Elena Karpova

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1612-5989

Elena Karpova, Ph.D., is Putman & Hayes Distinguished Professor in the Department of Consumer, Apparel, and Retail Studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Dr. Karpova's research focuses on sustainable apparel consumption across cultures and markets. Her current projects include exploring temporary clothing swapping and developing a holistic and practical typology of sustainable apparel consumers. She is a co-author of two books. Going Global: The Textile and Apparel Industry examines apparel and related products manufacturing, trade, and consumption around the world. The Dangers of Fashion: Toward Ethical and Sustainable Solutions explores the impact of the fashion industry on people and planet across the entire lifecycle--from design through disposal.

There are 54 included publications by Elena Karpova :

TitleDateViewsBrief Description
Assessing Curriculum Designed to Foster Students’ Entrepreneurial Knowledge and Small Business Skills from a Global Perspective* 2015 798 The purpose of this paper is to report on outcomes of a 3-year collaborative project that addresses the need for future professionals with entrepreneurial knowledge and small business skills. The multiphase project involved partnerships developed bet...
Being a Minority: Experiences of Male Students Enrolled in an Apparel Program 2015 213 The purpose of this research was to understand male college students’ experiences in a traditionally female academic major, such as apparel. Based on the analyses and interpretation of interviews with 22 male students from an apparel program, two top...
Clarifying the merchandising function: analysis of merchandising roles and responsibilities in the South African apparel retail industry 2020 885 The purpose of this study was to examine merchandising roles and responsibilities from the perspective of professionals employed in the South African apparel retail industry. Data were collected through semi-structured, individual in-depth interviews...
Collaborative Development of Textile and Apparel Curriculum Designed to Foster Students’ Global Competence 2011 613 Textile and apparel industry professionals must be capable of dealing with cultural differences and diverse perspectives on a multinational scale. To address the challenges involved in educating students for the global industry workforce, a 3-year co...
Comparative Advantage of the United States and South Korean Manmade Textile Industries 2016 1439 This study examined the comparative advantage of manmade textile (MMT) industries in the United States (US) and South Korea (SK). The Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) framework was used to assess the MMT industries’ performance in both countries ...
Comparative advantages of the Indian and Chinese apparel industries: An analysis of the global value chain 2011 1389 The research investigated comparative advantages of the Indian and Chinese apparel industries by evaluating each industry's performance. The investigation employed the global value chain framework. A wide range of secondary data were used from the In...
The competitive position of the Thailand’s apparel industry: Challenges and opportunities for globalization 2010 1065 Recent liberalization of the world's textile and apparel trade policies and the consequent changes in trade patterns posited threats to smaller textile- and apparel-exporting nations, including Thailand. Thus it is important to understand how the new...
Consumer Attitudes Toward Fashion Counterfeits: Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior 2009 1708 This study examines consumer motivations that can explain attitudes toward purchasing fashioncounterfeit goods and tests the underlying mechanism of intent to purchase fashion counterfeitsbased on the theory of planned behavior. A random sample of fe...
Creative thinking and problem solving in the textiles and clothing discipline 2015 307 Research connecting creative thinking and problem solving in the textiles and clothing discipline is explored in this focused issue of the Clothing and Textiles Research Journal (CTRJ). The impetus for this issue derived from a perceived lack of rese...
Creativity of images: using digital consensual assessment to evaluate mood boards 2017 868 Mood boards are used frequently in design and product development as well as in academic courses related to fashion design. However objectively evaluating the creativity of fashion design mood boards is often difficult. Therefore, the purpose of this...
Determinants of Apparel Exports in Developed Economies: Application of the Gravity Model and Economic Geography Theory 2014 238 The purpose of this study was to examine factors that can explain apparel export in economically developed countries. Theoretical framework is based on the gravity model and economic geography theory. Three factors were investigated in relation to ap...
Developing a holistic sensory evaluation three-part method for textiles and apparel: a practical application for novel materials and products 2023 45 Purpose This study aims to propose and demonstrate a practical application of a new three-part holistic sensory evaluation (HSE) method for textiles and apparel based on the senses of sight, touch, hearing and smell. HSE method development was carefu...
