS Malovanyi, VM 

Bogoliubov, TP Shanina, VF Funtiov, IL Starykh, ON Starykh, AM Suzdalieva, RG Gladyr, and other 

scientists. Uninvestigated parts of the general matter. In the current economic conditions, entrepreneurs focus their attention 
mainly on getting high economic outcomes (revenue growth, gross and net profit growth). The problems of using the waste, 

generated as a result of animal keeping, are not always solved properly, leading to pollution of the environment. The research 

objective is to assess the formation of waste and prospects of implementing environmentally friendly wasteless technologies 
in livestock industry. The statement of basic material. The problems of formation, storage and use of animal waste are 

investigated. The quantitative composition and dynamics of the number of animals and poultry are analyzed. The amounts of 

the formed manure and the used process water in livestock and poultry industry are calculated. Conclusions. The main 
directions of manure use in order to reduce the burden on the environment are determined. 



 

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Abbas, Shujaat; Waheed, 
Abdul 

Trade competitiveness of Pakistan: evidence from 
the revealed comparative advantage approach 

Purpose - Pakistan's natural endowment of labor and land is suitable for labor-intensive agriculture and manufacturing 

sector. This study aims to investigate international trade competitiveness of Pakistan in 14 major industries of agriculture and 
manufacturing sector, accountingmore than 85 per cent of total export receipts. Design / methodology / approach - The 

competitiveness of Pakistan in selected industries of agriculture and manufacturing sectors from 2003 to 2014 is investigated 

using the revealed comparative advantage (RCA) index, introduced by Balassa (1965) onHS data collected from the United 
Nations Commodity Trade database. The obtained indices in this study are then subjected to panel regression analysis to 

investigate the effect of domestic productivity growth and real exchange rate on international trade competitiveness of major 

industries. Findings - The results show that the agriculture sector of Pakistan has higher comparative advantage in raw cotton, 
cereals, raw leather and fruits. The raw cotton shows the highest competitiveness of 54.46 which is followed by cereals (17.13), 

leather (9.83) and fruits (1.97). The RCA of the manufacturing sector shows that textile (54.85), carpets (10.72), sports goods 

(2.18) and beverages (1.47) have higher competitiveness. The RCA, in relatively capital-intensive industries, shows a high 
disadvantage. The trend analysis shows distorted competitiveness in labor-intensive, textile, carpet and footwear 

industries. The results of panel regression analysis show that the domestic productivity growth and real exchange rate 

depreciation have a significant positive impact on the international competitiveness of selected industries. The study urges 
Pakistan to make its macroeconomic environment investment-friendly and encourage investment in deteriorating labor-

intensive industries. Practical implications - Globalization has significantly increased international competition, and Pakistan 

is losing its competitiveness in labor-intensive industries owing to lack of domestic value addition and development 
efforts. The major problem with the productivity of these industries is the lack of proper infrastructure, acute energy crisis, 

lack of domestic and foreign investment and overvaluation of real exchange rate. The domestic investors are shifting their 

capital either to other domestic sectors and / or other investment-friendly countries. Policymakers in Pakistan should address 
the problems of these important labor-intensive industries. The government needs to understand macroeconomic uncertainties 

and make investment-friendly policies to encourage domestic and foreign investment. The future studies should perform in-

depth research to identify both microeconomic and macroeconomic variables responsible for deterioration in competitiveness 
of major labor-intensive industries in the agriculture and manufacturing sectors of Pakistan. Originality / value - This study is 

a comprehensive examination into the nature and pattern of international competitiveness of Pakistan in 14 important industries 

of the agriculture and manufacturing sector which has seldom been investigated empirically. The obtained indices in this study 
are also subjected to panel regression analysis to explore the effect of domestic productivity growth and real exchange rate 

depreciation on the international competitiveness of Pakistan. 

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Anwar, Sajid; Sun, 

Sizhong 

Foreign direct investment, domestic sales and 

exports of local firms: a regional perspective from 
China 

Using a simultaneous equations model, this paper investigates how / whether the presence of foreign direct investment (FDI) 

affects the performance of local firms in China's (1) leather shoe manufacturing and (2) textile and garment manufacturing 

industries. We use the value of sales (total revenue) as a measure of firm performance in domestic and export markets. The 
distinguishing feature of this paper is the use of an FDI presence measure that takes the regional dimension into account. The 

empirical analysis presented in this paper reveals that the presence of FDI leads to a significant positive impact on the domestic 

sales and export intensity of local firms in both industries. This result is found to be robust to alternative measures of 

FDI. Based on the result, it is recommended that, in order to maximize the benefits from inward FDI, Chinese policy-makers 

must encourage domestic and foreign-invested firms to locate in close geographical proximity. 

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Palyvoda, Olena; Plavan, 

Victoria 

Assessment of synergies in forming of cluster 

organizational structures 

Introduction. Effectiveness of territorial and industrial clusters is defined with regard to the ability of companies to generate 
synergies from cooperative relationships. The article is aimed to resolve the problem of the creation an optimal cluster system 

of companies to get synergies. Purpose. To create a method for evaluating the relative synergy effect and construct schemes 

to establish optimal relationships between the companies of the cluster in order to ensure maximum synergies. Methods. The 
calculations are the sequence of the following steps: identification of factors of synergy which can be quantified; calculation 

of the matrix of relative synergy indicators of the companies on the basis of the defined factors; calculation of the overall 

synergy effect from the cooperation of the companies taking into account all the factors and their coefficient 
rankings; establishment of ranking of various options for cooperation; construction of the scheme for optimal synergy 

relationships between the companies within the cluster. Results. The authors have developed a method of calculation of various 

synergy factors for leather companies, among which are: cooperation in the field of repair service equipment; joint procurement 

of raw materials; joint promotional activities, advertisement, exhibitions, etc. .; cooperation in research development; sharing 

of infrastructure. Conclusions. The optimal scheme of cooperation areas was built on the basis of the calculation in order to 

generate the greatest synergies. 



 

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 Schardong, Gerson; Diehl, 

Carlos Alberto 

Strategic control in a company of the leather-

footwear industry 

Management control is the set of processes and tools for the exercise of authority over an organizational phenomenon, which 

is used in order to achieve organizational goals. We used Simons' Levers of Control model (1995) to evaluate the use of these 
devices in an organization of the leather-footwear industry. Evaluation was based on four subsystems: beliefs, limits, diagnostic 

control and interactive control, which are presented and discussed in this paper. This model allows to balance the use of 

inspiring elements and restrictive elements, thereby seeking to balance the tension between creativity and 
discipline. Subsequently, a strategic diagnosis is presented by means of a case study of the abovementioned company, which 

identifies the characteristics of elements from levers of control. Strategic management issues are then found, and alternatives 

for improvement are proposed. The main results include evidence that the belief system and the interactive control system are 
balanced, whilst the limit system and the diagnostic control system are deficient, thus exposing management to unnecessary 

risk due to lack of control. From a practical viewpoint, this study provides alternatives for improvement at the organization 

studied; from a theoretical stance, this study also contributes to understanding organizational reality in terms of strategic 
control. 

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Ilan 

Outsourcing and Innovation: A Comparative Study 

of Italy and the UK 

Italy is known for bringing to the world some of the greatest inventions and arts. Indeed, creativity and innovation are not 

strange phrases in many Italian sectors such as fashion, automotive and leather. But challenges to achieve innovation in the 
Italian service outsourcing sector still lay ahead. Recent reports have highlighted the complexity involved in fostering 

collaborative innovation between a client firm and a supplier, often resolving is unsatisfactory results. Hence, in this report, 

we seek to unveil whether the long innovative tradition plays a role in its local service outsourcing industry. A study of 150 
British and Italian Service Outsourcing executives was carried out to examine their comparative innovation performance and 

the mechanisms that support innovation in each country. The results show that Italian client firms reported more satisfaction 

with the quality, frequency and impact of innovation delivered by suppliers than their British counterparts. The main 
differences between the Italian and British cases that may explain our results were (i) Italian client firms' strategic intent has 

been revolving around the objective to increase the pace of innovation within the firm while their British counterparts have 

been focusing on cost reduction, (ii) Italian client firms have mainly been using outcome base pricing model while British 
client firms have mainly been using fixed-price model and (iii) Italian client firms have been using advisory firms to a far more 

extent than their British counterparts. We conclude by offering a practical framework to achieve innovation through 

outsourcing. 

