J. Ashley Selby, Leena Petäjistö. (1992). Small sawmills as enterprises: a behavioural investigation of development potential. Acta Forestalia Fennica no. 228 article id 7674. https://doi.org/10.14214/aff.7674

Keywords: information; bounded rationality; behavioural matrix; development potential; entrepreneurial partial space; human geography; phenomenological existentialism; small sawmills; entrepreneurship

Abstract | View details | Full text in PDF | Author Info

The investigation examines the development potential of small sawmills in rural Finland. Development is defined with qualitative bias, given small sawmills’ limited possibilities for large-scale investments. Potential is defined in terms of the behavioural limitations to development. The investigation assumes that small sawmill entrepreneurial behaviour is essentially satisficing, and that the concept of bounded rationality is applicable. The empirical material concerns a random sample of 399 sawmills from all regions in Finland collected in connection with the 1990 small sawmill inventory.

Three sets of enterprise/entrepreneurial attributes are constructed using principal component analyses: i) entrepreneurial skills & organization, ii) small sawmill outlets, and iii) information attributes. Development potential is measured by employing discriminant analyses to test these attributes against four a priori sawmill classifications: i) sawmill production structure, ii) entrepreneurial development intentions, ii) sawmill operating environments, and iv) sawmilling as a livelihood. Each of these analyses contributes to an understanding of the entrepreneur-enterprise dialectic.

Based on the use of Pred’s behavioural matrix, small sawmill entrepreneurs’ quantity & quality of information and their ability to use information are examined with respect to sawmill typologies. In this way, the entrepreneur-enterprise dialectic is given a third dimension, that of the entrepreneurs’ partial space. The analysis is therefore able to examine development potential from the standpoint of an entrepreneur-enterprise-environment (partial space) trialectic.

The PDF includes a summary in Finnish.

Selby, E-mail: js@mm.unknown
Petäjistö, E-mail: lp@mm.unknown

Category : Research article

article id 25001, category Research article

Katri Rusanen, Teppo Hujala, Jouni Pykäläinen. (2026). “We are already in the frontline” – Sustainable value creation and entrepreneurial orientation in forest-based small and medium-sized enterprises. Silva Fennica vol. 60 no. 1 article id 25001. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.25001

Keywords: forest-based sector; sustainability transition; sustainable business model; sustainable entrepreneurship; value creation

Highlights: Sustainability transitions call for new types of businesses and value creation; Sustainability-oriented forest-based SMEs providing various services were studied; Operating environment and entrepreneurial orientation of companies shape how sustainable value is created with and for stakeholders; There is resistance from the operating environment towards sustainability-oriented businesses; System-level changes and sustainability-oriented entrepreneurship are interconnected and support each other.

Abstract | Full text in HTML | Full text in PDF | Author Info

Sustainability challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss have a great impact on the operating environment of companies. Business actors have increasingly sought answers to these challenges. A range of innovations, technologies and business models have been developed. Little is however known about those companies and entrepreneurs that strive for solving sustainability challenges. Sustainability-oriented entrepreneurship has interested researchers for a while. Nevertheless, studies have not thoroughly focused on forest-based services and related business models and value creation. This multiple case study investigates how the operating environment and entrepreneurial orientation are entailed in sustainability-pursuant value creation. We interviewed nine sustainability-oriented small and medium-sized enterprises providing forest-based services. The results indicate that the companies feature several entrepreneurial capabilities that enable them creating sustainable value. They are positively oriented towards future and consider their business as a solution to focal sustainability challenges. The companies’ operating environment can support the emergence and long-term development of sustainability-oriented businesses and innovations, and hence collaboration with stakeholders is essential for sustainable value creation. However, the established forest-based sector and existing support system have created tensions for the development of the sustainability-oriented businesses. The companies strive actively for making an impact on their operating environment to create sustainable value with and for their stakeholders. This study advances empirical research on sustainable value creation and entrepreneurship. Overall, this paper suggests that sustainability-oriented entrepreneurs need more collaboration and support for scaling up the solving of sustainability challenges.

Rusanen, School of Forest Sciences, Faculty of Science, Forestry and Technology, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 111, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1705-5561 E-mail: katri.rusanen@uef.fi
Hujala, School of Forest Sciences, Faculty of Science, Forestry and Technology, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 111, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7905-7602 E-mail: teppo.hujala@uef.fi
Pykäläinen, School of Forest Sciences, Faculty of Science, Forestry and Technology, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 111, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3427-9954 E-mail: jouni.pykalainen@uef.fi

Click this link to register to Silva Fennica.

If you are a registered user, log in to save your selected articles for later access.

Contents alert

Your selected articles

Follow @SilvaFennica