The Power of Integration

To the outside world, Ikea has probably always come across as a very well-coordinated organization. This is partly true. There are some very important factors that have helped keep the company together: a strong vision, the business idea, company values, a common store concept, a common product range, and a common distribution and buying organization. All these things have been very important success factors since the early days of the company. Still, my biggest concern when I became CEO in 1999 was that we did not work very well together.

There were several reasons for this. First, it was part of the company’s heritage and not uncommon in many young organizations. The entrepreneurial spirit had guided Ikea from the start. With little coordination and a small overhead structure, the company was moving fast without spending time thinking about coordination and common ways of working. Coordination, in fact, was considered a sign of bureaucracy.