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Kusum, PP Ajith; Song 
Yinghua 

Skilling Entrepreneurs on Innovations: A Key for 

Improving Competitiveness of Leather Products 

and Footwear Industry of Sri Lanka 

This research paper explores the relationship among skills of entrepreneurs of leather products and footwear industry in Sri 

Lanka and entrepreneurs' involvement of innovations in product, process, raw material and market in the industry. Further, the 
survey investigates firms' competitiveness and innovation in the industry. Database of firms in the industry available in Sri 

Lanka Industrial Development Board was used to administer an expert reviewed and piloted questionnaire among the 

population of firms. Personal interviews and a mail survey were undertaken which jointly brought above-average response rate 
of completed questionnaires used for analysis. The research has found that there is a strong link between skills of entrepreneurs 

and their involvement in innovations. Research has found that entrepreneur focus on product innovations rather than process, 

raw material and market innovations due to their low level of general education and the main mode of acquiring skills remains 

on-the-job-training. Usage of technology has been found to be lower level which has a negative effect on 

innovations. However, the entrepreneurs have a positive attitude towards innovations the relevant agencies can capitalize-on 

for expansion of the industry and increase competitiveness. The research unearths an intelligent view that in an efficiency-
driven economy, what matters is productivity where skilling of entrepreneurs will yield enormous results for harnessing the 

potential of this ever growing industry. 

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 Rua, Orlando 

Lima; Alexandra, Franaca 

How does entrepreneurial orientation influences 

exploitation of knowledge? 

The processes for exploitation of knowledge became an essential element for firms to adapt to changes in the competitive 
environment. The exploitation of this knowledge should be undertaken with proactivity, innovation and risk-taking. Building 

on well-established theories, our research explores the influence of entrepreneurial orientation in exploitation of knowledge of 

Portuguese small and medium enterprises (SMEs) of footwear associated to the Portuguese Footwear, Components and Leather 
Association (APICCAPS). Based on survey data from 42 firms, our empirical results indicate that globally entrepreneurial 

orientation have a positive and significant influence on exploitation of knowledge, and that the entrepreneurial orientation's 

dimensions that most contribute to this end are innovation and risk-taking. 



 

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Kumar, Anita 
A quick scan audit of the 'socio-technical' system in 
a leather accessories manufacturing SME 

Leather fashion and footwear industry contributes significantly to the Indian economy through employment generation and 

earning foreign exchange. Both public and private sectors have increasingly emphasized on the planned development of this 
industry and encourage more SME involvement and participation. However, recent studies indicate that Indian leather 

manufacturing SMEs are, often, unable to compete effectively and efficiently on a global platform due to certain inherent and 

external constraints. This paper adopts a case research methodology with 'quick-scan' audit tool to review the socio-technical 
system of a leather export SME. It draws attention to the inefficiencies in the production system and highlights the human 

resource 'gaps' faced by the company. The two-fold findings of the case investigation point to a need to develop 'social' 

competencies not only in an individual organization but also at the sectorial level. The selected case has been used as a 
fundamental prism through which current labor regulations and standards prevailing in the country need to be examined and 

possibly reformed. 

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Mubarik, Muhammad 
Shujaat; Govindaraju, 

Chandran; Devadason, 

Evelyn S. 

Human capital development for smes in Pakistan: is 

the one-size-fits-all policy adequate? 

Purpose - Pakistan adopted one-size-fits-all policy for human capital (HC) development with the assumption that the level of 
HC is equal across industry and firm size. The purpose of this paper is to test this major assumption on which this policy is 

based, by comparing the differences in the levels of HC, overall and by dimensions of HC, by industry and firm size. Design / 

methodology / approach - The study is based on new data set of a sample of 750 manufacturing SME firms in Pakistan, 
compiled through a survey. Applying the independent sample t-test, one-way analysis of variance and multivariate analysis of 

variance, the hypotheses of differences in levels of overall and dimensions of HC were tested. Findings - The results indicate 

significant differences in the levels of HC by industry and firm size. The levels of HC were found to be higher in textiles, food, 
metal and leather industries, and for medium-sized firms. Practical implications - The findings provide supporting evidence 

on the inadequacy of the current human capital development (HCD) policy in Pakistan. The study therefore recommends 

customized HCD policies, accounting for differences across industry and firm size. Originality / value - By taking the data on 
nine major dimensions of HC from 750 manufacturing sector SMEs, the study tests the level of overall HC and its nine 

dimensions by industry and size. The study also challenges the one-size-fits-all policy of the government of Pakistan for 

developing HC in SMEs. 

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Kauric; Alica 

Grilec; Grubisic, 

Dragana; Renko, Sanda 

The impact of supply chain agaility onto business 

results and customer satisfaction in textile, clothing 

and leather industry 

This paper presents results of the study testing impact of supply chain agility onto business results and customer 

satisfaction. Research was carried out on the sample of 34 textiles, clothing and leather manufacturers. Research results showed 
that there is a positive and significant impact of supply chain agility both onto business results and customer satisfaction. The 

paper concludes with theoretical and managerial implications as well as with limitations of the conducted research. 

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Black, Esen; Erdur, 
Duygu Acar 

Determinants of Capital Structure: A Research on 
Sectors That Contribute to Exports in Turkey 

This study aimed to determine the factors that affect the capital structure of companies in automotive, food & drink and textile 
& leather industries, whose shares were traded at the Borsa Istanbul (BIST) covering the period of 2006 and 2014, and at 

identifying the industry -specific differences with respect to their capital structures. In an attempt to achieve this goal, the data 

obtained from the financial statements of the related companies were subjected to panel data analysis. At the end of the study, 
we concluded that while, on one hand, the financial hierarchy theory was valid for the automotive industry for the studied 

period, on the other hand, both the financial hierarchy and trade-off theories were valid for food & drink and textile & leather 

industries. Another specific finding of the study was that the factors affecting the capital structure decisions were different 
across the industries. 

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Goaied, Mohamed; Sassi, 

Seifallah 

Trade liberalization and employment intensity of 

sectoral output growth: Lessons from Tunisia 

The purpose of this article is to assess the relationship between trade liberalization in Tunisia and the employment intensity of 

sectoral output growth, in order to examine the claim that free trade creates jobs by stimulating growth. Using panel data for 
15 Tunisian sectors over the period 1983-2010, we compare estimated sectoral output-employment elasticities prior to and 

following the Free Trade Agreement process with the European Union. The results provide evidence that trade liberalization 

in Tunisia has led to an increase in the intensity of employment in exporting manufacturing sectors like textiles, clothing and 
leather industries, and mechanical and electrical industries. However, their ability to generate jobs in response to value-added 

growth remains weak. Conversely, since the Free Trade Agreement process, the most labor-intensive service sectors, notably 

tourism and miscellaneous services, have shown a significant decrease in the employment intensity of their output growth. Our 
findings suggest that the Free Trade Agreement with the European Union has not really fostered the shift of the Tunisian 

Economy towards a more inclusive model and support the argument for a reorientation of investment policy in favor of sectors 

generating more job opportunities. 



 

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 Ogwo, Ogwo E .; Okpara, 

Gazie S. 
Pro-foreign consumption phenomenon in Africa 
Insights from Nigeria 

One of the recurring challenges of entrepreneurship in Africa is the unrelenting preference for foreign-labeled products over 

the home-made ones. Christened Aba-made in Nigeria (after a major commercial and entrepreneurial hub in southeastern part 
of the country), the phenomenon is more pronounced in clothing, footwear, and other leather works. This chapter explores the 

underpinnings of this sustained choice irrationality, drawing insights from a study on the footwear industry in Aba, 

Nigeria. The resultant Consumption Complex Syndrome (CCS) - a state of consumer mind that consistently predisposes him 
to foreign-labeled products, even when the local versions are preferred in a blind brand experiment - is examined. A model, 

hinged on the Hierarchy of Effects, is proffered for better entrepreneurial and policy management of this phenomenon. 

