%0 Research article
%T Competitive strategies applied by Finnish timber carriers following deregulation
%A Mäkinen, Pekka
%D 2001
%J Silva Fennica
%V 35
%N 3
%R doi:10.14214/sf.589
%U https://silvafennica.fi/article/589
%X The present study examines the success of timber carriers and the  factors involved in their success immediately following deregulation. In  Finland in 1991 the timber trucking sector was deregulated. Means  testing was changed to suitability testing, which meant that the  Ministry of Transport and Communications, provincial authorities and the  trucking association could no longer regulate the entry of new  entrepreneurs to the sector. The present research material contains two  successful enterprise groups. In the strategically more successful  group, good results were obtained with a moderate labour input by the  entrepreneurs. The strategic position of this group was considered to be  successful because the operating hours of the trucks were fairly high  but the work loads imposed on the entrepreneur remained reasonable. The  profitability of these enterprises was so good that it was possible to  use hired labour to drive the trucks. The work load of close to half of  the unsuccessful entrepreneurs had been large or extremely large. In  some cases, the obvious reason for failure was their inadequate  transportation rates. Others had seemingly satisfactory haulage rates  when compared to the average, but still their enterprises performed  poorly. In these cases, the explanation lay in the inefficiency of  operations or excessive debts, the latter caused, for example, by  earlier operations. The results of this study do not support the view  that a lot of hard work generally means success in entrepreneurship. The  results support the view that both entrepreneurs’ work and management  inputs have a significant impact on the success of the enterprise, and  that high tariffs alone are not a guarantee of success.