Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1991. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 49-50). Also available via the Internet.

This dissertation presents an in depth investigation of the office furniture industry and of the factors that influence selection and purchase of office furniture. It also utilizes data obtained in a national survey of nearly 270 office furniture buyers to investigate several general conceptual marketing issues. The industry-specific investigation includes a look at the history of the office and at events during the past 2-1/2 decades that have impacted the market for office furniture. It also includes a comparative look at the relative performance of wood (SIC 2521) and metal (SIC 2522) industry sectors. The performance of the office furniture industry is also compared with the wood household furniture industry (SIC 2511). This report includes a detailed look at the industry's changing product mix and use of wood-based materials. While the total use of wood-based material inputs by the industry was at record levels for all material categories in 1987, use on a per unit of output basis declined in several material categories. Material preferences, as expressed by survey respondents, indicated that solid wood is still rated highly and is the material of choice for interior and exterior applications in conventional office furniture manufacture. Twenty-six attributes of office furniture and of dealer/manufacturer services were rated on dual 7- and 5-point Likert scales for importance and difference, respectively. The most important attribute was the ability of the dealer manufacturer to provide products free of defects. However, when differences in the performance of suppliers or products were taken into account, the top determinant attribute was the ability to deliver on schedule. Comparisons of quality and selection and purchase ratings suggested that respondents tended to rate attributes on the bases of their use in selection and purchase higher overall than they rated their use in assessing quality. However, the relative ranking of attributes within the two sets of ratings were highly correlated. Respondent ratings of the 26 attributes were utilized in a multivariate study of quality dimensions employing confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses. Results of these analyses supported operationalization of most of Garvin's eight dimensions of quality. / Ph. D.

Two analysis techniques were demonstrated for use in new product development by the wood products industry. A new molded wood structural product developed by the U.S. Forest Service Forest Products Laboratory known as FPL Spaceboard II was used to illustrate the techniques. Determinant attribute analysis was first employed to identify the product attributes most important to purchase decisions regarding substrate materials for the office furniture industry - the most likely target for introduction of Spaceboard II. A matrix-type decision model was then developed and illustrated which assists in selecting the most attractive product-market opportunity for a new product still in the development stages based on market attractiveness and relative competitive advantage of the product. Surveys were directed to manufacturers of office furniture and to producers of industrial particleboard and medium-density fiberboard which currently are the most common materials utilized as substrates in the office furniture industry. The furniture survey collected information regarding the perceived importance and variability of an array of physical product characteristics in the selection of a substrate material for office furniture. The survey of industrial particleboard and medium-density fiberboard producers acquired information regarding the importance of factors affecting decisions to enter and compete in a given market and ratings of the office furniture substrate market on those factors. The results of the determinant attribute analysis indicated that fastener withdrawal strength, surface smoothness, flatness, stiffness (MOE), and edgebanding capability were the product attributes which would most affect the decision to purchase substrate material for office furniture, and consequently are the attributes to focus on in developing a new product for that market. Use of the decision model was illustrated with Spaceboard II and resulted in a hypothetical matrix with the product positioned based on the attractiveness of the office furniture substrate market and Spaceboard II’s relative competitive advantage over existing materials in that market versus its competitive position in other market scenarios. / Master of Science