Strategic Choices of Managers of Furniture Companies on the Polish Market

Abstract

The article presents the results of research on strategic choices made by manages of furniture companies on the Polish market. Three strategic dilemmas resolved at the level of company development strategy are taken into account: the dilemma regarding the level of sectoral diversification, the dilemma regarding the geographic coverage of operations, and the dilemma regarding the scope of vertical integration. The basis for conclusions was provided by a survey conducted under a broader project funded by the National Science Centre on team strategic decision-making in companies. The survey was carried out in 2018 in a group of 200 medium-sized and large furniture companies operating in Poland. The dominant strategic choices of managerial staff were identified on the basis of the so-called “strategic option cube” at the development strategy level. The survey found that that managers of furniture companies on the Polish market more often choose a development strategy based on geographical expansion rather than on sectoral diversification and a development strategy focused on selective or full vertical integration rather than on virtualisation of operations. At the companies surveyed, so-called international or nationwide specialists with selective or full vertical integration were dominant.

Keywords

• strategic choices
• development strategy
• diversification
• geographic coverage of operations
• vertical integration scope