Development of Apparel Product Evaluation (APE) framework: a systematic classification of evaluative criteria 2021 627 Based on a systematic analysis of extant research on apparel evaluative criteria and following thelogical partitioning approach of developing classification schemes (Hunt, 2010, Marketing theory: Foundations, controversy, strategy, and resource-advan...
“Don’t buy this jacket” Consumer reaction toward anti-consumption apparel advertisement 2016 6451 PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of anti-consumption advertisement on consumers’ attitudes and purchase intentions (PIs) of an apparel product.Design/methodology/approachAn experiment was conducted with a sample of college s...
The effects of information on young consumers’ attitudes and purchase intentions of fashion products made of fur, leather, and wool 2019 192 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 w...
Efficacy of teaching creative thinking skills: A comparison of multiple creativity assessments 2017 2093 The purpose of this study was tri-fold: (1) to evaluate the efficacy of a creative thinking course using three different assessments; (2) to analyze changes in creativity as a result of the training for individual participants; and (3) to investigate...
The efficacy of teaching creativity: Assessment of student creative thinking before and after exercises 2011 2011 As the global environment becomes increasingly more turbulent and competitive, creativity becomes the focus when preparing current students and future citizens to deal with uncertainty and to adapt to continuous change both personally and professiona...
Employment in the US textile and apparel industries: A comparative analysis of regional vs national trends 2006 258 Purpose: To examine the impact of changes in the US textile and apparel industries on employment patterns at the state level compared with the nation as a whole during the period of 1997-2003. Design/methodology/approach: Secondary data sources were ...
Encore consumption: Investigating trends in the apparel expenditures of older consumers in the United States 2019 464 Employment among workers aged 65+ has increased considerably since the 1990s, and by 2020, older individuals will account for approximately 25% of U.S. workers (Hayutin et al., 2013). Despite controlling large amounts of disposable income, a mere 10–...
An Ethnographic Study of Collaborative Fashion Consumption: The Case of Temporary Clothing Swapping 2022 71 This is the first research that has examined temporary swapping, a form of collaborative fashionconsumption, that involves clothing exchange between two people that does not require thetransfer of product ownership or monetary compensation. In this e...
Examination of Two Decades in Used Clothing Trade: The Case of the United States and Selected Developed Economies 2016 705 This research examined two decades of the U.S. used clothing exports to the world. All countries (209) were classified into four groups based on the level of economic development. Between 1996 and 2012, U.S. used clothing exports shifted away from lo...
Executive decision-making in fashion retail: a phenomenological exploration of resources and strategies 2021 2100 PurposeDecision-makers must be well-informed to successfully impact the future of the business. The purpose of this study was to explore experiences of US fashion retail executives when making business decisions to understand what resources and strat...
Exploration of Knowledge and Competitiveness in the Fashion Industry Agglomeration 2017 326 The purpose of this study was to explore how knowledge in a successful fashion industry isdeveloped and used, and how this knowledge affects industry competitiveness. Based on a case study method, thematic themes explaining the relationship between k...
An exploration of success factors from the perspective of global apparel entrepreneurs and small business owners: implications for apparel programmes in higher education 2016 732 Given the high number of small-sized apparel-related businesses operating within the globaleconomy, it is likely that graduates of apparel programmes in higher education will go on towork for a small business or to partner with such firms in the glob...
Factors influencing international fashion retailers' entry mode choice 2011 1534 Purpose- The purpose of this paper is to provide a theory-based framework that informs a fashion retailer's entry mode choice into a foreign market.Design/methodology/approach- Aspects of transaction cost, bargaining, resource based, and internationa...
Fashion industry professionals’ viewpoints on creative traits and, strategies for creativity development 2013 963 Through in-depth interviews, the study explored fashion industry professionals’ viewpoints, on creativity, focusing on traits of creative people and how creativity can be developed. Four creative, traits were identified, including different thought p...
