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Articles containing the keyword 'entrepreneur'

Category : Article

article id 7674, category Article
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 (email)
  • Petäjistö, E-mail: lp@mm.unknown
article id 7652, category Article
J. Ashley Selby. (1989). An exploratory investigation of entre­preneurial space: the case of small sawmills, North Karelia, Finland. Acta Forestalia Fennica no. 205 article id 7652. https://doi.org/10.14214/aff.7652
Keywords: information; small-scale entrepreneur; peripheral region; partial space; intended rationality; man-environment dialectic; perceived environment; context
Abstract | View details | Full text in PDF | Author Info

The investigation concerns the nature of the dialectic relationships between small-scale entrepreneurs in peripheral areas and their business environments.

The investigation is weighted towards a theoretical and philosophical examination of the ways in which the behaviours of real-world entrepreneurs relate to their business environments. The theoretical framework first examines the assumption of intended or bounded rationality, which recognizes that human beings are in possession of imperfect information and imperfect ability, so that their perceived world is only an approximation of the real world. Following this, an epistemology is sought which enables the individual entrepreneur to be considered as the creator of his own world, and to compare this private world to the shared context of a wider set of spatial and social relations. Such an epistemology is found in existential phenomenology, which is subjected to a critical review.

As an empirical case study, the investigation examines the small sawmill entrepreneurs of North Karelia, Finland. The empirical investigation examines the aspects of the small-scale entrepreneurs’ business attitudes, perceived business environments, and their ability to use business-related information. The existential man-environment dialectic is revealed by relating these attributes to the entrepreneurs’ social setting and the level of entrepreneurship as revealed by the sawmill typology.

The PDF includes a summary in Finnish.

  • Selby, E-mail: js@mm.unknown (email)

Category : Research article

article id 10392, category Research article
Paula Jylhä, Pasi Rikkonen, Katri Hamunen. (2020). Size matters – an analysis of business models and the financial performance of Finnish wood-harvesting companies. Silva Fennica vol. 54 no. 4 article id 10392. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.10392
Keywords: profitability; business model; business model canvas; entrepreneur; success factor; wood-harvesting enterprise
Highlights: Economic success was related to company’s size, Small companies with a turnover of less than 600 000 € a–1 are struggling with profitability; Large enterprises continue to grow and innovate new business concepts; The competitive edge of large companies was reflected in large production capacity, efficient operations, versatile supply of services, and power in negotiations.
Abstract | Full text in HTML | Full text in PDF | Author Info

The size of Finnish wood harvesting enterprises has grown, and entrepreneurs have become responsible for various additional tasks, resulting in networking with other harvesting enterprises of various sizes and suppliers of supporting services, but the profitability of the wood harvesting sector has remained low. In the present study, the financial performance of 83 wood harvesting companies in Eastern and Northern Finland was evaluated, based on public final account data from a five-year period between 2013 and 2017. The factors underlying economic success were identified based on 19 semi-structured entrepreneur interviews. The Business Model Canvas framework was applied in the analyses. In particular, the smallest companies (with an annual turnover of less than 600 000 €) struggled with profitability. They showed increasing indebtedness, suffered from poor power in negotiations, had typically short-term contracts, and faced difficulties in retaining skilled operators. Most of the small companies were subcontractors of larger wood-harvesting companies. The better economic success of larger companies was likely based on their capacity to provide wood harvesting services in large volumes and supply versatile services, power in negotiations, and more cost-effective operations. The future development of wood harvesting seems to be polarised: larger enterprises are likely to continue growing, while the size of smaller enterprises has stabilised. Enhancing business management skills and practices is required in enterprises of all size groups.

  • Jylhä, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Production systems, Teknologiakatu 7, FI-67100 Kokkola, Finland E-mail: paula.jylha@luke.fi (email)
  • Rikkonen, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Bioeconomy and environment, Lönnrotinkatu 7, FI-50100 Mikkeli, Finland E-mail: pasi.rikkonen@luke.fi
  • Hamunen, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Bioeconomy and environment, Yliopistokatu 6B, FI-80100 Joensuu, Finland E-mail: katri.hamunen@luke.fi
article id 10051, category Research article
Anna-Kaisa Kosenius, Artti Juutinen, Liisa Tyrväinen. (2020). The role of state-owned commercial forests and firm features in nature-based tourism business performance. Silva Fennica vol. 54 no. 1 article id 10051. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.10051
Keywords: business performance; entrepreneurial attitude; forest-based tourism business; forest management practices; landscape trading; recreational value trading
Highlights: State-owned commercial forests provide an important part of nature-based tourism enterprises’ service scope; Increase in turnover during five years vary depending on provided services; Entrepreneurial attitude associates with willingness to participate in a landscape and recreational value trading scheme; Increasing international demand for nature-based tourism promotes business possibilities, needs attention to forest environments and smooth co-operation between actors.
Abstract | Full text in HTML | Full text in PDF | Author Info

Nature-based tourism (NBT) is a growing industry within regions rich in natural amenities worldwide. An important feature of NBT business is the dependence on the quality of surrounding environment. This paper addresses the role of the management of commercial forests owned by the state in Finnish Lapland. The paper explores the NBT entrepreneurs’ willingness to participate in a proposed new landscape and recreational value trading (LRVT) and elaborates the effect of entrepreneur and enterprise characteristics, such as entrepreneurial attitude, venture size, and a variety of services offered to customers, on the experienced and expected growth of NBT enterprise. The survey data on NBT enterprises were analyzed with ordered and binary logit models. The willingness of enterprises to participate in LRVT depended on the venture size, entrepreneurial attitude, and type of activities offered to customers. The results show that relatively young and small-sized enterprises have faced difficulties in developing their business. Entrepreneurial experience, risk-taking and intention to develop new business associate positively with expected increase in turnover.

  • Kosenius, University of Helsinki, Department of Economics and Management, P.O. Box 27, FI-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1528-8145 E-mail: anna-kaisa.kosenius@helsinki.fi (email)
  • Juutinen, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Bioeconomy and environment, Paavo Havaksentie 3, FI-90570 Oulu, Finland ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4300-5365 E-mail: artti.juutinen@luke.fi
  • Tyrväinen, Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Bioeconomy and environment, Latokartanonkaari 9, FI-00790 Helsinki, Finland ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9941-8228 E-mail: liisa.tyrvainen@luke.fi

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