Furnishing a Globalized World: Local Distinctiveness in the International Furniture Industry
Abstract
Advances in technology, communication, and transportation over the past thirty years
have led to tighter linkages and enhanced collaboration across traditional borders
between nations, institutions, and cultures. This thesis uses the furniture industry
as a lens to examine the impacts of globalization on individual countries and companies
as they interact on an international scale. Using global value chain analysis and
international trade data, I break down the furniture production process and explore
how countries have specialized in particular stages of production to differentiate
themselves from competitors and maximize the benefits of global involvement. Through
interviews with company representatives and evaluation of branding strategies such
as advertisements, webpages, and partnerships, I investigate across four country cases
how furniture companies construct strong brands in an effort to stand out as unique
to consumers with access to products made around the globe. Branding often serves
to highlight distinctiveness and associate companies with national identities, thus
revealing that in today’s globalized and interconnected society, local differences
and diversity are more significant than ever.
Description
honors thesis; awarded highest honors; winner of ICS Distinguished Thesis Prize 2015
Type
Honors thesisDepartment
International Comparative StudiesSubject
Global furniture industries, Global Value Chain (GVC) analysis, global and local,
Italy, China, Sweden, and United States,Made in USA, branding, IKEA
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/9729Citation
Schwartz, Alexandra (2015). Furnishing a Globalized World: Local Distinctiveness in the International Furniture
Industry. Honors thesis, Duke University. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/9729.Collections
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