%0 Research article
%T Network co-operation as a source of competitiveness in medium-sized Finnish sawmills
%A Toppinen, Anne
%A Lähtinen, Katja
%A Leskinen, Leena A.
%A Österman, Niklas
%D 2011
%J Silva Fennica
%V 45
%N 4
%R doi:10.14214/sf.102
%U https://silvafennica.fi/article/102
%X In the Finnish sawmill industry, inter-firm collaboration has often been  brought up as a means of creating a competitive edge in global markets  by achieving economies of scale. According to the resource-based view  (RBV), a firm can evaluate its current or potential partners by  considering firm-level collaboration as a portfolio of complementary  strategic resources. The specific focus of the study is on examining the  types and forms of sawmill co-operation, how the co-operation emerged  and which firm-specific resources are mainly related to co-operation.  Based upon this, we can see how the managers of medium-sized sawmills  perceive network co-operation as facilitating the achievement of a  sustainable competitive advantage. The empirical data for this study  were collected by interviewing 16 managers and employees in medium-sized  non-integrated sawmills, a joint-venture marketing company and other  co-operative partners. The findings of the study show that meaningful  and beneficial co-operation partnerships exist in the Finnish sawmilling  industry, but the sawmill managers do not perceive this collaboration  as a strategic resource. The marketing company was the only firm in this  study that relied on its co-operative networks in seeking a sustainable  competitive advantage. To make more of co-operative partnerships, the  principles of co-operative networking should be understood better in the  sawmilling industry in order to know what to expect from co-operation.  Furthermore, the managers should have the courage to engage in more  extensive co-operation in order for strategic rents to materialize.  Since the selection of the right partners is fundamental, further  studies could be conducted on the reasons behind failed or terminated  co-operative arrangements to gather further empirical knowledge in this  subject area.