Location of the furniture industry in voivodships in Poland

Purpose: The aim of the study was to assess the location of the furniture industry in voivodships in Poland in 2016-2018. Design/methodology/approach: The study uses indicators of the share of business activity of the furniture industry (production value, employment, number of entities) of a given voivodship in the total activity (production value, employment, number of entities) of this sector in the whole country, CR concentration indicators, Herfindahl-Hirschman indexes, Lorenzo curve and location indicators. Findings: The obtained results confirmed the tendency of the furniture industry to spatial concentration in the layout of Polish provinces. The furniture industry was concentrated mainly in Greater Poland, as well as Warmia and Mazury, Lower Silesia, Lesser Poland and Mazovian voivodship, and it was these regions that were most important in building the national furniture industry. From an intra-regional perspective, the furniture industry had by far the largest share in the economy of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodship. Practical implications: The results obtained indicate which voivodeships are the most significant in creating the national furniture industry. The information may be used by the national authorities to create a policy of building competitiveness of the Polish furniture industry in the international arena. The information on the importance of the furniture industry in the economies of individual voivodships can be used by local authorities in building the competitiveness of the region. Originality/value: The article concerns the furniture industry, which is relatively rarely studied in the literature. It includes a study of the location of the industry entities in a spatial arrangement in two dimensions: degree of concentration and structure and intensity of specialization.