Communication

This study examines the determinants of CAD/CAM adoption in American textile and apparel industries. Theories of innovation were used to develop hypotheses relating market factors to manufacturers' decisions to adopt CAD/CAM technologies. A variety of sources were used to develop the survey which was mailed to a national random sample of 500 textile and apparel manufacturers. The responses of 103 manufacturers from 30 different states were analyzed. Factor analysis was used to identify the dimensions of reasons for CAD/CAM adoption. Hypotheses were tested with logistic regression analysis procedures. The CAD/CAM adoption was found to be driven primarily by the market and affected by the business‐unit size. In addition, labor considerations affected recent CAD/CAM adoption.