Title: Challenges to the growth of Finnish woodworking SMEs

Authors: Pekka Makinen, J. Ashley Selby

Addresses: Department of Economics and Management, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 27, Helsinki FI-00014, Finland. ' Finnish Forest Research Institute, Unioninkatu 40A, Helsinki FI-00170, Finland

Abstract: Although Finland has a relatively large number of woodworking SMEs, the challenge is how to create the growth from this endowment of knowledge and experience. Except for economic performance, a few business problems recognised in an eight-country comparison were serious in Finland. The institutional environment for SMEs was considered to be fairly good. National level institutional support was weak, but local, practical SME support was strong. The future success of the Finnish woodworking industries depends on domestic demand. This can be stimulated by changes to planning legislation and building regulations to encourage the building of wooden single-family and wooden apartment houses. The external economies derived from industrial concentrations are not to be found in the Finnish woodworking sector. Such concentrations that currently exist are not expected to develop. This creates a weakness that could affect the sectors| ability to grasp new opportunities.

Keywords: woodworking industries; SMEs; future challenges; institutional environment; networking; business problems; branch organisations; vocational education; industrial agglomerations; Finland; entrepreneurship.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESB.2006.010545

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 2006 Vol.3 No.5, pp.594 - 606

Published online: 30 Jul 2006 *

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