Specialisation and Localised Learning - Six Studies on the European Furniture Industry (Hardcover)

Studies of the European furniture industry provide strong empirical evidence of how the same overall competitive conditions and market forces might result in quite differing organizational forms. They also illustrate how national or regional institutions precondition and partly mould the development of an industry. Drawn from a workshop on "Low-Tech Competitiveness and Localized Learning", this work presents six studies on the European furniture industry. These studies are used as an outset for addressing contemporary theoretical issues within the economics of organization. The text provides a comprehensive introduction to the European furniture industry and its organization and localization within various nations and regions. Its introductory chapter treats specialization and issues of competitiveness within the European furniture industry, and sketches out a theoretical framework for discussing localized learning. In the subsequent chapters, different case studies take this discussion further by focusing on issues such as low-tech versus high-tech industries, specialization, competitive advantage, external economies, innovation, institutionalization and localization.