Team Characteristics and Effectiveness in Apparel Product Development

The purpose of this study is to explore team characteristics that enhance APD team members’ job satisfaction and team members’ judgment of team effectiveness. U.S. apparel companies that each earned over $50 million in annual sales were selected from the National Register of Apparel Manufacturers. APD team members (n = 131) representing 34 teams participated in the mail survey. Results identified the major APD team characteristics. Self-management, participation, training, and managerial support are directly related to potency and indirectly related to team member’s judgment of effectiveness. As the literature lacks an investigation of the APD teams, this study is the first test of the mediating effect of potency in order to explore the relationship among APD team characteristics. The increased knowledge and enhanced support on apparel product development (APD) teams offer companies a competitive advantage in the APD process as they face consumer demands and overcome challenges.