The Fashion System’s Environmental Impact: Theorizing the Market’s Institutional Actors, Actions, Logics, and Norms 2022 91 Drawing on institutional theory, we examined New York Times readers’ views on fashion’s environmental impact by analyzing and interpreting comments posted in response to a sustainability and fashion-focused opinion article. Based on our interpretatio...
Getting Ready for the Real World: Student Perspectives on Bringing Industry Collaboration into the Classroom 2014 176 Learning through industry collaborations is critical in decreasing the gap between the real world and the academic environment. Working on challenges drawn from industry can increase students' knowledge and future employability, thus enhancing labor ...
Global and Entrepreneurial Perspectives for Enhancing Retailing Education: Development of a Hybrid Graduate Course Focused on U.S. and Indian Small Businesses 2018 611 This paper provides an approach, based on global and entrepreneurial perspectives, to enhance retailing education. The approach was operationalized through a hybrid graduate course, ??-taught by U.S. and Indian faculty members, which focused on engag...
“Green” attributes and customer satisfaction: Optimization of resource allocation and performance 2013 305 Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to address issues of performance optimization throughaccounting for asymmetric responses of customer satisfaction to different types of product or service attributes: core, facilitating and “green” (eco-friendly...
An investigation of Chinese textile firms’ R&D performance 2012 646 The purpose of this study was to enhance the understanding of Chinese textile manufacturers' research and development (R&D) performance. Specifically, the study empirically examined (a) current trends of R&D activities in the Chinese textile industry...
An Investigation of Women’s Early Career Experiences in the Textile and Apparel Industries 2010 682 The experiences of female graduates of textile and apparel programs in the early stages of their industry careers were examined using two methods: (1) a questionnaire completed by textile and apparel companies, and (2) interviews with women employed ...
Learn to use and use to learn: Technology in virtual collaboration experience 2009 999 This study examined how global learning teams utilized technology in a virtual collaboration to solve complex problems. The study offers an in-depth explanation of why and how the learning teams used technology to support computer-mediated communicat...
Majoring in fashion: a theoretical framework for understanding the decision-making process 2010 623 Choosing a college major can be a complex decision and one that has the potential to determine an individual's professional future. The purpose of this study was to develop a theoretical framework for mapping the decision-making process. Grounded in ...
Making a major decision: an exploration of why students enroll in fashion programmes 2009 611 Much like deciding where to go to college, for many students, deciding what to major in is a complex, multi-dimensional process wherein several different variables may influence the final decision. Understanding the motivations behind the decision to...
Making sense of the market: An exploration of apparel consumption practices of the Russian consumer 2007 209 Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine and interpret post-socialist consumer experiences in relation to clothing consumption practices when consumers shop, acquire, and wear clothing and other fashion-related products. Design/methodology/ap...
Matching Sourcing Destination with Fashion Brands’ Business Model: Comparative Advantages of Bangladesh and Vietnam Apparel Industries 2016 721 This study investigated the comparative advantages of the Bangladeshi andVietnamese apparel industries using Global Value Chain (GVC) framework. In thisstudy, the GVC framework was expanded to include social and environmentalsustainability issues. Se...
A Mixed Methods Exploration of Economic Factors Role in Fashion Specialty Retailers' International Expansion and Performance 2022 21 As globalization swells and businesses find success through expansion into new markets, there continue to be complexities to the factors that motivate retail international expansion. This study considers the modern relevance of economic factors in in...
Modeling Entrepreneurial Career Intentions among Undergraduates: An Examination of the Moderating Role of Entrepreneurial Knowledge and Skills 2013 944 The purpose of this study was to empirically develop a comprehensive model of undergraduate students' entrepreneurial career intention that combines both cognitive and behavioral decision-making processes. Data were collected via a questionnaire comp...
Moral Education for Sustainable Development: Exploring Morally Challenging Business Situations within the Global Supply Chain Context 2017 246 This study presents the need for moral development education of current and future professionals so they can help build sustainable companies and global supply chains. Grounded in Ha-Brookshire’s moral responsibility theory of corporate sustainabilit...
