The Values and Objectives of Private Forest Owners and Their Influence on Forestry Behaviour: The Implications for Entrepreneurship

Abstract

There are many factors that determine what forestry activities forest owners carry out in their forest properties and that influence whether forest owners engage in entrepreneurial activity. This paper explores whether the values and objectives of forest owners influence their forestry behaviour and their engagement in entrepreneurial activity. This is done through a review of the literature on private forest owners' typologies based on owners' objectives. The review reveals that typologies typically divide forest owners into two main groups. The primary objective of the first group of owners is production (of wood and non-wood goods and services) usually, although not exclusively, so as to generate economic activity. The primary objective of the second group is consumption (of wood and non-wood goods and services). There is a tacit assumption in the studies reviewed that goals Á . Ní Dhubháin (and objectives do influence forestry behaviour but few studies have actually assessed whether this is the case. The general finding is that forest owners whose objectives are timber production and who are business-oriented are more likely to manage and harvest their stands. No research focusing on the link between owners' objective and wider entrepreneurial activity in forests was found.

The importance of threat, strategy, and resource appraisals for long-term proactive risk management among forest owners in Sweden

“…Private forest owners are heterogeneous when it comes to, for example, ownership motives, and not all of which are involved in working with their forest (Eggers et al 2014;Ní Dhubháin et al 2007). Since stage models (e.g.…”

Exploring the financial rationales of Dutch forest holdings and their relation with financial results

“…All these typologies differ according to the purpose of the research carried out (Dhubháin et al 2007;Hujala et al 2013) and the interests of the authors and/or the contextual audiences (Hujala et al 2013). The typologies are, for example, based on the value orientations of forest owners (Karppinen 1998), or-as is the case in most of the studies-on ownership motivations and objectives (Boon et al 2004;Kendra and Hull 2005;Ross-Davis and Broussard 2007).…”

“…Richter 2005;Nichiforel 2010), and there are rare typologies with an international focus (such as the research of Wiersum et al (2005) of forest owners in Austria, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands and Spain). Typologies have been set up for different purposes, including: customer segmentation (Hujala et al 2013); better communication between authorities and owners (Boon et al 2004); to understand entrepreneurship amongst forest owners (Dhubháin et al 2007); and to develop owner-specific policies (Van Herzele and Van Gossum 2008).…”

“…Hujala et al 2013). Dhubháin et al (2007), in their review of the literature on forest owner typologies based on owners' objectives, also concluded that no studies related owners' objectives and entrepreneurial activity in forests were available. The aim of this study is, therefore, to provide a better understanding of the financial situation of forest holdings and, therefore, allow improved discussion on this, using Dutch forest holdings as a case study, by determining: (a) Which financial rationales motivate the different forest holdings; and (b) How these rationales relate to the financial results of these holdings.…”

Determinants, attitudes and willingness of private forest owners to produce goods and services: a review of the international literature

“…La classificazione di Ní Dhubháin et al (2007), invece, identifica per l'Irlanda due macro-categorie di proprietari forestali in relazione al grado di imprenditorialità della loro attività, distinguendo tra obiettivi di produzione, di autoconsumo di prodotti legnosi e di autoconsumo di prodotti non legnosi. Infine, Canton & Pettenella (2010) hanno individuato, in relazione alla distanza tra il bosco e il luogo di residenza del proprietario, tre tipologie di proprietari forestali in un area di studio costituita dal comune di Recoaro Terme (VI): (i) i "proprietari con obiettivi immateriali", che normalmente abitano a più di 20 km dalla proprietà; (ii) i "proprietari multi-obiettivo", che abitano a pochissima distanza dal bosco e si distinguono per una spiccata dipendenza dal bosco, sia come fonte di reddito che di materie prime; (iii) i "proprietari disinteressati" che, seppur abitando ad una distanza intermedia dalla proprietà rispetto agli altri due gruppi, sono poco coinvolti nelle attività di gestione del bosco.…”