Digital transformation in the fashion industry - Understanding collaborative technology adoption

Sammanfattning: Digital transformation is changing the world with new technology being employed and changing how different industries approach their operations. The pressure of transformation is felt by the fashion industry, where the design process is changing through the use of new technology, such as 3D CAD systems for developing garments. However, the transformation of the fashion industry is slow and requires technology adoption. Technology adoption brings with it challenges, such as issues with compatibility between new and old systems along with disturbances to existing work processes. Technology adoption is made even more complex as the design process is often carried out through teams, and adoption of new technology being carried out by teams rather than just by individuals working alone. As the understanding of how teams work together to adopt and implement new technology is limited, it is of interest to study how teams adopt new technology in order to understand how to shape adoption in the future and keep up with the societal changes bringing and brought by digital transformation. This study therefore aims to explore how small design teams within the fashion industry adopt technology into their design process. This is done through a case study featuring a Swedish fashion firm, currently on a digital transformation journey. The study follows design teams in an adoption project working towards implementing a 3D CAD system into their existing design process. Data in this qualitative case study has been collected through the use of semi-structured interviews, observations and the review of internal and external documentation. Collected data has then been coded and compiled into a code structure that visualizes different levels of detail of the findings. This study reveals that small design teams successfully adopt new systems into their work process by setting realistic implementation goals together, collaborating closely within and outside the teams, and learning from each other. Teams utilize a participatory ergonomics approach to set goals and perceive immediate and potential improvements, similar to established models for technology adoption research. Team dynamics facilitate technology adoption among design teams. The introduction of new technology leads to changes in team interactions, fostering a stronger team culture and promoting understanding of how adoption affects different roles' workloads. This understanding prompts team members to reevaluate task transfers, prioritize knowledge sharing, and engage in collaborative problem-solving. Together, these findings lead to the introduction of the concept of collaborative adoption, in order to incorporate the main identified aspects of team adoption into one framework.