Textile and Apparel Industries

Crafting Digital Change Messages: Enablers for Multilevel Fashion Digital Readiness

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Abstract

The fashion industry is undertaking transformative changes driven by various digital technologies. However, these changes present challenges from employee resistance to slow organizational response to digital transformation, leading to a high rate of failure in digital transformations. This study aims to systematically understand digital readiness in the realm of the fashion industry, endeavoring to uncover the crucial enablers from a practical business perspective. Guided by the multilevel theory of change readiness, it conceptualizes fashion digital readiness as an organization’s, personnel's, and technology’s preparedness for digital transformation across emotional, cognitive, and intentional dimensions. Employing a systematic literature review methodology based on PRISMA guidelines, 64 relevant articles were analyzed, identifying 22 enablers. Findings underscore the importance of coordinated efforts among organizations, employees, and technology in facilitating digital transformation. The study provides theoretical insights and practical strategies for advancing digital readiness within the fashion industry and offers directions for future research.

Keywords: multilevel digital readiness, change enablers, change messages, fashion industry

How to Cite:

Sun, X. & Ha-Brookshire, J. E., (2025) “Crafting Digital Change Messages: Enablers for Multilevel Fashion Digital Readiness”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 81(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.18634