Balázs Kállay

University of West Hungary, Faculty of Economics, Sopron

Research on the Opinion of the Consumer Considering the Image of the Furniture in Hungary

ABSTRACT. Is it possible to characterize an industrial branch in the nowadays complex competition surroundings merely with its companies' financial indicators? Is it possible to leave the soft factors out of consideration? The one who is standing behind: the person...

In my research on the decision making procedure in strategic management of the furniture industry, I focused on the opinion of the consumer. I guided 20 focus groups, which were located in different places and were segmented according to the modified traditional family life cycle from the furniture industries point of view. My goal was to lay down: what is the peoples' opinion about the substance of their furniture. I wanted to find out if the opinion of the decision makers of the furniture trade consistent with the opinion of the average people. And finally I wondered whether these opinions have any effect on their strategic decisions.

Received: January, 2010

1st Revision: March, 2010

Accepted: April, 2010

JEL Classification: M3,  P2, Z13

Keywords: qualitative research, focus group, wood science, strategy, furniture, image.