Innovativeness in the global forest products industry: exploring new insights

• Published in: Canadian journal of forest research Vol. 37; no. 8; pp. 1324 - 1335
• Main Authors: Hansen, E, Juslin, H, Knowles, C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; French
• Published: Ottawa, ON National Research Council of Canada 01.08.2007; NRC Research Press; Canadian Science Publishing NRC Research Press
• Subjects: Analysis; attitudes and opinions; Biological and medical sciences; Business creativity; company culture; Competition (Economics); Competitive advantage; Forest products; Forest products industry; Forestry; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; innovation adoption; Innovations; interviews; Management; Managers; perceptions (cognitive); wood products; Canada; Forestry
• ISSN: 0045-5067; 1208-6037
• DOI: 10.1139/X06-323

Innovativeness is a concept that has seen extensive study, yet there remain significant gaps in our understanding of the phenomenon. This is especially true when considering views of practitioners as well as specific industry sectors, such as the forest products industry. The qualitative work described here explores the concept of innovativeness from the perspective of forest industry managers. Managers consistently described five aspects of what it means to be an innovative company: (i) new, (ii) creating the “right” culture, (iii) managing the market-customer link, (iv) being a leader, and (v) a focus on the future. Similar to past research, managers identified new or improved products, processes, and business systems as areas within which a firm can be innovative. Results also outline challenges that firms face as they attempt to become innovative, how they would go about measuring innovativeness, and how they build innovative capacity. Based on these findings, we suggest that firms have significant opportunities to increase innovativeness and, thereby, enhance competitiveness.