Question:
IKEA is the world’s largest furniture retailer. It has many non-equity alliances with suppliers and manufacturers around the world. IKEA also makes strategic use of non-equity alliances and stakeholder partnerships to participate in finding solutions to social and environmental challenges. For example, IKEA has had longstanding relationships with Save the Children, UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund), and the WWF (World Wildlife Fund, the global conservation organization). Go to IKEA’s website and use your Internet search expertise to find more information about these and other active partnerships. In what ways does IKEA participate? What projects have shown success? How do these partnerships relate to maintaining IKEA’s competitive advantage as the world’s largest furniture retailer?