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Ghoshal, Moloy 

Descriptive analysis of present quality management 

practices of Indian micro, small and medium 
enterprises 

This paper is based on an empirical study of quality management practices in micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) 
of India. The main focus of the study was to identify current quality readiness of Indian MSMEs and how much they are 

prepared to handle the challenge in world market. This study was taken place on leather, plastics and chemical industries, in 

and around of Kanpur (India), where the main focus was to collect the primary data mainly from export oriented MSME based 
on the well-known quality management criterions drawn from Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA), 

European Federation for Quality Management (EFQM). It also examines possible connections between MSME's growth, and 

the implementation of quality-related practices. Descriptive statistical analysis will try to reveal whether any significant 
difference exists in the implementation and use of quality-related practices, across the low, moderate and high growth MSME 

development pathways. The outcomes of this research may help the owner of these MSME to take initiative as well as 

implement quality management in their organization so as to improve the quality of their product / services. 

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 Brown, William; Guo, Lin 
Obama's Bag: High Quality with No QC at 

Barrington 

This case describes an American leather firm in China that has obtained a reputation for high productivity, excellent quality 

without QC inspectors, and very low turnover, in spite of offering only industry average compensation. Though many scholars 

and practitioners contend that soft management practices are ineffective in a high power distance country such as China, 
Barrington has successfully adapted programs such as character first and open door policy to create a high-involvement culture 

with a mix of control and commitment human resource management practices. Barrington now faces the need for rapid growth 

in a highly competitive, low entry barrier niche market, and management is concerned about how to maintain the intimate 
company culture. The teaching notes provide background for reviewing Barrington's challenges in evolving a healthy corporate 

culture and management-labor relationships within the context of China's unique historic, cultural and political contexts 

dynamics. Yet another perspective upon these challenges is given by briefly addressing the similar experiences of China's 
Asian neighbors, as well as the implications of some scholars' arguments that, even in the West, commitment HRM may be 

more prevalent in theory than in practice. After discussing Barrington's HRM practices of control, commitment, or hybrid, and 
their potential influence upon employee motivation and job satisfaction, students argue the pros and cons of the rapid expansion 

strategies that Barrington is considering to cope with intensifying competition and their potential influence upon the firm's 

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Goedhuys, 

Micheline; Janz, 

Norbert; Mohnen, Pierre 

Knowledge-based productivity in low-tech 

industries: evidence from firms in developing 

countries 

Using firm-level data from five developing Countries-Brazil, Ecuador, South Africa, Tanzania, and Bangladesh-and three 
industries-food processing, textiles, and the garments and leather products-this article examines the importance of various 

sources of knowledge for explaining productivity and formally tests whether sector- or country-specific characteristics 

dominate these relationships. Knowledge sources driving productivity appear mainly sector specific. Also differences in the 

level of development affect the effectiveness of knowledge sources. In the food processing sector, firms with higher educated 

managers are more productive, and in least-developed countries, additionally those with technology licenses and imported 

machinery and equipment. In the capital-intensive textiles sector, productivity is higher in firms that conduct R&D. In the 
garments and leather products sector, higher education of the managers, licensing, and R&D raise productivity. 

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Li, Huiyan 
Research on Global Tasks Division Status of 
Chinese Manufacturing 

To avoid policy misleading problem, evaluating division status objectively and comprehensively is very important. By the 

Entropy method, composite index to evaluate tasks division status is created. Results show that Chinese manufacturing can be 

divided into three classes. Industries have higher status, including Electrical and Optical Equipment, Textiles and Textile 
Products, Leather, Leather and Footwear, Transport Equipment. For Wood and Products of Wood and Cork industry and Other 

Non-Metallic Mineral industry, we should enhance technology introduce, boost technology absorption, promote technology 

spillover, and ability of improving independent innovation. 



 

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 Renko, Sanda; Kauric; 

Alica Grilec; Lesina, 

Mario 

Dealing with crisis: using subcontracting for the 

development of the Croatian leather manufacturing 

and processing industry 

As literature suggests, subcontracting presents an important source of support of various kinds to small and medium-sized 

companies from large ones as well as an important source of efficiency and competitiveness. It is considered as an instrument 
of industrial and economic development and employment creation in developed and developing countries, and particularly in 

labor intensive industries. A reduction of demand, a change in consumption patterns, a global shift from production and 

economic crisis have increased the interest of many researchers analyzing subcontracting relationships mostly in textile and 
clothing industry. This paper is investigating the role of subcontracting in the case of the Croatian leather manufacturing and 

processing industry with an aim of getting better insight into its contribution to the development of this sector. Therefore, for 

the purpose of this paper, a two-phase research study, including a qualitative approach, was used: 1) the first phase on the 
sample of companies operating in the Croatian leather manufacturing and processing industry which intended to find out 

overall perception of benefits and limitations of subcontracting for the Croatian footwear and leather manufacturing 

companies; 2) the second phase on the group of the Croatian footwear and leather manufacturing companies, focusing on the 
success of subcontracting in dealing with global crisis. The findings of the study confirm that positive relationships between 

subcontracting and business performance was found as well as some areas for improvement. 

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Iazzolino, 

Gianpaolo; Bruni, Maria 
Elena; Beraldi, Patrizia 

Using DEA and financial ratings for credit risk 

evaluation: an empirical analysis 

The article deals with the methodologies for credit risk evaluation. It describes an empirical analysis carried out on a sample 

of Italian firms belonging to the leather manufacturing and wholesale industry. The study uses the efficiency, calculated 

through data envelopment analysis (DEA), and the credit rating at the same time. As long as efficiency is calculated by using 
inputs and outputs strictly linked to the credit reliability of the firm, the study confirms that there is a relationship between 

efficiency and credit rating, and then that efficiency can be considered as an early warning index for evaluating credit risk. 

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Hu, Albert GZ; Png, IPL 
Patent rights and economic growth: evidence from 

cross-country panels of manufacturing industries 

The objective of patent rights is to foster innovation and economic growth. However, to date, there is little robust evidence 

that patents achieve this objective. Here, we study the impact of changes in effective patent rights within panels of up to 54 
manufacturing industries in up to 72 countries between 1981-2000. Stronger patent rights were associated with faster growth 

in more patent-intensive industries, and the effect was larger in higher-income countries. Between 1991-1995, an increase in 

the level of effective patent rights from Turkey to Singapore was associated with the average growth of the other chemicals 
and leather industries being respectively 1/6 and 1/17 higher. Patent rights were associated with faster growth through both 

factor accumulation and raising productivity. Our findings were robust to alternative measures of patent rights and patent 

intensity. 

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Enlightenment of the Traditional Industry of the 
Transformation and Upgrade form Mbaobao's 

Phenomenon 

The problem how to realize the transformation and upgrade of traditional industries, must be carefully think about in the 
Jiaxing's economic development process during the twelfth five-year plan. Mbaobao network technology Co., LTD., Which 

known as OEM leather manufacturing enterprise formerly has successfully realized the transformation and upgrade of modern 

electronic business enterprise. Firstly, the paper analyzes Mbaobao's management ideas from three aspects and discusses the 
cause of the rapid growth. The enlightenment of the traditional industry of the transformation and upgrade form Mbaobao's 

phenomenon is drawn. 

