Textile and Apparel Industries

Understanding Perceptions behind Becoming a Fashion Entrepreneur among Fashion Design and Merchandising Undergraduate Students

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Abstract

Entrepreneurship is defined as the discovery and assessment of opportunities, followed by the creation of a new organization (Reynolds, 2005). Entrepreneurship in the U.S. continued to show healthy activity levels, which led to a highly positive current and prospective impact on the U.S. Economy. Regarding the major industry sectors, 43% of all entrepreneurship was established in the consumer-oriented business sector (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, 2014). However, there are a limited number of studies that examined fashion entrepreneurship; hence, the need for the investigation. The purpose of this study is to investigate the college students’ perceptions of fashion entrepreneurship in terms of perceived opportunities, perceived barriers/threats, and the intentions of entering fashion entrepreneurship. Focus group, as a qualitative research method, as adopted in this study. The findings of this study identified important themes related to entering fashion entrepreneurship.

How to Cite:

Yang, J. & Yoo, J., (2016) “Understanding Perceptions behind Becoming a Fashion Entrepreneur among Fashion Design and Merchandising Undergraduate Students”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 73(1).