Ikea Innovation Creativity and Entrepreneurship

Innovation is the number one key to improving businesses, but innovation is not easy. When developing or introducing new ideas there will be many failures. Failure is not a bad thing, it just allows for more opportunities to develop an even better innovative way to get something done. “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that want work, Edison stated.” It took Thomas Edison 10,000 tries to become successful in his corporation. Businesses or corporations do not become successful overnight. Many businesses have failed at some things which they tried, but they have also had many successes which allow them to prosper and continue to fill the needs of their consumers. IKEA was founded in 1943 by a seventeen year old name Ingvar Kamprad; selling wallets, picture frames, watches, and jewelry. Today IKEA is one of the top two leading home furnishing brands in the world. IKEA has 287 stores in 38 countries while employing over 100,000 people. Their company focuses on providing quality home furnishing at a much cheaper price than their competitors. While this plan is still in use IKEA has utilized innovative strategies to keep up and stay ahead of their competitors.

IKEA has always done business based off of their core competency. IKEA focuses on what it does best and what their competitors are not willing to do. The concept that IKEA seeks to provide their consumers with a wide range of home furnishing products so that as many people as possible will be able to afford them. This will allow more people to live a comfortable and better life at home. The fact that IKEA mentions people living a better life at home is an innovative strategy in itself. This allows the consumer to view IKEA as a more personal company who is actually concerned with how they are living rather than just getting their money. In an era when many stores are focused on providing consumers with low prices IKEA still has an edge because of their business structure and how they communicate with their customer base.

The Pink Tentacle, a Japan blog and culture website reported that IKEA decked out the Kobe Portliner Monorail train into a moving showroom. IKEA redecorated the entire train with some of their finest furnishing items. This structure shows that IKEA promotes innovation and creativity through advertising. Advertising through a transportation company that thousands of people use daily gives IKEA a slight edge over competitors. This type of organizational structure ensures that more ideas are brought to the forefront and IKEA can be innovative and creative to hold off competitors. This well-planned culture of creativity also allows employees to not be afraid to speak up about any of the processes or problems within the company. “Co-workers are not restricted at IKEA; we listen and support each individual to identify his or her needs, ambitions and capabilities,” stated on IKEA website. I believe this has been a big part of IKEA being successful