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Beshah, Birhanu; Kitaw, 

Daniel; Gelan, Mi Fame 

Workstation Design in an Ethiopian Small Scale 

Leather Garment Industry 

There are many survey based researches in the recent literature to investigate the critical factors that affect the development of 

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). No study, however, dealt about workstation design which integrates the most 
important resources of SMEs, ie, labor and machineries. The aim of this research is to fill this gap by a different and practical 

approach. One of the labor intensive industries, leather garment sector was selected for the study. Moreover, Genuine Leather 

Crafts (GLC), a small scale industry, is taken as the case. The analyses revealed that GLC's labor and machine productivity 
have been very low associated with poor workstations design. A new method is proposed to improve the resource utilization 

of GLC in particular and SMEs in general. Business development agencies should also give especial attention to the internal 
factors where the strength of SMEs made up of. (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and peer-review under 

responsibility of The Second International Conference on Leadership, Technology and Innovation Management 



 

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Sultan, Suhail Sami 
Applying porter's competitiveness model on smes: 

the case of occupied Palestinian territory (opt) 

Palestinian industries are trying to move from totally depending on the Israeli economy to the gradual de-annexing stage, and 

hence building the independence stage and achieving a competitive advantage to the Palestinian industries that lead the 
economic process and sustain prosper and luxury to the people. The main objective of the research paper is to discuss the 

competiveness of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) working in the leather and shoe industry in the Occupied 

Palestinian Territory (OPT). The paper discusses the challenges facing the SMEs such as instability of economic and political 
environment, acquiring capital, bureaucratic rules and regulations, infrastructure availability, infrastructure cost, availability 

of technical qualifications and clustering in addition to the highly competition with the cheap Chinese products. The main 

recommendations are: simplifying rules and regulations related to the SMEs' growth, providing and developing the 
infrastructure facilities and utilities at reasonable prices and adequate quantities and qualities, building up the human capacities 

through training, maintenance and laboratory testing, developing lending institutions and making easy access to finance, 

encouraging the diffusion of ICT into the different business functions of the industry, and encouraging the strategic cooperation 
and clustering in the industry. 

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Khorana, Sangeeta; Soo, 

Kwok Tong 

Exporter's perceptions to obstacles faced in the EU: 
evidence from Indian textiles and leather goods 

firms 

Firms encounter barriers to exporting activity in foreign and domestic business environments. In this paper, based on primary 

research, we analyze barriers faced by Indian textiles as well as clothing and leather and footwear firms, in exporting to the 
European Union (EU). First, we document the manifold types of barriers that impact on Indian firms exporting to the 

EU. Second, using interview data we explore the relationship between perceptions of barriers to exports and firm 

characteristics. We find those firms closer to ports to report lower transport costs and less corruption than firms further away 
from ports. Firm size, exporting experience, and whether the firm is from the textiles or leather goods industry have no 

significant impact on firms' perception of export barriers. Finally, we assess the policy implications of econometric results to 

shed light on issues that need addressing within ongoing negotiations for a free trade agreement between the EU and India. 

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Womb, Mia Mahmudur 
Legal Regulation of CSR in Weak Economies: The 

Case of Bangladesh 

The aim of this chapter is to assess the extent to which laws relating to CSR in Bangladesh might contribute to including CSR 

as a central theme in self-regulated corporate responsibility. It explains why the major Bangladeshi laws relating to corporate 

regulation and responsibility do not possess the required features necessary to compel corporate self-regulators to contribute 
to developing a socially responsible corporate culture in this country. It argues that development of a socially responsible 

corporate culture in Bangladesh should not rely on either corporate self-regulation or authoritative modes of regulation. Rather, 

this should be based on a combination of force majeure and economic incentive-based legal strategies, as long as civil society, 
the media, NGOs, and the consumers of Bangladesh are able to systematically monitor corporate self-regulation. This chapter 

is divided into three parts. The first describes the general characteristics of corporate attitudes in Bangladesh. To explain these 
attitudes, it provides three case studies related to three of the major industries of this country: the ready-made garment (RMG) 

industry, the ship-breaking industry and the leather goods and processing industry. (1) The second part assesses three laws 

related to corporate regulation and responsibility, with the aim of clarifying their roles in the development of CSR. (2) First, it 
assesses the Companies Act 1994 (Bangladesh); second, the Bangladesh Labor Law 2006 (Bangladesh) and finally the 

Environmental Conservation Act 1995 (Bangladesh). The last part assesses the scope of incorporating a meta-regulating 

approach in the major corporate laws and regulations that relate to the development of CSR in Bangladesh. It is divided into 

four sections. In the first section, it provides a brief synopsis on the precepts of the meta-regulation approach developed in the 

previous chapter. Second, it assesses the scope for incorporating this approach into three Bangladeshi laws that relate to the 

development of the nexus between CSR principles and corporate regulation. Third, it assesses the scope for incorporating a 
meta-regulatory approach within the factors that impinge on CSR and corporate regulation. At this stage, it also assesses some 

other pieces of legislations and sociologic policies associated with these three laws. This chapter concludes that as a weak 

economy, the existing regulation strategies in Bangladesh is not suitable to raise social responsibility of companies and the 
incorporation of objects of meta-regulation into the major laws of Bangladesh would make it possible to insist that companies 

incorporate the core principles of CSR within their self-regulated responsibilities. It highlights the options for this incorporation 

into the driving factors associated with these laws, and concludes by presenting criteria to test the effectiveness of the 
incorporation of CSR principles in company regulatory strategies. 



 

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Labuschagne, Adri; van 
Zyl, Sonna; van der 

Merwe, Daleen; Kruger, 

Annamarie 

Consumers' expectations of furniture labels during 
their pre-purchase information search: an 

explication of proposed furniture labeling 

specifications 

This study aimed to investigate consumers' expectations of furniture labels during the pre-purchase information search, in order 

to propose furniture labels that would serve as a more relevant source of external information during the consumer decision-
making process. A mixed-method approach using a two-phase exploratory design was followed. The qualitative phase 

consisted of semi-structured interviews with experienced sales assistants, while the quantitative phase entailed a questionnaire 

filled out by consumers during furniture shopping. These results were used to design potential furniture labels during a final 
phase. Qualitative findings indicated participants' opinions regarding the appearance of and information on specific types of 

furniture. General information requested to be on furniture labels included price, care instructions, guarantees, warrantees, 

style and dimensions. Quantitative results showed that the majority of respondents deemed the price, materials used, cleaning 
instructions, guarantees and warrantees as important information that should appear on furniture labels. This coincided with 

their pre-purchase search criteria. There was no practically significant difference between consumers' expectations of the 

information and appearance of different types of furniture labels. Consumers therefore expect all labels to be similar in 
appearance and to contain general information, apart from product-specific information that would be necessary on different 

types of furniture, for example leather furniture. Appearance characteristics of furniture labels, such as color, size and layout, 

were summarized and potential furniture labels were recommended accordingly. These labels can be used by product 
developers, marketers and the furniture industry to assist consumers during their pre-purchase information search. 

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Schemes, Claudia; de 
Araujo, Denise Castilhos 

Nh journal and the fenac: midia role on identities 
construction 

This paper aims to analyze how the questions related to the shoe and leather industries in Novo Hamburgo city were conducted 

by Jornal NH (regional journal), in the beginning of the 60's. The speeches journalistic maintain liaison with the social reality 
in which they are produced, helping in the drafting / fixing of certain stocks in the social system. There then contracts between 

partners in the situational plan and the communication plan and discursive. We will analyze FENAC (National Shoe Fair) that 

was considered as a mark to this industrial sector and has stimulated the exportation of shoes in the region. This analysis 
becomes possible to perceive how the journal has constructed, through its discursive productions, the concepts related to the 

structuration process of the memory and identity of the industrial sector by the press media. 

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Li, Huizhong; Qi, 
Fei; Zhang, Shaoxuan 

Home Market Effects of Foreign Trade in China's 
Manufacturing Sector: Analysis Using International 

Standard Industry Classification Panel Data 

In this paper, we use 20022008 International Standard Industry Classification two-digit bilateral trade panel data for 
manufacturing industries in China and the OECD countries to test for the existence of home market effects. We find that 

significant home market effects exist in 8 out of 12 industries. These industries include the food, beverage and tobacco industry, 

wood products, the paper products and printing industry, chemical products, other non-metallic mineral products, machinery 
and equipment, transport equipment, and miscellaneous products and waste resources recycling industry. Textile, clothing and 

leather manufacturing, oil refining and nuclear fuel manufacturing, rubber and plastics, and basic metals and fabricated metal 
products industries do not exhibit home market effects. Indeed, strong reverse home market effects occur for oil refining and 

nuclear fuel manufacturing and for the rubber and plastics industry. The empirical results reveal that certain industries benefit 

from new export opportunities due to the expansion of domestic demand in China. 

