Creating a Global Standard for Violin Making

The development of modern violin making is analyzed using an expanded version of the product cycle framework. The article shows how competitive advantages change and evolve along the product life cycle over centuries. The development of the modern violin throughout the ages is explained, starting with the R&D phase of the process, which ended in the 16th century in Cremona, Italy. Subsequently the technology diffused, and internationalization took place through marketing and imitation. Thus, modern violin making techniques made their way into Germany and the Netherlands within less than a century. In the 18th century, violin making was industrialized.