The goal of this study is to provide a better understanding of new product adoption by single family homebuilders. Information from this study will be useful to producers of new and existing engineered wood products in targeting their market development efforts. Homebuilders are studied with the goal of segmenting them...
This document presents a new method for improving the market orientation of companies. In that regard, I developed a new Quality Function Deployment application (QFD), which compares customer needs with company competitive advantages, in order to determine those advantages that best satisfy customer wants and needs. The methodology was applied...
Historically, researchers have used surveys, focus groups, and anecdotal evidence to evaluate consumer response to environmentally certified, ecolabeled forest products. These methods generally measure consumer attitudes toward certified forest products. Since the strength of the correlation between attitudes
and behavior has long been questioned, consumer response to certified forest products...
Wood remains the most popular material for deck construction. For centuries, consumers have chosen wood because of its desirable qualities and aesthetics. In recent years, wood plastic composites (WPC's) have seen rising demand as alternatives to wood decks, despite a large price premium. In addition, the removal of CCA treated...
Innovation is considered the ultimate drive for business success. Fast growing furniture imports from China have become a controversial topic within U.S. wood and furniture industries. Low-cost production, which is stereotypically considered as the major competitive advantage of the Chinese-made products, has received considerable attention by a large body of...
Due to growing global competition, especially in the last decade, the United States wood and wood-based industries have suffered significant market share losses. The wood industry in Germany is facing similar challenges. To stay competitive in an increasingly global marketplace, many wood manufacturers are adopting new management/manufacturing approaches. Lean manufacturing...
Innovativeness, or the propensity of a firm to create and/or adopt new products, process and business systems, has been measured using several methods in previous research. Examples of theses methods include current technology, self-evaluation, research and development funding, the number of new products, and intellectual property. In addition to the...
There has been an increasing realization of the value of innovativeness, the orientation toward innovation, for firms thriving to gain competitive edge. The US forest products industry is no different in this respect and many companies have active initiatives to bring about creativity from their own employees. At the same...
Business is a social institution and society has always designated a role for
business which has been undergoing changes with changing societal values and
paradigms. Thus while business has always had some responsibilities, the modern
connotation of the words corporate social responsibility commonly refers to business
assuming responsibilities in economic,...
Lead-user research is a relatively new marketing research technique, and it has not seen much use in the forest sector. Lead-user research is designed to capture not just the needs of the customer in their own voice but also to involve actual users of goods and/or services in their development....