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.

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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

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