Business Excellence, Vol. 8 No. 2, 2014.
Preliminary communication
CROATIAN WOOD INDUSTRY – CLUSTERS, COMPETITIVENESS AND PERSPECTIVES OF DEVELOPMENT IN THE FRAMEWORK OF EUROPEAN UNION MEMBERSHIP
Ines Kersan-Škabić
orcid.org/0000-0001-7905-368X
; Department of Economics and Tourism “Dr.Mijo Mirković”, Juraj Dobrila University of Pula
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to determine the possibilities of development of the Croatian wood industry and wood industry clusters after joining the EU. It analyses and compares the situation in the wood industry in the markets of the EU and Croatia: the importance and characteristics of the wood industry and clusterization in the wood industry. Results
show that there are many clusters in the EU wood industry, the most frequent occurring in the Italian economy which is well known for its furniture. Clusters in the EU are big organizations with many enterprises and prominent specialization while Croatian clusters
include a small number of firms. Recommendations for increasing competitiveness based on this research include: building a network of wood clusters in Croatia and connecting it with similar clusters in the EU; directing the Croatian wood industry toward production of
furniture with high added value and toward increased use of wood as a renewable Energy source (production of pellets).
Keywords
wood and wood-based industry; EU; Croatia; clusters; competitiveness
Hrčak ID:
133235
URI
Publication date:
22.12.2014.
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