Management of sustainable fashion retail based on reuse– A struggle with multiple logics

Abstract

In scholarly conversations, reuse is one of the common suggested strategies to render fashion retail sustainable. Previous research has stressed the complexity of fashion reuse and the importance of a well-organized system. The complexity stems from processes that involve many actors as well as products hard to evaluate. Consequently, it is challenging to organize reuse-based fashion retail, and studies are needed to further develop knowledge regarding how to manage such systems. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to highlight the complexity in the management of such an initiative, by identifying and explaining obstacles as well as implications. With institutional logics as a framework, three local logics (shopping mall, reuse, and work integration) are used to analyze the management of a reuse-based mall. Despite the mall’s success in getting sufficient donations and creating publicity, it has struggled to establish itself as viable reuse-based fashion retail. The findings illustrate the complexity created by the interplay of different logics and how the complexity influences both the daily and strategic management of the mall. Further, the outcome of this interplay depends largely on which rationality is enacted by involved actors. The study also extends literature on institutional logics, showing that differences in individual actors’ attention, knowledge, skills, coordination, and material conditions influence how logics are enacted and managed. We suggest that there are inherent managerial contradictions in the sustainable practices in fashion retail. Thus, in scholarly conversations, it is important to discuss what different divergent sustainability dimensions imply when seeking solutions for sustainable retail. In practice, there is a need to acknowledge and balance the presence of multiple logics, making it crucial to have competence in all logics. Also, managers of reuse-based fashion retail must consciously and continuously scrutinize their own strategies and actions to avoid an imbalance between the logics.

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