This study aimed to understand how social media is used as a marketing and promotion tool for fashion brands within the adaptive apparel marketplace and further explores how disability advocates and influencers use social media to promote adaptive apparel. To achieve this goal, the study used a qualitative methodology of semi-structured interviews and a computational methodology of collocation analysis to analyze social media posts from users with hashtags related to adaptive apparel. The result of the study revealed three themes that supported social capital theory, communities of practice, and virtual communities of practice theories – Inclusion, Representation, and Education. Further, the data mining phase provided valuable insights into the significant event and the broader community of people with disabilities. This study showed how fashion brands, disability organizations, advocates, and people with disabilities use social media to market and promote adaptive apparel.
AbbasR.MeschG. (2018). Do rich teens get richer? Facebook use and the link between offline and online social capital among Palestinian youth in Israel. Information, Communication & Society, 21(10), 63–79. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2016.1261168
2.
AlmakaninH.AlodatA.Al-BakkarA.BatarsehH. (2021). Social implications of the social media use by students with disabilities at the University of Jordan: Facebook as a model. Psychology and Education Journal, 8(2), 266–276.
3.
AnderbergP. (2007). Peer assistance for personal assistance: Analysis of online discussions about personal assistance from a Swedish web forum for disabled people. Disability & Society, 22(3), 251–265. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687590701259450
4.
Annett-HitchcockK.XuY. (2015). Shopping and virtual communities for consumers with physical disabilities. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 39(2), 136–144. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcs.12161
5.
ArdichviliA. (2008). Learning and knowledge sharing in virtual communities of practice: Motivators, barriers, and enablers. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 10(4), 541–554. https://doi.org/10.1177/1523422308319536
6.
BakerP. M.BricoutJ. C.MoonN. W.CoughlanB.PaterJ. (2013). Communities of participation: A comparison of disability and aging identified groups on Facebook and LinkedIn. Telematics and Informatics, 30(1), 22–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2012.03.004
7.
BarnfatherA.StewartM.Magill EvansJ.RayL.LetourneauN. (2011). Computer-mediated support for adolescents with cerebral palsy or spina bifida. CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing, 29(1), 24–33. https://doi.org/10.1097/NCN.0b013e3181f9db63
8.
BricoutJ.BakerP. M.MoonN. W.SharmaB. (2021). Exploring the smart future of participation: Community, inclusivity, and people with disabilities. International Journal of E-Planning Research, 10(2), 94–108. https://doi.org/10.4018/IJEPR.20210401.oa8
9.
BrittR. K.HayesJ. L.BrittB. C.ParkH. (2020). Too big to sell? A computational analysis of network and content characteristics among mega and micro beauty and fashion social media influencers. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 20(2), 111–118. https://doi.org/10.1080/15252019.2020.1763873
10.
CarrollK. (2015). Fashion design and disability. In Fashion design for the living (pp. 151–167). Routledge.
11.
CatonS.ChapmanM. (2017). The use of social media and people with intellectual disability: A systematic review and thematic analysis. Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability, 41(2), 125–139. https://doi.org/10.3109/13668250.2016.1153052
12.
ChenowethL. I.StehlikD. (2004). Implications of social capital for the inclusion of people with disabilities and families in community life. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 8(1), 59–72. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360311032000139467
CraigS.McInroyL. (2014). You can form a part of yourself online: The influence of new media on identity development and coming out for LGBTQ youth. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health, 18, 95–109. https://doi.org/10.1080/19359705.2013.777007
15.
CreswellJ. W.CreswellJ. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage Publications.
DubéL.BourhisA.JacobR. (2006). Towards a typology of virtual communities of practice. Interdisciplinary Journal of Information, Knowledge, and Management, 1, 1–25. https://doi.org/10.28945/115
GrechS. (2012). Disability, communities of poverty and the global south: Debating through social capital. In AzzopardiA.GrechS. (Eds.), Inclusive communities a critical reader (pp. 69–84). Sense Publishers.
20.
HoferM.AubertV. (2013). Perceived bridging and bonding social capital on twitter: Differentiating between followers and followees. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(6), 2134–2142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2013.04.038
21.
HurtubiseK.PratteG.RivardL.BerbariJ.HeguyL.CamdenC. (2019). Exploring engagement in a virtual community of practice in pediatric rehabilitation: Who are non-users, lurkers, and poster?Disability and Rehabilitation, 41(8), 983–990. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638288.2017.1416496
KimA. J.KoE. (2012). Do social media marketing activities enhance customer equity? An empirical study of luxury fashion brands. Journal of Business Research, 65(10), 1480–1486. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2011.10.014
25.
