How Multinational Enterprises Balance Global Standardization and Local Adaptation in Sustainable Marketing: The Case of IKEA

Abstract

This paper examines how IKEA combines a common sustainability strategy with market-level communication in the United Kingdom and China. The analysis is based on IKEA's global sustainability and circularity pages, together with country-specific webpages on household energy saving and circular services. Rather than assuming that Western consumers are addressed mainly through ethical language while Chinese consumers are addressed mainly through cost savings, the comparison finds a more mixed pattern. Both the UK and China pages connect energy use with household bills, promote energy-saving products and practices, and encourage customers to extend the life of furniture. The global strategy also sets common objectives for circular design, recycled or renewable materials, and circular services. Local adaptation is more visible in the language, service labels, and digital routes through which these ideas are presented. The case therefore suggests that IKEA standardizes the operational direction of sustainability while adapting the consumer-facing route through which the strategy becomes understandable in each market.