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Italian Furniture Sector SMEs: Sustainability and Commercial Ethics

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The Changing Role of SMEs in Global Business

Abstract

Italian furniture supply chain is characterized by small and medium-sized companies operating in industrial districts. It has evolved from a craft to industrial production. Globalization has imposed changes to marketing of furniture, for the advent of large-scale retail trade and e-commerce: product quality and prices are different than in the past. There are also numerous problems in the choice of raw materials and packaging, and in waste disposal, for ecological needs. Today, relations with customers must be inspired by ethical and eco marketing principles. Environmental and/or social labels and brands are also spreading, but they are not very present in Italian company. The chapter derives from international literature and from many years of experience of the authors, as well as from qualitative and empirical investigations.

The paper is the result of collaboration between the authors. However, the following paragraphs can be attributed mainly to Luigi Umberto Rossetti: ‘The Wood-Furnishing Chain and its Environmental Impact’; ‘Furnishing Sector and its Recent Evolutions’; ‘Commercial Ethics and Eco-Marketing’; and ‘Italian Experiences’. The other paragraphs can be attributed mainly to Guido Migliaccio.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    In Europe, for example, the following provisions apply:

    • UNI EN 13427: 2005 Imballaggi—Requisiti per l’utilizzo di norme europee nel campo degli imballaggi e dei rifiuti di imballaggio;

    • UNI EN 13428: 2005 Imballaggi—Requisiti specifici per la fabbricazione e la composizione;

    • UNI EN 13429: 2005 Imballaggi—Riutilizzo;

    • UNI EN 13430: 2005 Imballaggi—Requisiti per imballaggi recuperabili;

    • UNI EN 13431: 2005 Imballaggi—Requisiti per imballaggi recuperabili sotto forma di recupero energetico;

    • UNI EN 13432: 2002 Requisiti per imballaggi recuperabili attraverso compostaggio e biodegradazione.

  2. 2.

    In Italy: Conai—National Consortium Packaging.

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Acknowledgments

Hans Rüdiger Kaufmann (University of Nicosia).

Centro Cucine R.M. (Apice, Benevento, Italy).

Albagamma Formazione (Benevento, Italy).

Thanks to Laura Perchinelli and Angela Maria Vitale (English Language Teachers) and Pietro Pavone (PhD student, University of Sannio) for their invaluable help in translating the original text of this chapter from Italian into English.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Law, Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods (DEMM), University of Sannio, Benevento, Italy

    Guido Migliaccio

  2. Independent Researcher, Benevento, Italy

    Luigi Umberto Rossetti

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Correspondence to Guido Migliaccio .

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  1. Department of Marketing, University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus

    Alkis Thrassou  & Demetris Vrontis  & 

  2. School of Business Administration, College of Management, Rishon Lezion, Israel

    Yaakov Weber

  3. Newcastle Business School, Northumbria University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK

    S. M. Riad Shams

  4. Department of Accounting and Finance, Hellenic Mediterranean University, Heraklion, Crete, Greece

    Evangelos Tsoukatos

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Migliaccio, G., Rossetti, L.U. (2020). Italian Furniture Sector SMEs: Sustainability and Commercial Ethics. In: Thrassou, A., Vrontis, D., Weber, Y., Shams, S.M.R., Tsoukatos, E. (eds) The Changing Role of SMEs in Global Business. Palgrave Studies in Cross-disciplinary Business Research, In Association with EuroMed Academy of Business. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-45835-5_11

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