Adoption of Information and Communication Technologies in Textile Virtual Collaboration

Abstract

Modern organizations face more and more challenges in today's globalizing markets. Many textile firms operate collaboratively as a globally-networked virtual team to sustain their competitiveness. How to select and utilize a diversity of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to facilitate collaboration among these textile virtual teams is a critical issue to these enterprises. This paper explores the criteria of ICT adoption in collaboration processes from both theoretical and practical perspectives. First, ICTs theories of telecommunications are reviewed to conclude background knowledge and examine contextual requirements for ICTs. We find that the conveyance of social cues, the ability of fostering member involvement and coordinating interruptions, and the user-friendly interface of communication technology are crucial to the remote collaboration among textile firms. Second, empirical in-depth interviews with 20 practitioners in textile and apparel companies are conducted. Then, combining the findings, we discuss the features of primary ICTs adopted in practice at present. We recommend six essential facets in ICTs adoption during textile virtual team communication (i.e. synchronicity, medium richness, connectedness, disruptiveness, ease of use, and cost). We also suggest how these ICTs can be deployed in line with organizational and individual factors to facilitate textile virtual collaboration.