“Must-have” skills and knowledge for apparel merchandising professionals in South Africa 2022 38 Employing competent merchandisers has become a global challenge for apparel companies. This study aimed to prioritize merchandising skills and knowledge required to function in merchandising positions. Adaptive conjoint analysis was employed to prior...
Predicting environmentally responsible apparel consumption behavior of future apparel industry professionals: The role of environmental apparel knowledge, environmentalism and materialism 2016 238 The present study explored several critical constructs related to environmentally responsible apparel consumption, which include environmentalism, materialism and knowledge of environmental issues pertaining to apparel products. The research focused ...
Preparing Students for Careers in the Global Apparel Industry: Experiential Learning in a Virtual Multinational Team-Based Collaborative Project 2012 226 The study investigated the learning experiences and outcomes of students participating in a virtual team-based multinational collaboration project. The participants in the project were 172 undergraduate students enrolled in three apparel programs loc...
Putting the puzzle together: apparel professionals' perspectives on creativity 2011 639 The purpose of this study was to understand the role of creativity within the apparel industry by exploring experiences and perspectives of industry professionals. This research investigated: (1) how the industry insiders understood creativity and (2...
Relationships Between Creativity and its Antecedents Before and After Training: The Role of Risk-Taking and Past Creative Experience 2017 638 This research examined the effects of past creative experience and attitude toward risk-taking on creativity before and after training. College students enrolled in a creativity course participated in the study. Creativity was assessed by independent...
Revisiting the competitiveness theory in the new global environment: review and analysis of the competitiveness definition 2018 1944 The purpose of this research is to conceptualise the definition of competitiveness, based on extant theoretical and empirical research, thereby advancing the process of competitiveness theory building. To address the research purpose, the study analy...
Skills and knowledge for merchandising professionals: The case of the South African apparel retail industry 2020 821 This study explored skills and knowledge required for merchandising professionals to fulfill their roles and perform their responsibilities in the South African apparel retail industry. The apparel merchandising competency (AMC) framework was used as...
Student learning about social responsibility in the global textile and apparel industry: the use of video as an instructional tool 2021 66 The purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of a documentary video in enhancing student understanding of social responsibility (SR) concept in the context of the textile and apparel industry. A total of 61 college students majoring in ...
A tale of two industries: An interpretive analysis of media reports on textiles and apparel in North Carolina 2008 82 This qualitative study explores recent textile and apparel industry dynamics from the point of view of the news media to understand how such dynamics are presented to the general public. North Carolina, having been home to many jobs in these industri...
The US and Japanese apparel demand conditions: implications for industry competitiveness 2011 742 Purpose- The purpose of this paper is to investigate aggregated apparel demand in the USA and Japan and to assess the positions of apparel products manufactured in the USA and Japan in comparison to imported apparel.Design/methodology/approach- Based...
What do merchandisers need to succeed?: development of an apparel merchandising competency framework 2019 1326 Based on the analysis of extant research, this study identified the knowledge and skills that merchandising professionals need to succeed in the retail industry. These knowledge and skills were systematically analysed and categorised into in several ...
Women and apparel entrepreneurship: An Exploration of Small Business Challenges and Strategies in Three Countries 2015 331 Purpose – The purpose of this study was to explore strategies used by successful female entrepreneurs to manage the challenges of running a small apparel business. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative research design was used. Primary and seco...
Women and higher education in Russia: Preparation for careers in the apparel industry 2008 120 This qualitative study explored the motivations, goals, and experiences of 25 female apparel majors enrolled at two large Russian universities. Data were collected via in-depth interviews and a demographic questionnaire, and interpreted thematically ...
Young Men’s Choice of Fashion as a Career Path: “Seekers” and “Settlers” 2018 193 This study explored men’s choice of fashion as a college major and, subsequently, anon-traditional career path. Such investigation is important to gain a betterunderstanding of the motives and processes of selecting a non-traditional college majorand...