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"Home Sweet Home" - A Controversial Thought? - A Case Study of IKEA in Japan

Thamhaksa, Dalavan ; Leroux, Jessica and Yokoi, Hiroko (2008)
Department of Service Studies
Abstract
IKEA Funabashi has overall proven itself to be successful since its establishment in Japan in 2006. They have chosen to adapt themselves to obligatory cultural aspects while still being able to standardize their products and keep what makes them special – their so-called “Swedishness”. Another reason for their success may be the fact that they do not have any direct competitors. We do however recommend them to focus more on PR and marketing in order to create a strong “first mover” advantage over other potential competition. Our overall conclusion is that since Japanese consumers have several unique qualities that differ from others, one can’t ignore taking them into consideration. Yet we think that a company has to find a good balance... (More)
IKEA Funabashi has overall proven itself to be successful since its establishment in Japan in 2006. They have chosen to adapt themselves to obligatory cultural aspects while still being able to standardize their products and keep what makes them special – their so-called “Swedishness”. Another reason for their success may be the fact that they do not have any direct competitors. We do however recommend them to focus more on PR and marketing in order to create a strong “first mover” advantage over other potential competition. Our overall conclusion is that since Japanese consumers have several unique qualities that differ from others, one can’t ignore taking them into consideration. Yet we think that a company has to find a good balance between adapting to a local culture and its consumers and being able to maintain their uniqueness to sustain a competitive advantage. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Thamhaksa, Dalavan ; Leroux, Jessica and Yokoi, Hiroko
supervisor
organization
year
type
M2 - Bachelor Degree
subject
keywords
ikea, culture, consumer behavior, japanese consumer behavior, adaptation, standardization, customer loyalty, marketing, globalization, Management of enterprises, Företagsledning, management
language
English
id
1354620
date added to LUP
2008-05-23 00:00:00
date last changed
2018-10-18 10:02:59
@misc{1354620,
  abstract     = {{IKEA Funabashi has overall proven itself to be successful since its establishment in Japan in 2006. They have chosen to adapt themselves to obligatory cultural aspects while still being able to standardize their products and keep what makes them special – their so-called “Swedishness”. Another reason for their success may be the fact that they do not have any direct competitors. We do however recommend them to focus more on PR and marketing in order to create a strong “first mover” advantage over other potential competition. Our overall conclusion is that since Japanese consumers have several unique qualities that differ from others, one can’t ignore taking them into consideration. Yet we think that a company has to find a good balance between adapting to a local culture and its consumers and being able to maintain their uniqueness to sustain a competitive advantage.}},
  author       = {{Thamhaksa, Dalavan and Leroux, Jessica and Yokoi, Hiroko}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{"Home Sweet Home" - A Controversial Thought? - A Case Study of IKEA in Japan}},
  year         = {{2008}},
}