engleski

Networks and local milieus as a furniture industry innovation platform

The major European traditional manufacturing industries have been developing in parallel with the globalization of their businesses, generating new tasks for local business clusters and networks. This study identifies various patterns of local furniture industry clusters in five countries – Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Poland and Sweden. The case studies are conducted on two levels: cluster level and firm level. This chapter shows that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the furniture sector, which are located close to each other in industrial districts, utilize informal knowledge and joint interest structures and provide infrastructure knowledge, externalities and spillovers. The new business skills needed in communication technology require organizations to adapt to computerized machinery on the factory floor and meet the expectations of global supply and distribution logistics. Enterprises in the furniture distribution industry search for competitive advantages from customer orientation and mass customization in high-cost countries.

innovation, furniture manufacturing, cluster, SMEs, competitiveness, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Poland, Sweden

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