Question

ETHICS ACROSS TIME AND CULTURES

Going King Sized in the United States and Crashing on the Couch in China
IKEA is a multinational corporation with a proven track record of listening to stakeholders in ways that improve relationships and the bottom line. The Swedish company has had success in the United States and, more recently, in China by adapting to local cultural norms. For example, in the United States, IKEA solicited the concerns of many of its approximately fifty thousand in-store customers and even visited some at home. The company learned, among other things, that U.S. customers assumed IKEA featured only European-size beds. In fact, IKEA has offered king-size beds for years; they simply were not on display. IKEA then began to focus on displaying furniture U.S. consumers were more familiar with and so grew its bedroom furniture sales in 2012 and 2013.22
As IKEA expands into China, it has welcomed a different trend—people taking naps on the furniture on display. "While snoozing is prohibited at IKEA stores elsewhere, the Swedish retailer has long permitted Chinese customers to doze off, rather than alienate shoppers accustomed to sleeping in public."23 Adapting to local culture, as these examples demonstrate, is one way a company can respond to stakeholder wishes. The firm abandons some of its usual protocols in exchange for increasing consumer identification with its products.
IKEA appears to have learned what many companies with a global presence have concluded: Stakeholders, and particularly consumer-stakeholders, have different expectations in different geographic settings. Because a firm’s ethical obligations include listening and responding to the needs of stakeholders, it behooves all international companies to appreciate the varying perspectives that geography and culture may produce among them.
Ethics Across Time and Cultures Going King Sized in the US and Crashing on the Couch in China
1 Who is the stakeholder discussed mainly in the story?
2 What did Ikea do for the U.S. customer? How do we consider Ikea's approach ethical?

Answer 1

The stakeholder discussed is the consumer in both the United States and China at IKEA. IKEA ethically catered to U.S. customers by displaying king-size beds and adapting to local cultural norms in China by allowing naps on display furniture. This represents the company's commitment to understanding and meeting the diverse needs of its stakeholders in different regions.

Step-by-step explanation:

The stakeholder discussed mainly in the story is the consumer, particularly those in the United States and China who shop at IKEA. For U.S. customers, IKEA conducted extensive market research and discovered the misconception that only European-size beds were offered. In response, IKEA showcased king-size beds which led to an increase in bedroom furniture sales in 2012 and 2013. This approach is considered ethical because it demonstrates the company's commitment to addressing stakeholder needs and respecting cultural differences, aligning with both stakeholder theory and the firm's ethical obligations to listen and respond to stakeholder preferences.

In the case of China, IKEA adapted to local cultural norms by allowing customers to nap on display furniture, demonstrating sensitivity to regional behaviors and consequently fostering consumer identification with the brand. These examples highlight the importance of corporations like IKEA in understanding and satisfying the diverse expectations of their stakeholders across different geographic and cultural landscapes.