SOURCES OF COMPETITIVENESS FOR SECONDARY WOOD PRODUCTS FIRMS - A REVIEW OF LITERATURE AND RESEARCH ISSUES

More than 1 million U.S. workers in some 45,000 firms are employed in the lumber, wood products, furniture, and fixture industries. Wood hou sehold and office furniture (SIC 251 and 252) are the largest manufact uring segments, adding $13.851 billion per year to raw product value. During the 1980s, U.S. furniture manufacturers lost sizeable market sh are to Pacific Rim countries. To improve their performance in increasi ngly global markets, U.S. manufacturers must have a clear understandin g of how to assess their competitive position and how to affect its st rategic determinants. This paper reviews existing information on the p erformance of the U.S. secondary wood products industry and summarizes current models regarding competitiveness and its sources. A review of the literature suggests that both internal firm processes and externa l market and government policy factors affect firm and industry compet itiveness. However, these are rarely linked in a comprehensive analysi s. This paper argues that in order to better understand the factors af fecting global competitiveness in this industry, research is needed th at combines engineering and economic analyses of competitiveness.