Value-added strategies and forward integration in the Swedish sawmill industry: positioning and profitability in the high-volume segment

Brege, Staffan; Nord, Tomas; Sjöström, Roland; Stehn, Lars

doi:10.1080/02827581.2010.496738

Cited by 23 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…The arguments on this subject are still under review because of the researchers' inconsistent empirical findings. For example, in the study of Brege, Nord, Sjöström and Stehn (2010) it was found that differentiation had positive impacts on performance than low cost, which was consistent with the findings of previous studies conducted by Wright, Kroll, Tu and Helms (1991), Roos et al (2001Roos et al ( , 2002, Ebben and Johnson (2005), Lä htinen and Toppinen (2008), and Lechner et al (2014), all of whom pointed to the importance of strategic purity. Thornhill and White (2007, 553) found that pure strategies never did less well and often did better than hybrid strategies.…”

Section: Discussion On Pure or Hybrid Strategysupporting

confidence: 81%

A Case Study on Performance Implications of Hybrid Strategy in Automotive Supplier Industry

Özdemir¹,

Mecikoglu²

2016

IBR

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The aim of this study is to explore the impact of hybrid strategy on firm performance in a wire harness firm operating in the automotive supplier industry at Antalya Free Trade Zone in Turkey. It was the gap in literature concerning this relationship between hybrid strategy and firm performance under conditions of environment turbulence in the automotive supplier industry that motivated this study. The research question was pursued through in depth interviews with top-level managers of the firm. Data obtained from the interviews, observations and documents were analysed using NVivo software. The findings show that hybrid strategy influenced firm performance positively. Furthermore, the existence of environment turbulence positively influences hybrid strategy, whereas stable environment has a negative influence. Environment turbulence does not exert a direct influence on performance, but an indirect one, through hybrid strategy.

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Section: Discussion On Pure or Hybrid Strategysupporting

confidence: 81%

A Case Study on Performance Implications of Hybrid Strategy in Automotive Supplier Industry

Özdemir¹,

Mecikoglu²

2016

IBR

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“…Previous research suggests that market or customer orientation prevails within the industry (Cohen et al, 2001;Hansen et al, 2005. However, many scholars have pointed out that the forest industry is still strongly production-oriented (e.g., Brege et al, 2010;Stendahl et al, 2013;Han & Hansen, 2017;Pelli et al, 2017). This thesis supports the latter view.…”

Section: Theoretical Implicationssupporting

confidence: 51%

“…The sawmill industry's challenges largely lie in its business strategies. The industry is often described as mature and commodity-focused (e.g., Brege et al, 2010;Stendahl et al, 2013;, with low levels of customer understanding and innovation (Han & Hansen, 2017;Hansen et al, 2017). The generally maintained assumption is that a production-oriented business logic predominates the sawmill industry.…”

Section: Transforming Business Strategies In the Wood Products Industrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Renewing the sawmill industry: studies on innovation, customer value and digitalization

Makkonen¹

2019

Diss. For.

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The sawmill industry's current business strategies are based on traditional, productionoriented business logic. However, the ruling sources of competitiveness (lower prices and higher production volumes) are no longer sufficient to maintain the industry's profitability. A shift from manufacturing to service economy includes vast potential to improve customer value and, hence, business performance. The service view suggests that instead of being created by production, customer value derives from processes in which the provider supports the customer's value creation. This view positions the customer at the core of the business and challenges prevailing business approaches within traditional industries.The goal of this thesis is to explore the sawmill industry's business transformation toward customer orientation and service-based business. As firms do not operate in isolation from their surrounding business environment, the entire wood products industry is considered. Service logic was used as the research frame to accentuate the value-based business approach. The novelty of this thesis is applying customer orientation to improve the forest industry's innovation and competitiveness. Digitalization is a core of innovation and offers potential to take customer orientation to a new level. Therefore, two closely connected concepts with customer orientation, innovation and digitalization, were also studied. Both interviews and case studies were used, comprising a total of 36 semi-structured interviews. This thesis suggests that by positioning customers at the core of the business and by applying service-based business practices, the sawmill industry is in better position to achieve longterm competitiveness. This idea, however, necessitates significant strategic changes, questioning existing practices and principles of the entire wood products industry. The first step in the change toward a customer-oriented business (i.e., service-based business) is to gain more understanding of customer orientation and embrace this approach as an organization-wide attitude, not only within the sawmill industry, but throughout wood value chains.

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“…Earlier literature suggests that networks are in use between Finnish sawmills, but these tend to be more related to upstream activities or targeting partnerships with machinery producers, and aiming for efficiency improvements rather than more strategic business-related issues (Toppinen et al 2011;Mattila et al 2016). Vertical integration and the share of higher-value-added products has had a minor role, although these have been found to correlate positively, especially with the financial results of companies (Lähtinen et al 2008;Brege et al 2010;Nybakk et al 2011). Networks could play an important part in the future of the Finnish wood products industry, creating opportunities for growth and internationalization, especially for SMEs (Mattila et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Networks in international opportunity recognition among Finnish wood product industry SMEs

Hietala¹,

Hänninen²,

Kniivilä³

et al. 2019

Silva Fenn.

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Highlights• In line with earlier literature, we found the networks in our study to positively impact international opportunity recognition. • Despite the reliance on various network forms and levels, a strategic stance towards opportunity recognition can be characterized as being more reactive than proactive. • Institutional networks represented a more systematic way of recognizing international opportunities among case companies. AbstractBioeconomy development will create new opportunities for firms operating in the international wood products markets, and identifying and exploiting these opportunities is emphasized as a key concept to achieving business success. Our study will attempt to address a gap in the literature on sawmill industry business development from the viewpoint of international opportunity recognition. The aim of our study is to provide a holistic description on how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the wood products industry recognize and exploit international business opportunities, and how they utilize network perspectives in this context. The subject was examined through Finnish wood product industry SMEs by interviewing 11 managers and industry representatives. The results suggest that SMEs recognize international opportunities reactively per se. Social networks formed in professional forums were an important information channel for identifying international opportunities. Through vertical business networks, such as sales agents, firms have been able to increase their international market presence and free their own resources for other important activities. Horizontal dyadic business networks were seen to facilitate new international opportunities through cooperation, while excessive reliance on vertical networks raised concerns and seemed not to be effective in international opportunity recognition. Institutional networks formed a systematic way of recognizing international opportunities, but more so at the initial market entry stage.

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Value-added strategies and forward integration in the Swedish sawmill industry: positioning and profitability in the high-volume segment

Cited by 23 publications

References 11 publications

A Case Study on Performance Implications of Hybrid Strategy in Automotive Supplier Industry

A Case Study on Performance Implications of Hybrid Strategy in Automotive Supplier Industry

Renewing the sawmill industry: studies on innovation, customer value and digitalization

Networks in international opportunity recognition among Finnish wood product industry SMEs

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