Abstract
This research presents the Social Moral Responsibility (SMR) framework, a novel theoretical approach that positions human-centered design as an ethical imperative bridging corporate culture, stakeholder engagement, and product innovation. The framework addresses systemic market exclusion through dual empirical validation: a qualitative study examining consumer experiences with adaptive apparel and an organizational case study analyzing company structure and adaptive apparel implementation processes. The consumer study collected interviews from people with disabilities navigating apparel challenges, revealing critical gaps between user needs and current market offerings. The case study examined an adaptive apparel company implementing SMR principles, including employee perspectives, organizational processes, and outcome assessments. Findings demonstrate how corporate culture significantly impacts companies’ ability to navigate the novel adaptive apparel category, with organizational values either enabling or constraining authentic stakeholder engagement. Results show that when companies with ethics-centered cultures authentically engage marginalized users throughout design processes, they address both functional accessibility and identity expression needs while creating sustainable business value. The convergent evidence reveals specific cultural and operational mechanisms that successfully translate ethical commitments into human-centered practices, identifying how organizational culture shapes implementation barriers and enablers. This research provides evidence-based strategies for organizations seeking to operationalize human-centered design across sectors, demonstrating how corporate culture transformation is essential for addressing complex social issues through collaborative stakeholder engagement in interconnected global markets.
Presenters
Kerri Mc Bee BlackAssistant Professor, Textile and Apparel Management, University of Missouri, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Social Moral Responsibility, Human-Centered Design, Adaptive Apparel, Disability Studies, Co-Design
