Türk mobilya endüstrisinde yeni ürün geliştirme: firmalarda istihdam edilen endüstriyel tasarımcıların deneyimleri.

Although high-technology and its practical implications on products are usually at the center of innovation activities, innovation is also considered important for typical low-tech industries, such as textiles, footwear, and furniture. One main reason underlying this claim is the fact that these industries globally represent a significant part of world trade and employment. This research focuses on one of these industries, the furniture industry, which corresponds to approximately one percent of total world trade. Investing in design to create innovation is a matured strategy in the furniture industry. Despite its global significance, a review of the studies about the Turkish furniture industry reveals the absence of a systematical process in the NPD in the Turkish furniture industry. Yet these studies from the 1990s do not represent the current situation, and the current studies on the NPD are not sufficient for us to understand the unique dynamics of the Turkish furniture industry. To fill this gap, in-depth interviews are conducted with 17 industrial designers who have work experiences in large furniture enterprises as in-house employees. According to my findings, an 11-phase process model is defined to explain the role of design and other functions in the NPD. The findings of this research present the current situation of the NPD in the Turkish furniture industry and reflect the perspectives of designers.Thesis (M.S.) -- Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences. Industrial Design