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Bandinelli, 
Romeo; Tailor, Sergio 

An Exploratory Study on Product Lifecycle 

Management in the Fashion Chain: Evidences from 

the Italian Leather Luxury Industry 

New Product Development (NPD) in most manufacturing sectors is stressed by an increasing global competition and pressure 

to improve product quality and innovation, reduce product cost and time-to-market (TTM), and rapidly respond to changing 

customer needs and shortened product lifecycles. These requirements are increasingly fulfilled by applying the PLM (Product 

Lifecycle Management) approach, a widely accepted concept that generally defines the adoption of a large number of ICT 

(Information and Communication Technology) solutions for managing product data along the product lifecycle. This 

contribution shows the results of research concerning the application of PLM within the luxury fashion supply chain, conducted 
in 2009 in Italy, with the analysis of 20 companies of the leather market. The research shows some of the differences that exist 

between the luxury industry and other more PLM-oriented sectors (eg automotive) in terms of adopted ICT tools, criticalities, 

problems, and benefits expected and realized. 

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 Meinshausen, 

Steffen; Schiereck, Dirk 

Dressed to merge - small fits fine: M&A success in 

the fashion and accessories industry 

In this paper we examine the value implications of 192 M&A transactions in the fashion and leather accessories industry during 
the period from 1994 to 2009. Contrary to general cross-country evidence we find highly significant, positive abnormal returns 

to acquiring shareholders. Cross-sectional analysis further reveals that the key value drivers are diversifying fashion M&A 

transactions for smaller, profitable companies that reduce idiosyncratic risk whereas deals executed by large companies that 
act as frequent acquirers do not, on average, significantly enhance shareholder wealth. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights 

reserved. 



 

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Geng, Nan 

The dynamics of market structure and firm-level 

adjustment to India's pro-market economic 
liberalizing reforms, 1988-2006: A Time Varying 

Panel Smooth Transition Regression (TV-PSTR) 

approach 

This paper for the first time employs the Time Varying Panel Smooth Transition Regression (TV-PSTR) approach to model 

the dynamic adjustments of firms and the evolution of industrial structure in the bigger setting of decades against the backdrop 
of India's dramatic liberalizing reform starting from 1991. Using Indian manufacturing firm data, it finds that the transition of 

market structure and productivity after liberalization did follow a smooth transition process. Instead of the previously assumed 

instantaneous 'big-bang' shift just after reforms, it actually took years for the Indian manufacturing industries start to react to 
the reforms, and the transitional impact of reforms took approximately four to eight years to complete. There is strong evidence 

of increased competition after the transition, with shrinked returns to scale (RTS) in most industries except for leather and 

chemical industries. The results on total factor productivity (TFP) are mixed: most import-competing industries, which suffer 
most from the shrinking of market size experienced no change or decreasing TFP growth; whereas the export-oriented industry, 

as the industry which benefits most from economy of scale, enjoyed a huge TFP growth following the reforms. (C) 2010 

Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 

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Gautam, Raj 

Kumar; Singh, Raghbir 

Competitive Perception of Small Indian 

Manufacturers: A study of Punjab Units 

The paper aims at identifying the main competitors and competitive advantages of small scale manufacturers. The 

manufacturers were selected from four manufacturing industries producing textiles, bicycle and bicycle parts, food products 

and beverages and leather and leather products in the state of Punjab, India. The data were collected from 200 units out of 
which 173 units were considered for data analysis purposes. In this study, a number of statements indicating the relevant quality 

certification, competition and cluster association were developed and the respondents were asked to respond to the statement 

on a five-point Likert scale. The Kruskal-Wallis test was applied to know the significant differences among the respondents 
with regards to different industries, age, and turnover groups with respect to the impact of cluster association. The test was 

applied at an assumed p-value = 0.05. The statements with less than 0.05 p-value are considered significant and those with p-

value more than the assumed p-value are considered to be insignificant. The weighted rankings were also calculated for the 
purpose of data analysis in respect to competitive advantages by assigning the weights 4, 3, 2 and 1 to ranks 1, 2, 3 and 4 

respectively. 

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Yamamoto, Gonca 

Telli; Sekeroglu, Ozgur 
Crisis management in the Turkish leather industry 

The economic developments and modifications in the world cause to imbalances from time to time and these imbalances lead 
to crises. Businesses are seriously influenced from the birth of sometimes territorial and sometimes regional crises, and need 

crisis management. Sometimes, crises may also arise from managerial structures in the company. Regardless of the reason, 

those who can correctly manage the crisis, can also turn the risks of crisis into advantages and even grow after the 
crisis. Moreover, sometimes certain companies open to foreign countries by means of the crisis and take steps towards 

globalization. Leather industry is highly important for the economy of Turkey as it includes vast exports of finished goods 
with high value added. Turkish leather industry is considered as one of the locomotive industries of the Turkish economy in 

terms of its export potential. It has been the subject of our research as it is among the industries which have been most affected 

from the recent crises, due to its importance for the Turkish economy and its current conditions. In this context, the tendencies 
of the Turkish leather industry regarding crisis management have been examined with a questionnaire study in order to identify 

their thoughts about the crisis. 

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Witkowska, Janina 
Globalization and Foreign Direct Investment in the 
Textile, Garment, and Leather Industry 

The subject of this paper is analysis and assessment of foreign direct investment (FDI) as made by transnational corporations 

in the textile, garment, and leather industry on a world economic scale under conditions of globalization. Significant changes 

are occurring in the sector and industry structure of global FDI. In terms of the three sectors of the economy, a longterm shift 

of FDI to the service sector at a cost to investments in manufacturing may be seen. Foreign investments are being made in the 
textile, garment, and leather industry. They are growing in the long term. However, the dynamics of the FDI streams flowing 

to this industry is one of the lowest in manufacturing. Over the long term (1990-2007), the share of the textile, garment, and 

leather industry in global FDI stock decreased from 1.5% to 0.6% in 2007. In spite of the labor-intensive character of this 
industry, in their bulk , the FDI are destined to the highly developed countries. 



 

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Rosa, Felipe; de Freitas, 
Ernani Cesar 

Family businesses: the complexity of continuity 

Family businesses occupy a prominent position in the Brazilian business, for their contribution to the economy. Many large 

Brazilian companies are (or have been) familiar in essence, that number could be even higher were it not for the complexities 
faced by these companies during their generations. Because of this, justified the study to address the organizational and 

managerial practices of these companies, with the overall objective of research to investigate and analyze the processes of 

professionalization and management of family businesses are small, industry segment, in the Vale of Bells (RS), in order to 
understand and relate the impact of such processes in fact these companies. For this, the theoretical basis, it is well known 

among the principal authors searched for the following: Bernhoeft and Gallo (2003); Bornholdt (2005); Casillas, Vazquez and 

Diaz (2007), Freitas and Frezza (2005), Oliveira (1999, 2006). To develop this study, we applied the methodology for 
exploratory research, performing literature-based case study, and the Transformation of Soft Leather Ltda. The object of this, 

a family company dedicated to the leather and shoe industry, located in the city of Novo Hamburgo / RS. Analysis of data was 

through qualitative and descriptive approaches. Focused on the processes of management, professional and organizational 
culture of family firms, we stress the need for improvements in management practices for the growth and perpetuation of the 

family business. 

