Background and Objectives: The upholstered furniture industry is one of the key sectors driving economic development and generating employment and added value in developing countries. In Iran, particularly in Tehran Province, this industry holds a special position due to the province's concentrated population, high demand levels, and convenient access to consumer markets. However, economic fluctuations and increasing competition among producers have highlighted the need to reassess competitive strategies and identify factors affecting competitive advantage. Accordingly, the present study aims to analyze the five competitive forces influencing the competitive advantage of the upholstered furniture industry in Tehran Province, employing Porter’s Five Forces model. This model is a well-established tool for analyzing market competitive structure, assessing five key factors: the threat of new entrants, bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of buyers, threat of substitute products, and intensity of intra-industry rivalry. The novelty of this study lies in its geographical focus on the Tehran Province upholstered furniture industry, the application of a two-stage Delphi technique for refining the survey items, and the weighted prioritization of competitive forces based on local expert opinions, providing a more precise and localized depiction of the industry’s competitive structure.
Materials and Methods: This study adopted a descriptive-analytical approach and, in terms of purpose, is applied in nature. The research employed Porter’s Five Forces model to analyze forces affecting the competitive advantage of the industry. Initially, through a systematic review of the literature, items corresponding to each competitive force were identified, and after preliminary screening, a questionnaire was developed. Subsequently, a two-stage Delphi technique was implemented. In the first stage, 13 academic and industry experts with relevant expertise validated the items and suggested additional ones. In the second stage, the finalized questionnaire was distributed to 69 experts and industry practitioners between early February and late March 2025 in Tehran Province. The questionnaire, designed via the Parsline platform, collected demographic data (gender, education, age) and was disseminated through social media platforms (Telegram, Eitaa) to relevant professional associations. Responses were analyzed using SPSS version 26, and reliability was assessed via Cronbach’s alpha, yielding a value of 0.705, indicating acceptable measurement reliability.
Results: Data analysis revealed that among Porter’s five forces, the bargaining power of buyers and the intensity of competition among existing competitors had the greatest influence on the competitive structure of the Tehran Province upholstered furniture industry. High buyer sensitivity to factors such as price, quality, and design (mean > 3.4), along with social comparison behavior, indicates that producers must continuously understand and monitor customer needs and preferences to maintain competitive advantage. The high number of producers and the relative uniformity of product quality have created a non-monopolistic, competitive structure, with the “intensity of rivalry” item receiving one of the highest scores (mean = 4.4). Additionally, the threat of new entrants was considered significant (mean = 4.07) due to factors such as easy access to distribution networks and the potential for industry digitization, implying that new entrants could disrupt market balance. In contrast, the bargaining power of suppliers was evaluated at a moderate level (mean = 4.09), and due to the diversity of raw material suppliers, it does not pose a major threat. Finally, the threat of substitute products was the least influential factor; although alternatives such as royal or polymeric furniture may be considered substitutes under certain economic conditions, the mean propensity to substitute (4.1) is far lower than the decisive role of buyer power (4.8), indicating that consumer preference remains firmly oriented toward upholstered furniture.
Conclusion: The findings indicate that the “bargaining power of buyers” and the “intensity of competition among producers” are the two key determinants shaping the competitive advantage of Tehran Province’s upholstered furniture industry. Therefore, strategic focus on understanding consumer preferences, fostering design innovation, and establishing brand differentiation can facilitate sustainable competitiveness for producers in this industry.