本研究以台灣新創家具品牌 Beautifur Inc. 為核心個案，探討模組化家具品牌於全球市場定位中的設計管理策略，以及台灣新創品牌突破「原產地效應」進入歐洲高端市場的國際化路徑。全球模組化家具市場持續擴張，2025 年規模已達 863.8 億美元，預計至 2034 年擴張至 1,367 億美元；然而，台灣家具品牌長期以代工製造為主，自有品牌的全球市場形象仍待建立。Beautifur 以多國專利「+」接頭無螺絲模組化系統為技術核心，策略性採取「從台灣出發、點燃歐洲」的 Born Global 路徑，其品牌建構歷程構成本研究之分析對象。
本研究採用質性取向的多重個案研究法，以 Beautifur Inc. 為核心個案，並納入 USM Haller（瑞士）、String（瑞典）、IKEA（瑞典）三大國際品牌進行比較分析。理論框架整合 Kapferer 品牌識別稜鏡、丹麥設計梯、Verganti 設計驅動創新框架、烏普薩拉漸進式國際化模型及 Born Global 理論，針對「品牌差異化與設計管理」、「國際化路徑與原產地效應克服」、「科技整合與長期競爭力建構」三個研究問題進行深入剖析。
研究發現，Beautifur 的核心差異化機制由三個相互強化的策略動作構成：（一）以多國專利「+」接頭技術形成不可辯駁的法律護城河，使差異化定位具備客觀可核查的基礎；（二）透過 MARKIT Strategy Partners 協作建構完整品牌識別系統，實現在視覺層次與高端設計品牌同場競技的能力；（三）以循環服務模式——維修、翻新與副品牌計畫——將永續承諾轉化為商業模式的有機組成部分。以丹麥設計梯評估，Beautifur 已達第三至四階梯的設計管理成熟度。在國際化策略上，技術專利佈局、品牌識別建構與設計展覽策略三者的整合機制，構成設計密集型新創品牌克服「原產地效應」的可行路徑。
本研究在理論層面的貢獻包括：豐富 Kapferer 品牌識別稜鏡在兼具硬體技術與服務商業模式之設計新創情境的適用討論；深化 Born Global 理論在設計密集型硬體品牌的應用，提出技術專利佈局、品牌識別建構與展覽策略三者的整合機制；以及提出外部設計顧問在資源受限新創品牌早期發展中扮演「品牌建築師」的角色機制。在實務層面，本研究為台灣設計新創業者歸納出「技術專利→品牌識別→展覽合法性」三位一體的高端市場進入策略框架，並為設計管理顧問與產業推動機構提供具參考價值的評估視角。

This study examines design management strategies for global market positioning of modular furniture brands, using Beautifur Inc., a Taiwanese startup furniture brand, as the core case study. The research investigates how a resource-constrained startup brand navigates the "country-of-origin effect" to penetrate the European high-end furniture market through a Born Global strategy. The global modular furniture market is expanding rapidly, estimated at USD 86.38 billion in 2025 and projected to reach USD 136.7 billion by 2034, yet Taiwan's furniture industry remains predominantly anchored in OEM manufacturing with limited global brand equity. Beautifur's multi-country patented "+"-connector screwless modular system and its strategic commitment to "launch from Taiwan, ignite Europe" presents a distinctive case for examining startup brand internationalization in design-intensive industries.
Employing a qualitative multiple-case study approach (Yin, 2014), this research analyzes Beautifur Inc. alongside three international benchmark brands—USM Haller (Switzerland), String (Sweden), and IKEA (Sweden)—through an integrated theoretical framework comprising Kapferer's Brand Identity Prism, the Danish Design Ladder, Verganti's design-driven innovation theory, the Uppsala Internationalization Model, and Born Global theory. Three research questions are addressed: (RQ1) how Beautifur establishes differentiated brand value through design management strategy; (RQ2) how a Taiwanese startup overcomes country-of-origin barriers in European market entry; and (RQ3) how AIoT integration and circular economy design reinforce long-term competitive advantage.
The findings reveal that Beautifur's core differentiation mechanism comprises three mutually reinforcing strategic moves: (1) establishing a legally defensible competitive moat through multi-country patent protection of the "+"-connector technology, creating an objectively verifiable point of difference; (2) constructing a comprehensive brand identity system via collaboration with MARKIT Strategy Partners, enabling visual-tier competition with established premium design brands; and (3) embedding circular service models—repair, refurbishment, and sub-brand programs—as organic components of the business model, transforming sustainability commitments from messaging to practice. Evaluated against the Danish Design Ladder, Beautifur has achieved third-to-fourth rung design management maturity. The integrated mechanism of patent portfolio, brand identity construction, and design exhibition strategy constitutes a viable pathway for design-intensive startups to overcome the country-of-origin barrier.
This study contributes theoretically by extending Kapferer's Brand Identity Prism to startup contexts that combine hardware technology with service-oriented business models; deepening Born Global theory for design-intensive hardware brands by proposing the integration mechanism of patent strategy, brand identity, and exhibition legitimacy; and introducing the "brand architect" role of external design consultancies in early-stage resource-constrained startups. For practitioners, the study synthesizes a tripartite market entry framework—"patent technology → brand identity → exhibition legitimacy"—as a strategic blueprint for Taiwanese design startups seeking entry into premium global markets, and provides a design management maturity assessment reference for design consultants and industry policy institutions.

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