The Realpolitik of the Artificial
Strategic Design at Figgjo Fajanse Facing International Free Trade in the 1960s
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12679014 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Kjetil Fallan (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2009 |
| Volume | 10 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 559-589 |
| Publication date | 2009-05-08 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Enterprise & Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1467-2227 • E-ISSN: 1467-2235 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1093/es/khp012 |
| OpenAlex | W3122948298 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 9 |
The 1960 establishment of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) represented a watershed to Norwegian consumer goods industry. Since the end of World War II domestic manufacturers had been thriving on a small but lucrative home market characterized by an unparalleled demand, effectively protected from foreign competition by strict import regulations and tariffs barriers. The onset of international free trade would dramatically change this market situation, allowing cheap foreign products access to the Norwegian market while at the same time offering export opportunities to an industry traditionally geared to the domestic market. Operating in an industry where appearance is anything but superficial, the crockery manufacturer Figgjo Fajanse realized that product design would be a crucial tool in the reorganization of its operations when adapting to this ‘brave, new world’ of international free trade. Devising a flexible basis for a rational product differentiation, Figgjo made severe cuts in an oversized product portfolio and developed a small range of new models that could accommodate a wide range of decorative patterns of highly different styles. This strategy required elaborate and creative negotiations on the part of the company's designers, creating a ‘third way’—a moderate modern design carved out in the space demarcated by the industrially rational, the commercially viable, and the aesthetically ethical
Business · Commerce · Competition (biology · Economics · Free market · Free trade · Industrial organization · International trade · Market economy · Negotiation · Politics · Portfolio · Product (mathematics · Product differentiation · Trade barrier · Art History and Market Analysis · Art, Technology, and Culture · Cultural Industries and Urban Development
| Highly cited | No |
|---|