Sustainable Fashion Entrepreneurship and Firm Performance in Ghana: The Mediating Roles of Organizational Learning and Social Media Capabilities.

Abstract

Sustainable entrepreneurship has emerged as a business model that combines opportunity- seeking behaviour with sustainability strategies to achieve the Triple Bottom Line agenda in the circular economy. Based on the gaps in the literature, this study sought to explore the nature of sustainable entrepreneurship and its effects in the Ghanaian fashion industry. The specific objectives anchoring this study were to explore the nature and dimensions of sustainable fashion entrepreneurship in Ghana, to test the mediating role of social media capabilities on the relationship between firm sustainable fashion entrepreneurs and firm performance in Ghana and to test the mediating role of organisational learning capability on the relationship between sustainable entrepreneurship and firm performance amongst fashion entrepreneurs in Ghana. To achieve these objectives, a pragmatic research philosophy was embraced leading to the choice of a mixed methods approach. Qualitative data was collected through face-to-face interviews with thirty (30) fashion entrepreneurs selected from Accra and Kumasi, whilst a survey was conducted among six hundred (600) fashion entrepreneurs also from the two cities mentioned in a sequential data collection process to facilitate the refinement of scale items. The purposive sampling technique was used in selecting respondents. Qualitative data was analysed using Thematic Analysis, whilst the quantitative data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and Amos software, where the hypothesised relationships were examined using the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) approach with the Maximum likelihood estimation technique and the bootstrapping mediation technique. The findings of this study revealed that sustainable fashion entrepreneurship in Ghana is represented mainly by the waste reduction dimension and energy conservation. Design practice and upcycling were not found to reflect the practice of sustainable fashion entrepreneurship in the Ghanaian context. Further, it was found that both social media and organisational learning capabilities have positive effects on firm performance. The mediation analysis also revealed that organisational learning and social media partially mediated the relationship between sustainable fashion entrepreneurship and firm performance. The outcomes of this investigation necessitate the recommendation that fashion entrepreneurs in Ghana imbibe the sustainable practice of waste reduction and energy conservation through prudent use of fabric and materials, whilst also ensuring that conscious efforts are put in place to conserve energy, in this case, electricity consumption. The study further recommends that fashion entrepreneurs in Ghana’s creative arts sector adopt social media as a firm resource, and develop capabilities to maximise its use for customer acquisition, competitor monitoring and also customer relationship management. Further, the study recommends the development of organisational learning capabilities to ensure continuous improvement and competitor benchmarking for the development of new ideas and business practices to achieve optimum firm performance. Finally, it is recommended that policy makers in Ghana’s creative arts sector develop policies to support sustainable fashion enterprises such as the provision of solar energy panels and other support such as training on sustainability practices to ensure the industry contributes towards the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).