INNOVATION AND DESIGN, KEYS TO GROWTH AND COMPETITIVENESS

Innovations and design, keys to growth and competitiveness, represent the foundation of creating economic opportunities and success of Croatian wood processing and furniture production. The pressure on the market is directed towards reducing prices, the consequence thereof being enhancing competitiveness in the long run, via innovation and design in manners in which the production is operating, services are provided and new goods and services are developed, since the competitive advantages must be visible in all development segments. Encouraging investment in innovation and design represents investment in development of Croatian economy as a whole, especially in periods of finding answers to the challenges of economic instability. Crisis creates threats and possibilities, and competition can be avoided by introducing innovations and design. All relevant factors of the public sector and a wide offer of encouraging programmes and incentives, especially to small and medium-sized producers, play an important role in this process. The said paper indicates importance of investment in innovation and design in challenging economic conditions, and it also provides a short display of the situation of the same in Croatian wood processing and furniture production.