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Decreux, Yvan; Milner, 

Chris; Peridy, Nicolas 

Some New Insights into the Effects of the EU-South 
Korea Free Trade Area: The Role of Non-Tariff 

Barriers 

The present study proposes an updated and extended quantitative assessment of the EU-South Korea FTA, through a new 
version of MIRAGE CGE model. Several distinctive contributions are offered. Firstly, the quantitative assessment takes into 

account non-tariff barriers (NTBs) as well as tariffs. Second, it considers trade liberalization of goods, services as well as FDI 

(establishment). A third contribution is that simulations of policy changes are closely aligned with the actual agreement for 
each industry and service category. Finally, this article relies on recent techniques for calculating the tariff equivalents of NTBs 

following Kee et al. (2009). The main findings show that the EU may increase trade performance in several industries 

(chemicals, machinery, other manufactured and food products) as well as in specific services to a lesser extent (business, 
insurance and transport services). On the other hand, Korea takes advantage of the agreement for specific manufactured 

products (textiles, leather / clothing, cars and other transport equipment). 

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Yamamoto, Gonca 

Telli; Yilmaz, 

Bekir; Bayramoglu, Eser 
Eke; Sekeroglu, Ozgur 

An analysis and a solution for the existence of 

Turkish leather industry 

Leather industry is one of the leading sectors of the Turkish economy in terms of industrial production and employment. The 

gradual transformation of leather companies towards automation in their production processes, and towards transferring a 
portion of the company and product promotions to the Internet via computers can be considered as the early steps of e-

commerce entrepreneurship in this regard. This paper attempts to analyze the Turkish Leather Industry in the light of e-

commerce and e-marketing practice issues. 

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Tarasenko, IO 
Methodological grounds for forecast of stable 
development of light industry enterprises 

The article presents the key methodological grounds for the forecast of the results of stable development of the light industry 

enterprises. Basing on the results of the conducted research key stages in forecasting are determined and their contents are 

presented, taking into account the peculiarities of the problematic area of the forecast for leather-manufacturing enterprises. 

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Aktan, Bora; Wang, 

Jia; Zikovic, Sasa 

Market portfolio impact on textile, wearing apparel 

and leather industries in turkey: sharpe diagonal 
model approach 

In this paper we have examined the use of the Sharpe diagonal model as a way to assess the risk of the textile, wearing apparel, 
and leather industries in Turkey within the framework of the CAPM over the period between January 2002 and June 2008 

when there is no financial crises and big shocks in the market. The purposes of this paper are threefold: first is to examine the 

explanatory power of market portfolio return on stock returns in Istanbul Stock Exchange (ISE), second is to investigate how 
the CAPM performs on the sample of stocks in those industries, and third is to explore if the CAPM is a valid model to estimate 

the expected returns. The results show that the CAPM is not rejected in the second pass regression whereas tests of alphas and 
betas partially validate some of its assumptions. 



 

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Zhao Junli 

Vertical Disintegration in Global Value Chain and 

Industry Upgrading: Evidence from China's textile 
and apparel industry 

The vertical disintegration and integration in Global Value Chain are two important characters in the global economy today, 

which call for more theoretical and empirical research to better explain the effects of global value chain on different national 
industry and economy. The paper presents insights into the role of vertical disintegration of global value chain on the 

performance of textile and apparel industry on the side of developing country. As one of earliest open industries, China's textile 

and apparel industry has inserted the global value chain since the open-door policy in 1978. Through analysis, China's textile 
and apparel industry still locates in the low value-added activities now. However, with the years gone by, the degree of vertical 

disintegration in China's textile and apparel industry in global value chain is gradually deeper. It will promote the efficiency 

in both overall China's textile and apparel industry and the different sub-sectors to insert the global value chain. While, vertical 
disintegration in the global value chain has different effects on different sub-sectors. Textile industry and fiber industry benefit 

from vertical disintegration more than apparel industry and leather industry. Finally, the paper puts up with some suggestions 

such as basing on comparative advantages, strengthening technological innovation, channel control and relying on the local 
market. 

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da Costa Machado, Maria 

Berenice; dos Santos, 

Marcelle Silveira 

The advertising market in the city of novo 
hamburgo: a retrospective of the last four decades 

Advertising became a professional activity in the city of Novo Hamburgo, Brazil, in the 60's, following an important economic 

growth of the local leather industry, the creation of the National Shoe Fair (FENAC), the foundation of the local daily Jornal 

NH and the appearance of the first advertising agencies in the city. The research project History and Memory of Advertising 
in Novo Hamburgo has been tracking down for the past two years all the events that have contributed to create the local 

advertising market. The leading role played by the pioneer agencies has been outlined in the research whose methodology 
includes a literature review, source materials and Oral History. 

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Honey, Gurpreet; Judge, 

Paramjit S. 

Innovations, Entrepreneurship and Development: A 

Study of the Scheduled Castes in Punjab 

This article explicates entrepreneurship as a means to empower the underprivileged sections, particularly the scheduled castes, 

in our society. The cases of the scheduled castes from Jalandhar and Amritsar (cities of Punjab) reveal that they have 

experienced social, economic and political mobility through entrepreneurship. The entrepreneurial activities are, however, 
unevenly distributed among the rural and urban scheduled castes. It is mainly the two scheduled caste groups, namely, the Ad-

dharmi and the Megh, in both the cities, who have ventured into entrepreneurship, largely by diversifying their traditional caste 

occupations. The Ad-dharmis have modified their skills in handling and processing the rawhides and have started leather-based 
industries, factories and workshops. The Meghs, who have been engaged as workers in the manufacturing of surgical 

instruments before migrating to these cities from Sialkot after the partition of India (1947), have excelled in sports goods and 

surgical instruments industries. The overall empowerment of scheduled castes is possible through entrepreneurship. The policy 
makers may encourage entrepreneurship as a means to achieve equality for them. 

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Vasquez Paniagua, Jose 

Alfredo; Gonzales Isaza, 

Diana Patricia 

Methodology to implement an example of social 

responsibility business (SRB) in the leather industry 

in Colombia 

Tannery industry is a big water resources pollutant in Colombia. By this, a bigger environmental responsibility has on waters 

resources pollution in the country. This paper presents a methodological proposal to implement a Corporate Social 
Responsibility methodology for Colombian Tannery Industry. In this case, Donna Wood's theory, environmental impact, 

economic valuation of environmental quality, and citizen participation are used. 

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Sznajder, Andrzej; Witek-

Hajduk, Marzanna 
Katarzyna 

The marketing strategies of polish light industry 

enterprises on the european union market: 
standardization and adaptation 

The paper examines the marketing strategies of Polish light industry enterprises in European Union countries. It also analyzes 
the determinants of a process whereby companies are adapting their marketing strategies to EU standards. The authors used 

the computer assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) method to collect data for their research. The survey was made on a 

random sample of 61 medium-sized and large enterprises in light industry, including textile, clothing and leather 
producers. The research shows that many Polish light industry enterprises have modified their marketing strategies and pricing 

policies after Poland's EU entry in 2004. This especially applies to their business in the new member countries of the bloc. The 
results obtained by Sznajder and Witek-Hajduk are in line with the findings of other studies quoted in the article. 



 

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Sagheer, Silpa; Yadav, 

SS; Deshmukh, SG 

Developing a conceptual framework for assessing 

competitiveness of India's agrifood chain 

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to present a conceptual framework and set of propositions to analyze competitiveness 

of India's agrifood chain. Nine components constitute the framework. These are identified on the basis of theoretical studies 
and expert consultations. Each component leads to at least one proposition. Design / methodology / approach - The framework 

is dependent on two major streams of management - value chain analysis (VCA) and strategic competitiveness. Porter's 

diamond at the industry level and Momaya's asset-process-performance (APP) model at the firm level provide the base for 
competitiveness discussions. Findings - The framework comprises of human and non-human components. They are more like 

members of a network where action of each has an impact on the other. By examining the roles of human components like 

national government, producers, processors, etc. and non-human components like food quality, regulatory scenario, etc. side-
by-side, this study breaks new grounds in exploring the synergy of VCA and competitiveness management. Research 

limitations / implications - Journal Article s based on Indian food industry's competitiveness or supply chain are very 

limited. There is also a dearth of literature on India's agrifood sector. This has reduced the scope for published references from 
India. Practical implications - The paper can serve as a reference point for researchers / students and other stakeholders 

interested in Indian food and retail industry. The framework has implications for developing countries like India that are 

exploring opportunities in global retail diffusions. It is also of use to researchers from developing economies where the role of 
national government can be significant in the development of an industry. The framework is built as a flexible and adaptable 

tool, which can suit other industry sectors with minor modifications. Originality / value - The paper has attempted to create a 

common ground where the two theories of VCA and competitiveness are able to meet. An empirical validation of the 
framework can encourage more future research on this topic. This paper can also be used by researchers as a reference point 

for studies on Indian agrifood sector. The proposed framework can be used as an analytical tool by researchers to study similar 

industries from developing economies like textiles, leather, etc. that are unorganized. 

