Aim of the present thesis is to explore and analyze recent practices of design-driven innovation (DDI) in furniture industries of Turkey and Sweden. Despite the large body of literature on innovation as commercialization, there exist several directions in DDI which need to be further explored especially for developing countries like Turkey. In fact, existing studies mostly comprises of the practices of leading design-based companies to further develop the theoretical ground on DDI. By providing insights to the application of DDI theory in developing countries, we aim to enhance the scope of DDI in terms of its drivers affected by design cultures and innovativeness levels of countries. Hence, besides Turkey, this thesis explores the practices of DDI in Sweden as a leading country in terms of its design culture. Differences and commonalities of DDI practices in these countries are analyzed together to define the effects of design culture on DDI. Furniture industry is selected to frame the thesis due to its design focus and ease of application according to other technology based sectors. Through this way, we aim to better compare and contrast the evidences of different countries. An exploratory approach is internalized in which we conduct case study methods to provide evidence to the theory. Semi-structured interviews are realized with designers and designer managers of leading furniture companies of Turkey and Sweden for data enhancement and validation. Through cross-case analysis of national outcomes, we propose additional drivers to DDI theory as product segmentation, activity research, culture research and concept research. Keywords: Design-driven innovation, innovation strategies, innovation of meanings, research for innovation.