CHAPTER 5 DATA ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION
5.3 QUANTITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS
5.3.2 Effects of Globalization
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the use of stable currencies such as the USD dollar, South African rand and Botswana pula among other currencies. Given the significant differences in the operating environments (hyperinflationary decade vs multicurrency period), it naturally follows that these companies were able to adjust their marketing strategies to suit the changing operating landscape, albeit the challenging economic landscape. Therefore, this study benefits from tapping into the knowledge on specific marketing strategies which were employed by the companies which continued to survive in the face of globalization.
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Table 5.3: Benefits of Increasing Interconnectedness of Markets
Benefit Strongly
Agree
Agree Uncertain Disagree Strongly Disagree Has assisted increased participation
in international markets
29.1% 32.3% 10.2% 15.0% 13.4%
Helps in the transfer of technology 33.9% 37.8% 7.1% 11.0% 10.2%
Helps in creating employment 6.3% 10.2% 8.7% 33.1% 41.7%
Has resulted in the improvement of living standards of people
13.4% 16.5% 7.9% 33.1% 29.1%
Has resulted in access to foreign markets
33.1% 27.6% 16.5% 14.2% 8.7%
Has resulted in increased foreign direct investment (FDI).
11.8% 7.9% 18.1% 28.3% 33.9%
Has helped to improve product quality
19.7% 18.9% 19.7% 20.5% 21.3%
Source: Primary Data
The majority (61.4%) of the respondents agreed that globalization assisted increased participation in international markets, while 28.4% of the respondents were in disagreement. In the same vein, 60.7% of the respondents also indicated that globalization has the positive effect of facilitating access to foreign markets. Therefore, results show that one of the major benefits of globalization is the ability of companies in the clothing and textile sector to explore market development initiatives that can improve their revenue streams. It follows that although globalization of the markets could ordinarily be associated with constrained growth of the local clothing and textile sector, it presents an opportunity for companies to shift focus to the export market. In light of this observation, clothing and textile companies are expected to rethink their marketing strategies accordingly.
Regarding whether globalization of the clothing and textile markets resulted in the transfer of technology from the developed and highly industrialized nations to the developing and less industrialized countries, the general feeling among the study participants was that the interconnectedness of the markets indeed improved the use of advanced technologies by developing countries. This was supported by the vast
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majority (71.7%) of the respondents with 33.9% strongly agreeing and 37.8% agreeing. The results also show that 7.1% of the respondents were uncertain while 21.2% of the respondents were in disagreement.
With regards to the creation of employment as a benefit of the increasing interconnectedness of the clothing and textile markets, 33.1% of the respondents disagreed, but 41.7% strongly disagreed. This translated to a cumulative majority (74.8%) of the respondents being in disagreement. This can most probably be explained by the fact that the nature of involvement of foreign companies in the clothing and textile sector in Zimbabwe has been restricted to exporting rather than the establishment of clothing and textile production factories that would create sustainable employment. This was confirmed by the finding that as high as 62.2% of the respondents who disagreed with the statement that “globalization resulted in increased FDI in the clothing and textile sectors in Zimbabwe.” This development can be explained by the relatively harsh operating environment that prevails in Zimbabwe.
However, the importation of the cheap clothing and textile products into the country provided some level of employment for those who are involved in the trading of the products. This was supported by a cumulative 18.9% of the respondents. In line with the understanding that the level of employment in a country is a source of livelihood for the general population is closely related to the living standards of the people, the results show that a cumulative 62.2% of the respondents felt that the globalization of the clothing and textile markets did not improve the living standards of Zimbabweans. This can be related to the rampant closure of the clothing and textile sectors as evidenced by statistics provided in the introductory section of this study.
The results also show mixed views on whether the increasing interconnectedness of the clothing and textile sector resulted in the improvement of product quality. Only 38.6% of the respondents were in agreement, while 41.8% were in disagreement. The respondents who were in disagreement could probably have been motivated by the widely held view that globalization of the clothing markets is normally associated with dumping of cheap and substandard products calculated to suffocate the productive sectors of the target countries and eventually make the host country a market of the products.
5.3.2.2 Challenges of Globalization
The respondents were provided with brief statements that described some of the challenges of globalization and they were requested to show their extent of agreement or disagreement with each statement on a Likert scale that ranged from strongly agree (=5) to strongly disagree (=1). The analysis of the data was done by expressing the frequency count of each rating as a percentage of the total number of respondents. The aim was to enable the grouping of participants into those in agreement and those in
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disagreement, so that the relative position of the participants could be established. The results of this exercise were as shown in Table 5.4 below. .
Table 5.4: Challenges of Globalization
Challenge Strongly
Agree
Agree Uncertain Disagree Strongly Disagree Causes prices of local products to
increase
5.5% 13.4% 7.1% 46.5% 27.6%
Reduces employees ‘disposal incomes
30.7% 34.6% 8.7% 14.2% 11.8%
Results in unfair competition 47.2% 36.2% 8.7% 5.5% 2.4%
Forces the closure of local companies
35.4% 37.8% 7.1% 12.6% 7.1%
Only benefits developed economies 33.1% 27.6% 16.5% 14.2% 8.7%
Results in the influx of cheap commodities
40.2% 26.8% 6.3% 11.8% 15.0%
There are no visible benefits to local companies
15.0% 20.5% 25.2% 22.0% 17.3%
Source: Primary Data
The results in Table 5.5 above show that the majority (74.1%) of the respondents were in disagreement that globalization causes prices of local products to increase, while only 18.9% agreed. This can be explained by the fact that globalization in the clothing and textile sector is normally associated with dumping of poor quality and second hand clothes from the emerging markets and developed countries.
As a result, downward pressure on prices is created. The results also show that there was a general agreement that globalization reduces employees’ disposal income following support from 65.3% of the respondents. The result testifies the widespread closure of companies or the scaling down on operations accompanied with massive cost containment measures.
It was also ascertained that the vast majority (83.4%) of the respondents agreed that globalization of the markets resulted in unfair competition for the local clothing and textile companies.
Furthermore, a cumulative 73.2% of the participants either strongly agreed (35.4%) or agreed (37.8%) that globalization forced the closure of local companies in the clothing and textile sector. This was
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closely linked to the challenge that globalization only benefits the developed countries particularly when viewed in the context of variations in the levels of technology and other cost structures The general explanation was that the clothing and textile sector faced challenges which invariably resulted in the closure of companies especially on account of stiff competition from cheap imports that continued to flood the markets in the developing countries and in the process making locally manufactured clothing and textile products uncompetitive. The results pertaining to the statement that ‘globalization has no visible benefits to local companies’ appeared mixed considering that 35.5% of the respondents were in agreement while 39.3% were in disagreement.