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Lumber production in North America has declined sharply after the housing crisis in the U.S. The weak demand for lumber in the U.S. has been offset by strong international demand, however, some sawmills hesitate to export their products internationally, while others actively pursue opportunities overseas. This dissertation explores two research questions by analyzing the survey responses from 89 sawmills: 1) What are the factors that drive North American softwood lumber firms to enter international markets and commit to international customers? 2) What characteristics determine the flexibility of sawmill firms, and how do these characteristics influence firms' performance after the housing crisis? The first question implemented a sequential hurdle ordered probit model to explain the degree of internationalization based on firm characteristics. Results showed that medium-sized firms are more likely to target international markets than smaller firms. Firms that have a strong differentiation orientation are more likely to participate in international markets. Most Canadian lumber firms have been exporters to the U.S., but after controlling for this fact, the data suggests that Canadian and U.S. firms have similar degrees of international commitment. Within the U.S., firms in the North are more likely to commit to exporting than firms in Southeast, but if a Southeast firm has adopted a product differentiation strategy, then they are more likely to commit to exporting. For the second question, results showed that medium-sized firms are more flexible than smaller firms based on the number of operational changes a firm made after the housing crisis. Flexible firms are more export oriented and pursue a higher degree of differentiation than inflexible firms. The flexibility characteristics of firms are time invariant. Firms that are flexible perceive their performance is relatively better than firms that are not flexible; however, current performance could not give insight into past performance. These results suggest that flexibility was the key factor in the prosperity of softwood sawmills after the housing crisis, but the factors contributing to success in the sawmill industry are inconsistent over time.
Changes in production, demand, supply, and trade patterns; the impact of green building and bioenergy on industry practices and policy infrastructure; and new economies with production advantages and large consumption bases all present challenges and opportunities in the forest sector. With contributions from leading experts in academia and professional organizations, The Global Forest Sector: Changes, Practices, and Prospects fills a gap in the literature that is preventing students, scholars, and policy makers from developing a timely, structured, big-picture view of forest sector business. In addition, the book reviews current thinking on a wide variety of business management issues in the forest sector. The book covers managing change in the global forest sector and the impact of globalization on forest users. It discusses markets and market forces, new products and product categories, and the influence of China and Russia. The book then examines the environmental paradigm, including environmental activism, sustainability, and the impact of green building and bioenergy. The book concludes with coverage of the role of information technology, corporate social responsibility, innovation, and next steps. Overall, this book helps readers both develop a bird’s eye view of the changes surrounding the forest sector as well as have a magnified view of numerous managerial issues associated with these changes. The content paints a picture of the current and changing forest sector including the state of forests, the nature of markets, the newly emerged patterns of stakeholder impact, and evolution of key business practices. It provides the foundation needed to develop the conservation-based economy required for future success in the global forest sector.
This upper-level open access textbook uses an interdisciplinary perspective to discuss the ‘what and why’ of public procurement, providing insight into the ‘how’ of contemporary procurement in the public sector. The authors use theories and exemplary practices to show the next generation of public procurement professionals how public value can be created via the acquisition of works, supplies, or services by organizations operating in the public domain. Perfectly tailored to university students in public administration, law, economics, or management and those in executive education, the book first describes and explains the public procurement process, the concept of public value, the legal context of procurement and how the procurement function is organized in public organizations. The book subsequently explains how a procurement policy can be developed and translated into a procurement strategy, how tenders can be organized, suppliers selected, and contracts designed and evaluated. A final discussion chapter addresses the changes and developments in public procurement and how public procurement is moving forward. The reader of this innovative and accessible book will therefore not only learn what public procurement entails, but also how they can become a professional change agent in the field of public procurement. Forward-thinking and comprehensive, this book offers ideal reading for anyone interested in public procurement.