The structure and performance of American textile printing : redefinition of an industry

The major purpose of this descriptive study was to gather data about the structure and performance of the American textile printing industry. Specifically, its objectives were: (1) to obtain data about the textile printing industry at the firm level; (2) to compare government statistics about the printing industry with data obtained from firms; (3) to investigate the performance of the printing industry with regard to profitability and productivity in 1986; and (4) to develop a profile of textile printing firms. Data were collected using a self-administered survey questionnaire mailed to managers of 163 textile printing establishments in Fall 1987. Those firms censused were identified in Davison's Textile Blue Book. The response rate was 64.2%. The independent structure variables were: geographic location; type of organizational structure; size of printing establishment; commission status; printing technology; product mix; and capital intensity. The two dependent variables which measured industry performance were defined as profitability and productivity. Data were analyzed using the Pearson product moment coefficient of correlation and two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA)