INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES AS A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE TOOL AFTER TERMINATION OF AGREEMENT ON TEXTILES AND CLOTHING: A STUDY OF TURKISH TEXTILES AND CLOTHING INDUSTRY

World textiles and clothing (T&C) industry had faced a serious turning point by the end of the 2004, when the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing ended and the quotas were fully eliminated between the members of World Trade Organization. The quota elimination was in favour of countries that take advantage of low costs in textile manufacturing, but it was to the disadvantage of those that produce high quality products with high prices. This paper was conducted to determine the status Turkey, its T&C industry and factors of gaining competitive advantage - especially information and communication technology factor - in the non-quota era. For this purpose the expectations and actual changes in the business volumes of the companies were questioned, and the factors of gaining competitive advantage were discussed. In addition, the information and communication technology (ICT) tools of new economy were investigated in both utilization level and competitive advantage expectation.

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