Fashion as a contributing factor in corporate dominance and organizational identity

Abstract

Across literatures and studies, fashion has always been associated to art and aesthetics and its emergence in the corporate world as a psychological entity has had a little attention. Resolving this gap by attending to fashion's phenomenon is the very foundation of this qualitative study. This descriptive research sought to determine how fashion serves as a contributing factor in developing self-image in organizational context and corporate dominance. A total of seven respondents possessing very different profiles were interviewed as the study's sampling technique is maximum variation sampling. A survey questionnaire comprised of twelve open-ended questions was used to obtain the constructs of the respondents concerning the aspects of fashion, corporate dominance, self-image, and organizational identity. The results were analyzed using thematic matrices and conceptual clustering. The research data in a five-part discussion presented the collective accounts of the respondents and revealed that employees define fashion as self-expression and personal style while they view corporate dominance as superiority and competition. Fashion as a contributing factor in developing self-image under organizational context has been apparent. It was found out that employees of organizations with friendly culture have a higher regard to fashion as an attribute in self-image while employees of organizations with competitive culture have higher regard and prioritize professionalism as their main attribute. Fashion was described as a contributing factor by the capability of making someone looks smart and that being comfortable with what the employee wear brings out the best in them. It was also found out that for the three processes in developing identity, professionals generally categorize themselves as minimalist, identify themselves as happy, and compare themselves as more comfortable to that of other employees. Results show that attraction through fashion matters in corporate dominance as professionals in general feel more at ease to people who have the same fashion sense as them and feel competitive to those who dress better. The results of the study imply that fashion is indeed a contributing factor in developing self-image in organizational context and corporate dominance. While it can be a major factor in developing an identity, many other attributes like professionalism and attitude are also considered. Nevertheless, its role was explained in a macro perspective that opens an introduction for other researches and prototypes concentrating to specific organizations through case studies.