Despite their cultural and economic importance, creative micro-enterprises have received very little attention from academia research, especially with respect to vertical co-operation—customers and suppliers—and innovation. This study aims to fill the literature gap by studying how vertical co-operation improves the performance of micro-enterprises in textile crafts through innovation. A questionnaire was used to collect data from creative micro-enterprises in the textile craft sector operating in the Matiari District of Pakistan. To test the construct validity of the research, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were conducted, and to examine the hypotheses, the bootstrap re-sampling method was used with the SPSS PROCESS macro developed by Hayes. The findings of this study indicate that vertical co-operation positively and significantly affects the innovation and performance of creative micro-enterprises in textile crafts. In addition, we find that innovation plays a significant mediating role between vertical co-operation and performance. Furthermore, contrary to some studies, we empirically provide evidence regarding innovation in craft in terms of product development (design, size, shape, color, etc.), improvement in quality, and replacement/modification of tools.

This study analyzes the influence of apparel/clothing brand social media marketing activities (SMMAs) on brand equity and customer response in Pakistan. First, the current SMMAs are examined; then, we propose new attributes, i.e., fundamental social media marketing activities (FSMMAs) and sophisticated social media marketing activities (SSMMAs) such as interactions, sharing, and trendiness. Second, the influence of innovative components, i.e., FSMMAs and SSMMAs, are analyzed regarding brand equity and customer response toward apparel brands. A survey was conducted with a total of 406 Pakistani customers who used apparel brands, and the collected data were analyzed through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and Hayes PROCESS macro in SPSS. From the empirical results, we concluded that apparel brand equity (i.e., brand awareness, brand image) significantly mediates the relationship between FSMMAs and customer response (price premium willingness, customer loyalty). Moreover, it is also determined that SSMMAs moderate the indirect association of FSMMAs and customer response via brand equity.

The development of social media has changed traditional media by providing a platform to conduct marketing and advertising activities. Nowadays, social media offers the opportunity to build a relationship between customers and brands. The strategic use of social media marketing has significant importance for customers as well as for marketers. In this paper, the influence of social media marketing activities (SMMAs) is assessed on apparel brands’ perceived value and Chinese customers’ satisfaction. The data was collected through a quantitative survey-based approach from Chinese social media and apparel brands’ users (n = 355). The collected data from respondents were analysed through the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and Hayes PROCESS macro. Based on our findings, it is noted that SMMAs play an essential role in improving the brand perceived value and customers’ satisfaction in China. Moreover, it is also concluded that the apparel brand’s perceived value significantly mediates the relationship between SMMAs and customers’ satisfaction. This study provides several theoretical and practical guidelines to the marketers in China to effectively implement their advertising activities on social media platforms.