Background: The sociodemographic characteristics of consumers, as important determinants of consumer behavior, has not received much attention in research on Country of Origin (COO) effect. In practical, the rapid progress of urbanization in China has brought great demand in the furniture and home-decoration market. Sweden has variety of world-famous furniture and home-decoration brands and most of these have established business in China. There has rarely been research on Chinese consumers’ perceptions of Swedish furniture and home-decoration brands. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of Chinese consumers’ sociodemographic characteristics on COO product image in terms of Swedish furniture and home-decoration products and how this affects and influences purchase intentions. Methods: Quantitative research is used in this study through a survey based on an online questionnaire. We test our research model with seven hypotheses based on the survey consisting of 269 valid questionnaires from Chinese consumers. Findings: This empirical study investigates Chinese consumers’ perceptions of Country of Origin image in their evaluation of Swedish furniture and home-decoration products and examines how these are affected by consumers’ sociodemographic characteristics. Taking into account the distinct situation of the Chinese market, we disentangle sociodemographic aspects: age, gender, education and individual income, especially in terms of overseas experience and the scale of city in which the consumer lives. We posit that Chinese consumers’ perceptions of Swedish furniture and home-decoration products vary across distinct facets of sociodemographics. Our finding is that age, education, overseas experience and scale of city do have a significant effect on COO product image, but that age and individual income do not significant influence COO product image.

Home/work: objekt för hemmet att interagera, leka och träna med. I Sverige sitter vi i genomsnitt 10h/dag, vilket är associerat med en lång rad risker, så som kardiovaskulära sjukdomar, högt blodtryck, högt blodsocker, övervikt, onormala kolesterolnivåer etcetera. Home/work är ett försök att knuffa i gång oss som sitter för mycket att få in mer rörelse i vardagen. Objekten är inspirerade av klättergrepp, crashpads och bouldering. Projektet ifrågasätter begreppet ergonomi och dess inneboende positiva konnotation. / Home/work: piece of furniture for the home to interact, play and exercise with. In Sweden we sit in average 10H/day. This is associated with a lot of risks, such as cardiovascular diseases, increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat and abnormal cholesterol levels. Home/work tries to nudge us (who sit too much) to move a little bit more in our everyday life. The objects are inspired by climbing holds, crash pads and bouldering. The project questions the concept of ergonomics and its inherent positive connotation.

據主計處統計，台灣近十年來批發零售業產值逐年上升，且自從國民平均所得超過一萬美金後，國內DIY市場逐漸興起，與「家」有關的產業更是蓬勃發展，國內外家具、家飾業者紛紛進駐，期望能搶先在台灣這個新興市場奪下一席之地；但從國外賣場龍頭進駐中國的經驗來看，如何適應在地環境、了解當地市場、消費者與競爭習性將是取得成功的不二法門，若想在競爭激烈的市場勝出，企業除了提供優異的產品，更需靠著與供應鏈上、下游廠商的合作取得競爭優勢。本研究利用文獻探討針對供應鏈中採購管理、物流管理與商品陳列與展示等三面向，整理出關鍵成功因素的架構，並透過與個案公司分店店長訪談，分析個案公司在這三個面向的實作情形，從而獲得以下關鍵成功因素的實證： 1. 採購管理： 採購人員對上下游市場趨勢分析能力、供應商評選機制之建置、採購人員績效考核系統之建置、採購上的規模經濟，以及採購系統與供應商資訊同步。 2. 物流管理： 第三方物流評選能力、物品運送過程監控能力、物流資訊分享與傳輸能力，以及物流上的規模經濟。 3. 商品陳列與展示： 賣場人員商品陳列能力、賣場擺設稽核機制、參考顧客反饋意見、以及季節性活動的搭配。 / According to the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, the wholesale and retail productivity in Taiwan has been arising year by year. Ever since Taiwan’s GDP exceeds USD$10,000, the Housing Industry became much more prosperous and attracted numerous companies from around the world. However, per the experience of Walmart and Carrefour entering into China, the only way to be successful is to adapt to local business environment, know local market, consumers and competitive strategy. What’s more, all industries need to cooperate with their supply chain partners to achieve competitive advantages. The researcher coordinates a structure of Key Success Factors towards Procurement Management, Logistics Management as well as Product Display Management and tries to analyze and verify the real operation in H Company. Following are the findings of Key Success Factors: 1. Procurement Management: The merchandisers’ ability of analyzing the market trend; the construction of Supplier Choosing Mechanism; the construction of merchandisers’ appraisal system; the Scale of Economy in Procurement; the synchronization of Procurement System. 2. Logistics Management: The ability of choosing Third Party Logistics; the monitoring ability of delivery; the information sharing and transmitting ability; the Scale of Economy in Logistics. 3. Product Display Management: The display ability of employee; the audit mechanism of display; the willing to accept customers’ suggestions; the display ability for seasonal campaign.