| dc.description.abstract | Jotun Kemisk Fabrik A/S was founded in March 1926, operating only in Norway
until 1962 when it began to expand internationally. Today Jotun operates in more
than 70 countries, and is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of paints and
coatings. Jotun has been in the Chinese market since 1983, initially focusing only
on marine coatings and protective coatings where the brand became very
successful. Encouraged by this, Jotun China decided to enter the Chinese
decorative paint market in 2001 with the long term goal of becoming the market’s
leading brand. However, after 8 years in the Chinese decorative paint market,
Jotun China has not been able to replicate its previous successes. Therefore, we
the authors of this thesis, working in collaboration with Jotun China staff, set out
first to determine the viability of Jotun’s latest strategy for the Chinese decorative
paint market, and second to suggest concrete steps to follow if and when
executing this strategy. Our findings are based on extensive market research, as
well as collection and analysis of both primary and secondary data. Our thesis is
presented in six parts. In Part One, we provide an introduction to our thesis and
background information of Jotun, define our problem statement, research aim, and
research questions, and describe the types of difficulties we encountered. In Part
Two, we give an overview of our research and data collection methodology. We
describe how data was collected and analysed, and comment on its reliability and
validity. In Part Three, we provide short summaries of the various theories used in
our analysis of Jotun and its strategy for the decorative paint market in China. In
Part Four, we detail our secondary findings, followed by our primary findings.
The secondary findings consist of an overview of China’s decorative paint
industry and real estate market, as well as the meaning and importance of Guanxi
in China. The primary findings consist of summaries and analysis of interviews
we conducted with Jotun China employees, key dealers and their employees, and
other relevant industry experts. In Part Five, we present our internal, external, and
SWOT analyses of Jotun China. In Part Six, we conclude by presenting our
recommendations with regards to achieving Jotun China’s goals in the Chinese
decorative paint market. We explain why Jotun should continue operating in this
market, and provide specific steps to properly execute the company’s latest
strategy. This section also includes our SPD, and revisiting Jotun China’s goals,
CFS and its strategic alternatives. | en |
