The Tunisian textile industry: local responses to internationalisation.

Anderson, Alistair R.; El Harbi, Sana; Brahem, Meriam

Abstract

The continuing internationalisation of the textile industry has reduced the labour cost advantages of Tunisian clothing firms. These firms have a precarious position in the international value chain, often as subcontractors and only rarely contributing high value inputs. To remain viable in the hyper competition wrought by internationalisation, firms must cut costs further or adopt an entrepreneurial approach. We examined 103 small Tunisian textile firms to find how they have responded to international competitive pressures. Our conceptual framework is entrepreneurial orientation. Employing multiple correspondence analysis and typological analysis, we identify clusters of approaches. Our typology shows three distinctive types: innovators, potentially innovative, passive imitators and a further ambiguous group. Our results show that different small firms have responded in different ways to the threats and opportunities of globalisation. However, many Tunisian firms have improved their position in the international supply chain by innovation strategies, rather than simply focusing on cost reduction.

Citation

ANDERSON, A.R., EL HARBI, S.E. and BRAHEM, M. 2012. The Tunisian textile industry: local responses to internationalisation. European journal of international management [online], 6(5), pages 525-541. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1504/EJIM.2012.049640

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 31, 2012
• Online Publication Date: Oct 31, 2012
• Publication Date: Dec 31, 2012
• Deposit Date: Apr 16, 2013
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 16, 2013
• Journal: European journal of international management
• Print ISSN: 1751-6757
• Electronic ISSN: 1751-6765
• Publisher: Inderscience
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 6
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 525-541
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1504/EJIM.2012.049640
• Keywords: Internationalisation; Textiles; Entrepreneurial orientation; Innovation; Cluster analysis; Typology; Multiple component analysis; MCA; Tunisia; International value chains; SMEs; Small and medium sized enterprises; Textile industry; Clothing firms; Garment
• Public URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10059/811