Anu Laakkonen, Katri Rusanen, Teppo Hujala, Mika Gabrielsson, Jouni Pykäläinen. (2023). Implications of the sustainability transition on the industry value creation logic – case of Finnish pulp and paper industry. Silva Fennica vol. 57 no. 3 article id 23024. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.23024

Keywords: forest industry; business transformation; circular bioeconomy; sustainable business

Highlights: Global change drivers are inducing a sustainability transition to a circular bioeconomy; Established industries need to reconfigure their value creation logic; A document analysis investigated pulp and paper industry’s communicated value creation logic; An interdisciplinary approach helps to understand a changing business environment; Recognition of a socio-economic-technological-environmental system is needed.

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Global economic, social and environmental change drivers have tremendous effects on the dynamic and nested business environment calling for a sustainability transition to a circular bioeconomy. The transition will pressurise established industries to alter their value creation logic to consider sustainability holistically. The study follows a case study research strategy and investigates how an established Finnish pulp and paper industry reconfigures its communicated value creation logic. The findings of a qualitative document analysis suggest that the pulp and paper industry has started to explore new sustainable path-breaking innovations and create a common development agenda, which has resulted in incremental adaptations in the value creation logic. However, the industry’s narrative of already being sustainable has hampered the reconfiguration and stabilisation of the adapted value creation logic. From a theoretical perspective, adopting an interdisciplinary and systemic perspective is necessary to understand the changing business environment. From a managerial perspective, cross-sectoral collaboration and including perspectives of different actors can help in creating a holistically sustainable value creation logic.

Laakkonen, School of Forest Sciences, Faculty of Science, Forestry and Technology, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 111, FI-80101 Joensuu, Finland; Department of Forest Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 27, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6384-7773 E-mail: anu.laakkonen@uef.fi
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
Gabrielsson, Department of Marketing, Hanken School of Economics, P.O. Box 479, FI-00101, Helsinki, Finland; UEF Business School, Faculty of Social Sciences and Business Studies, University of Eastern Finland, P.O. Box 1627, FI-70211 Kuopio, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0633-6918 E-mail: mika.gabrielsson@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 E-mail: jouni.pykalainen@uef.fi

article id 409, category Research article

Hubert Sterba. (2004). Equilibrium curves and growth models to deal with forests in transition to uneven-aged structure – application in two sample stands. Silva Fennica vol. 38 no. 4 article id 409. https://doi.org/10.14214/sf.409

Keywords: uneven-aged forests; growth models; stem number distribution; transformation

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Stem number distributions in uneven-aged forests are assumed to be stable, if they follow special functions, e.g. de Liocourt’s reverse J-shaped breast height diameter distribution. These distributions therefore are frequently regarded as a target in all-aged forests. Intending to convert an even-aged forest or any other forest, not yet exhibiting this sort of equilibrium, towards a steady state forest, the question rises, how to choose an appropriate equilibrium curve and how to achieve this stem number distribution by an appropriate thinning and harvesting schedule. Two stands are investigated: One dominated by Norway spruce (Picea abies), having developed from a 120 year old even-aged stand 25 years ago, after several “target diameter thinnings”. The other one is a mixed species stand of Norway spruce, white fir (Abies alba), larch (Larix europea), common beech (Fagus silvatica), and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), having lost its typical uneven-aged structure 20 years ago. These stands were used, together with the distance independent individual tree growth model PrognAus, to reveal that 1) there are more than only one equilibrium curve per stand, 2) not every hypothesised equilibrium can be reached with any stand, 3) an equilibrium in stem number does not necessarily mean a stable species distribution, and 4) growth models provide an excellent help to decide between several equilibrium curves and harvesting schedules to reach them.

Sterba, BOKU – University of Natural Resources an Applied Life Sciences, Vienna, Peter Jordanstrasse 82, A-1190 Vienna, Austria E-mail: hubert.sterba@boku.ac.at

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