LambJ. M. (2001). Disability and the social importance of appearance. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 19(3), 134–143. https://doi.org/ 10.1177/0887302X0101900304
LaveJ.WengerE. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge University Press.
28.
LiM.ZhaoL.SrinivasS. (2023). It is about inclusion! Mining online reviews to understand the needs of adaptive clothing customers. International Journal of Consumer Studies, 47(3), 1157–1172. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijcs.12895
29.
LiuD.AinsworthS. E.BaumeisterR. F. (2016). A meta-analysis of social networking online and social capital. Review of General Psychology, 20(4), 369–391. https://doi.org/10.1037/gpr0000091
30.
McBee-BlackK.Ha-BrookshireJ. (2020). Words matter: A content analysis of the definitions and usage of the terms for apparel marketed to people living with disabilities. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 38(3), 166–181. https://doi.org/10.1177/0887302X19890416
31.
MerriamS. B.TisdellE. J. (2016). Qualitative research: A guide to design and implementation. Jossey-Bass.
32.
MilesM. B.HubermanA. M.SaldanaJ. (2020). Qualitative data analysis, A methods sourcebook. Sage Publications.
33.
MillenD. R.FontaineM. A.MullerM. J. (2002). Understanding the benefit and costs of communities of practice. Communications of the ACM, 45(4), 69–73. https://doi.org/10.1145/505248.505276
34.
MillerR. A. (2017). My voice is definitely strongest in online communities: Students using social media for queer and disability identity-making. Journal of College Student Development, 58(4), 509–525. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2017.0040
35.
MonavvarianA.AsgariN.AkhavanP.AshenaM. (2013). Developing social capital for facilitating knowledge management practices. International Journal of Social Economics, 40(9), 826–844.
36.
OlssonM. (2012). The digital revolution: Disability and social media. McNair Scholars Journal, 11, 179–203.
37.
PottsB. (2005). Disability and employment: Considering the importance of social capital. Journal of Rehabilitation, 71(3), 20–25.
38.
PowersV. (2004). Virtual communities at Caterpillar foster knowledge sharing. T and D, 58, 40.
SchulerD. (1994). Community networks: Building a new participatory medium. Communications of the ACM, 37(1), 39–51.
43.
SmartE.LiJ.BecerraM.KingG. (2023). Programs promoting virtual social connections and friendships for youth with disabilities: A scoping review. Physical & Occupational Therapy in Pediatrics, 43(6), 780–805. https://doi.org/.org/10.1080/01942638.2023.2199827
44.
SmithJ. A.JarmanM.OsbornM. (1999). Doing interpretative phenomenological analysis. In MurrayM.ChamberlainK. (Eds.), Qualitative health psychology (pp. 218–240). Sage.
45.
SteinfieldC.EllisonN. B.LampeC. (2008). Social capital, self-esteem, and use of online social network sites: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 29(6), 434–445. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2008.07.002
46.
ThomasA. U.FriedG. P.JohnsonP.StilwellB. J. (2010). Sharing best practices through online communities of practice: A case study. Human Resources for Health, 8(25), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1186/1478-4491-8-25
47.
TilleyC. M., Bruce, C. S., Hallam, G., & Hills, A. P. (2006). A model for the development of virtual communities for people with long-term, severe physical disabilities. Information Research, 11(3), 1–13.
48.
VarpioL.ParadisE.UijtdehaageS.YoungM. (2020). The distinctions between theory, theoretical framework, and conceptual framework. Academic Medicine, 95(7), 989–994. https://doi.org/:https://doi.org/ 10.1097/ACM.0000000000003075
49.
WalkerM.KingG. A.HartmanL. R. (2018). Exploring the potential of social media platforms as data collection methods for accessing an understanding experiences of youth with disabilities: A narrative review. The Journal of Social Media in Society, 7(2), 43–68.
WongA. (2023). How social capital builds online brand advocacy in luxury social media brand communities. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 70, 103–143. https://doi.org/.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2022.103143
52.
XiaoR.McEneryT. (2006). Collocation, semantic prosody, and near synonymy: A cross-linguistic perspective. Applied Linguistics, 27(1), 103–129. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/ami045
ZhaoL.LeeS. H.LiM.SunP. (2022). The use of social media to promote sustainable fashion and benefit communications: A data-mining approach. Sustainability, 14(3), 1178. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031178
55.
ZhaoL.MinC. (2019). The rise of fashion informatics: A case of data mining based social network analysis in fashion. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal, 37(2), 87–102. https://doi.org/10.1177/0887302X18821187
