Merchandising/Marketing/Retailing: Management

“Must-Have” or “Nice-to-Have”? Enhancing Intentional Readiness to Retail Automation in SMEs Fashion Retailers from Employees’ Perspectives

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Abstract

Retail automation is increasingly significant for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), yet limited resources in their organizational learning, digital capability, and employees’ psychological states increase the risk of failure. Guided by organizational learning theory and psychological capital (PsyCap) theory, this study examines how organizational learning, digital capabilities, and psychological mechanisms drive employees’ intentional readiness toward retail automation and the extent to which these factors are necessary. Data were collected through an online survey and analyzed using PLS-SEM and NCA. PLS-SEM results indicate that organizational learning and digital capabilities positively influence all dimensions of PsyCap, and PsyCap generally predicts employees’ intentional readiness, except resilience. NCA results show that all factors, except hope and resilience, are “must-have” conditions for intentional readiness. This study extends both theories to the context of fashion retail automation and provides practical implications for SME retailers to enhance employees' intentional readiness through targeted capability and psychological development.

Keywords: intentional readiness, retail automation, psychological capital theory, PLS-SEM, NCA

How to Cite:

Sun, X. & Ha-Brookshire, J. E., (2025) ““Must-Have” or “Nice-to-Have”? Enhancing Intentional Readiness to Retail Automation in SMEs Fashion Retailers from Employees’ Perspectives”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 82(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.21486