The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to examine the fabric materials purchasing process of apparel manufacturing firms and (b) to determine the relationship between selected organizational factors of apparel manufacturing firms, firms’ usage of computer technology in the fabric materials purchasing process, and firms’ purchasing performance. The type of purchasing situation (i.e, new buy, modified rebuy, straight rebuy) among apparel manufacturers, was determined and was hypothesized to be related to usage of computer technology in fabric materials purchasing process. The selected organizational factors: product characteristics, centralized purchasing, and vertical coordination were hypothesized to be related to usage of computer technology in fabric materials purchasing process. Usage of computer technology was hypothesized to affect firms’ purchasing performance. The conceptual framework for this study was based on the Robinson, Faris and Wind (1967) buygrid framework; Rogers adoption theory (1983); and the Noordewier, John, and Nevin (1990) empirical work. A factor approach was used to examine a cross-section of firms to determine significant characteristics influencing computer technology usage.

The sample consisted of 118 apparel manufacturers. The “Top 100 Sewn Products Companies ‘95” published in the Apparel Industry Magazine, and Dun’s Business Rankings 1995 constituted the source for the sample. The questionnaires were pilot tested with purchasing managers of two large-size apparel manufacturing firms, and also with a group of secretaries at Virginia Tech. Regression, Analysis of Variance, and Correlation were used to test the statistical significance of hypothesized relationships.

The relationship between type of purchasing situation and usage of computer technology was significant. Both straight rebuy and new buy situations were related to usage of computer technology. Demand uncertainty, as a measure of product characteristic, was significantly related to usage of computer technology. The relationship between usage of computer technology and purchasing performance was significant for possession cost and invoice cost as measures of purchasing performance.