  
  
  

  
  
  

  
  
  

  
  
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Shafaei, Rasoul; Shahriari, 

Hamid; Moradi, Morteza 

Investigation of leather industry competitiveness in 

Iran 

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the competitiveness of the Iranian leather value chain (LVC) and compare 

that with those of nine other countries including China, Pakistan, Turkey, Republic of Korea, Indonesia, Spain, Italy, Brazil 

and the USA. The results presented in the paper seek to assist in assessing the competitive performance of the LVC in Iran. In 
addition, based on Porter's diamond of competitive advantages, the aim is to provide recommendations to improve the 

competitive performance of the industry. Design / methodology / approach - An economic method, ie revealed comparative 

advantage (RCA), as a well-known approach, is used to investigate the competitive performance of LVC in Iran. The LVC 
products analyzed in this research include hide, skin, leather manufacture, trunks and cases, and footwear. In addition, in order 

to investigate the factors which, affect the low competitive performance, a questionnaire based on Porter's diamond of 
competitive advantages was designed and completed by researchers and practitioners working in the field of leather 

industry. Finally, the reasons for low competitive performance of the industry are discussed. Findings - The results reveal that 

the competitiveness of the Iranian LVC is low, compared with those of some other countries. China and Italy have superior 
comparative advantages in the period studied. The results also indicate that except one product, Iran has no comparative 

advantage in LVC industry. In addition, Iran has mainly focused on the upstream sector of LVC whereas China and Italy 

compete more in the downstream sector which offers more value added products. The results also reveal that among the 

elements studied, specialized factors, availability of capital, quality of demand and stability of macroeconomics highly 

influence the competitive performance of LVC in Iran. This is followed by subsequent recommendations on how best to 

improve the competitive performance of the industry. Originality / value - The results of the investigation presented in this 
paper give an insight into the competitiveness of the LVC in Iran compared with nine other countries which play an important 

role in this industry in the world. The results also confirm that RCA can be used as an effective approach to assess the 

competitive performance of industries. Furthermore, recommendations provided in this paper assist in improving the 
competitive performance of the industry. In general, the findings should prove useful for both researchers and practitioners. 

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Xu, Xu 
Breakthrough of Wenzhou Synthetic Leather 
Industry under Financial Crisis 

Influenced by international financial crisis, after November 2008, the export volume of Wenzhou synthetic leather industry 

had a year-on-year decrease in an increasing range, and the working rate of the enterprises is far from enough. Besides, 

Wenzhou synthetic leather industry also faced the troubles such as increasing environmental protection pressure and massive 
resettlement of the enterprises. Relying on the modes such as integrative recombination, development and innovation, 

expanding emerging market, increasing environmental management and accelerating the construction of public innovative 

system, this paper proposes the breakthrough of Wenzhou synthetic leather industry under financial crisis. 



 

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Welsh, Tomaso Never underestimate the importance of details 

By some estimates, tire luxury goods industry generates roughly 175 billion Euros turnover each year, with products ranging 

from yachts, to cars, jewelery, watches, leather goods and apparel. Companies that want to flourish in this business need to 

offer more than cutting edge products and exceptional quality to justify the price tag that is often associated with luxury 
items. This is one of the reasons, why brand reputation is so well-guarded. In the interview, Tomaso Galli, who has 25 years’ 

experience working in communications, 10 years of which in the luxury industry, offers insights into how iconic brand status 

may be achieved and retained through communications. 

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Festic. Mejra; Repina, 
Sebastijan 

Economic activity and natural gas as a potential 
destabilizer of the Slovenian economy 

This article empirically. investigates whether natural gas has the potential of destabilizing the Slovenian economy. The results 

confirmed the indirect relation that the increase in gas prices decelerates the dynamics of aggregate domestic consumption, 

which further decelerates activities in individual industries. An empirical analysis has proven that the natural gas does have 
the potential of forecasting the production trends in individual industries within the Slovenian economy. By using the dynamics 

of natural gas price movements (and other explanatory variables), we can forecast the dynamics of movements in the 

production of textiles, leather, fur and clothes, rubber and plastic-based products, metals, furniture, as well as in the processing 
industry, recycling, electricity, natural gas, steam and hot water supplies in Slovenia. The obtained results suggest that natural 

gas price shocks can influence economic activity beyond those explained by direct input cost effects and via the indirect effect 

of possibly delaying the purchase of goods. 

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He yongda 
Zhejiang Synthesized Leather Industry Pollution 

Problem Analysis Bases on Gaming Theory 

Synthesized leather industry is a heavy environmental pollution industry, which has the great effect on the local 

environment. This article employed the gaming theory to analyze the interrelationship among Environmental Protection 

Department, synthesized leather industry and public. Results shows: when the higher the inspection cost of Environmental 
Protection Department, the weaker the penalty to enterprise polluting, the higher the cost of enterprise treating contaminated 

waste, the lower the public's environmental protection participation consciousness, then the expectation payoff of enterprise 

for non- treating contaminated waste would be higher, then the bigger possibility of enterprise polluting. On the other side, 
enterprise will choose pollution control. 

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Goncharuk, Anatoliy G. 
Impact of political changes on industrial efficiency: 

a case of Ukraine 

Purpose - The paper aims to devote itself to the researching of the changes in firm efficiency in consumer goods industry under 

the political changes and tightening of competition. This study has for an objective the estimation of the consequences of 
changes in policy on firm efficiency and the development the ways of improving of the efficiency of both separate firms and 

the whole industries. Design / methodology / approach - The industrial efficiency is measured by data envelopment analysis 

(DEA). The change of efficiency by reason of political events during 2004/2005 is evaluated by the Malmquist total factor 
productivity index. Some firm attributes are examined for their impact on efficiency. They are firm size, regional location and 

property category. The results are based on a sample of 336 Ukrainian firms of consumer goods industry. Findings - Sharp 

socio-oriented reforms that promoted the rise of public welfare, led to many negative economic trends. But the impact of 
political changes on industrial efficiency was multivalued. The political changes had positive influence on efficiency of 

beverages and food industry and negative on light industry efficiency. The manufacture of food, textiles, wearing apparel and 

leather products is among the lowest efficient industrial activities in Ukraine and need to be improved. The empirical results 
reveal the influence of firm size, regional location and property category on firm efficiency. Research limitations / implications 

- The research is limited by three main consumer goods industries and by relatively short data set. The former explains that 

they are the most socio-oriented industries and kindle researcher interest under the changes of socio-economic policy. To the 
latter belong high requirements to the data and necessity to avoid the data errors in DEA. Therefore, the input-output data, 

reliability of those are proved by the audit reports, are considered here. Practical implications - The paper examines the impact 

of sharp political changes on industrial efficiency. Through the results of the analysis the recommendations for the decision 
making for the purpose of efficiency- improving in the consumer goods industry of Ukraine were formulated. Originality / 

value - This is the first paper that adopts DEA for measuring of efficiency in consumer goods industries of Ukraine under 

political changes. 



 

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Speight, Alan 

EH; Thompson, Piers 

Is investment time irreversible? Some empirical 

evidence for disaggregated UK manufacturing data 

It has long been suggested that investment may be time irreversible, and consideration of the option value of waiting to invest 

has aroused renewed interest in this issue. This study tests for time irreversibility in UK investment according to disaggregation 
by type of investment expenditure and across manufacturing sector groupings. The test results reported indicate that the 

irreversibility of investment patterns varies not only from industry to industry but also according to the type of capital being 

purchased, with significant time irreversibility detected in gross fixed capital formation and aggregate vehicles expenditure, 
and industrial sector groupings comprising fuels and oil refining, engineering and vehicles, and textiles and leather. However, 

only in the first and last of these series is time irreversibility attributable to non-linearities in the underlying data generating 

process, and consistent with threshold effects which may be associated with (S, s) type models of investment dynamics. 

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Dubey, Jayashree; Dubey, 

Rajesh 

Investment opportunities in madhya pradesh 
relative to other indian states in the wto regime: a 

comparative analysis with special emphasis on the 

pharmaceutical sector 

The World Trade Organization (WTO) has set rules for international trade, with the objective to provide maximum benefits to 

the consumers. One of its aims is to remove trade barriers to international competition. The Organization is based on the 

principles of free trade; predictability through binding and transparency; national treatment (treating foreigners and locals 
equally); granting most favored nation status; dismantling trade barriers, for example, removal of quota restrictions and tariff 

bindings; and promoting fair competition. At the same time developed nations have used their power while negotiating the 

rules of trade, and this has posed a great challenge to developing countries. It can be claimed that the rules have been framed 
in a way which gives opportunities to serve customers of the WTO countries. Only companies with a competitive advantage 

can survive in the global arena, and this also applies to Indian industries. Since the WTO prevents the use of subsidies and 

other protective measures, the economic environment will change. This requires bringing major changes in the business system 
in India. Under this system, the textile, food processing and leather industries will benefit. Although there is confusion among 

the Indian pharmaceutical companies at present, in this area also India can take the opportunity to grow. Madhya Pradesh needs 

to create a welcoming atmosphere for these companies. This article presents the economic conditions in Madhya Pradesh and 
discusses the reasons for the backwardness. It makes a comparison of the industrial potential specific to the pharmaceutical 

industry of Madhya Pradesh with other developed states in India. 

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Arnould, EJ; Mohr, JJ 
Dynamic transformations for base-of-the-pyramid 
market clusters 

Extending scholarship on industry clusters, this article reconsiders the relationship between development and marketing 
opportunities in base-of-the-pyramid market (BOPM) nations. Recent literature on industry clusters suggests a set of 

theoretical themes regarding cluster efficiencies, governance, adaptability, and performance. These themes are scrutinized 

using an extended case employing longitudinal, ethnographic data collected from an indigenous leather-working cluster in 
West Africa. The authors' findings provide guidance in identifying local clusters with global market potential in BOPMs. They 

lead us to a dynamic market-driven transformational model of BOPM clusters. Consequently, the authors recommend several 
keys for leveraging investments in boundary-spanning firms in BOPM clusters. Finally, the article demonstrates the value of 

micro level, longitudinal analyses in assessing cluster performance in BOPMs. 

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Bowonder, B .; Sadhulla, 

S .; Jain, Akshay 

Evolving an ICT platform for a traditional industry: 

transforming artisans into entrepreneurs 

The leather industry is a traditional industry. The Kolhapuri is a traditional 'chappal' manufactured through a manual 
process. This is a case study of the manner in which the design process, manufacturing process and marketing was reengineered 

using information and communications technology (ICT) interventions. Use of ICT helped this industry to reposition 

itself. The main reason for the early adoption and rapid diffusion of the new technology has been the systematic training carried 

out by Central Leather Research Institute for imparting skills in the local craftsman using two people from the same 

community. The income of craftsman increased considerably after the adoption of ICT for designing and market access. The 

change process was navigated and implemented in an evolutionary manner. This helped the change process to occur rapidly. 

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Ghani, Jawaid Abdul Bata: strategic choices 

The case describes the history of Bata (Pakistan) together with relevant information on major competitors in Pakistan's 

footwear industry. Bata started as a vertically integrated manufacturer and soon dominated the industry. The development of 

the leather export industry and growth in consumer buying power in the eighties, selective imposition of sales tax in the mid-
eighties, and lowering of trade barriers in the twenty-first century, resulted in the emergence of firms specializing in different 

stages along the value chain. When this occurred, Bata's wide scope and vertical integration no longer remained a source of 

competitive advantage, and resulted in threats from inexpensive imports and leaner and more specialized firms. The case allows 
students the opportunity to analyze outsourcing decisions, issues related to franchised versus company-owned stores, and 

introduction of global brands, in the context of a highly competitive and rapidly changing industry. 



 

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Perry, M; Sohal, AS 
Effective quick response practices in a supply chain 

partnership - An Australian case study 

Presents a case study on quick response practices in a supply chain within the Australian textiles, clothing and footwear (TCF) 

industry, conducted as Part of a government-led Project aimed at improving the performance of the Australian TCF industry 
towards becoming more internationally competitive. Details of the Australian TCF Industry Quick Response Program are 

provided which comprised six major activities: assessing company commitment and readiness; formulation of supply chain 

clusters, roundtable meetings; workshops and seminars; implementation of quick response techniques and technologies; and 
audits to assess improvements. The supply chain consists of Myer / Grace Brothels (retailer), Diana Ferrari (shoe 

manufacturer), Burrowes (shoe components supplier), and Packer Tannery (leather supplier). The activities undertaken within 

this supply chain are discussed and some of the Ley lessons learned from this case study are investigated. 

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Muchie, M 
Leather processing in Ethiopia and Kenya: lessons 
from India 

This article discusses the successful value-added chain within India's leather industry, and then draws contrasts with the 

evolution of the leather products industries of Kenya and Ethiopia. Much of India's success derives from the ability of its 

stakeholders-from government to industry-to set their own policies and priorities regarding the development of the leather 
industry. The fact that India selectively liberalized the entry of a variety of industries into the global economy added to the 

improved performance of its leather products sub-sector. By contrast, both Ethiopia and Kenya followed different policies 

regarding liberalization, with differing results. Although the leather industry is important for both countries, moving up the 
value-added chain remains tenuous at best for Kenya and only slightly better for Ethiopia. This article recommends that both 

countries need to formulate and implement policies that will move the leather industry from raw and semi-processed production 

outward to the leather products and leather goods sub-sectors. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. 
 

 

 

 

 



 

 41 

6. Conclusions and Evaluation 

The leather industry must adapt to the changes around it in order 

to survive and compete against rivals. Globalization and 

developments in technology accordingly, s , especially with all 

the communication technology developments in the last fifty 

years Leather Industry, has already changed the CPM and gun 

hand in the future will be forced to make more changes seem . 

Especially under the increasing pressure of environmental 

adaptation, textile, leather, medicine etc. Monitoring the 

development of resource and pollution intensive industries such 

as. Because the only issue these industries have to deal with and 

reflect on their costs is not related to environmental protection. 

The decline of animal husbandry in the world, the danger of 

extinction of fertile pastures for animals, and the drastic change 

in attitude towards the leather sector from person to person, from 

group to group are other factors that put the sector in a difficult 

situation. Considering our developing technology and changing 

global dynamics, different strategies may come to the fore in 

order to overcome all these difficulties. For this purpose, 

strategies such as professional management approach, correct 

marketing strategies, creating sufficient fund resources at 

affordable costs and making maximum use of production 

technologies with effective and efficient investment of the fund 

obtained gain importance. However, it is extremely wrong to 

expect these strategies only from leather engineering. It is 

necessary to get support from experts and institutions regarding 

business administration and its sub-disciplines. However, when 

looking at the publications related to the sector, it is obvious that 

the number of scientific studies dealing with business science and 

leather sector is insufficient in academies. 

 

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https://doi.org/10.13106/JAFEB.2020.VOL7.NO10.651
https://doi.org/10.1108/IJRDM-05-2017-0106
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https://doi.org/10.21676/23897848.2615
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https://doi.org/10.1177/0887302X18784214
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