Managerial Perceptions of SMEs in the Wood Industry Supply Chain on Corporate Responsibility and Competitive Advantage: Evidence from China and Finland

Abstract

Our comparative study investigates the hinese and innish managers' perceptions of corporate responsibility () and how engagement can benefit small and medium‐sized enterprises (s) in the mechanical wood processing industry. Based on the semi‐structured interviews with 23 line managers between ecember 2009 and ecember 2010, our study provides evidence that with a focused stakeholder approach, managers in wood industry s adopt informal corporate social responsibility strategies and tools to meet the specific expectations of their key stakeholders. Legal aspects were the key drivers of , whereas advanced production technology, efficient wood procurement, customer focus, and a competent workforce formed the four principal cornerstones in their pursuit of competitive advantage. Despite the two vastly different cultural and operational settings, the importance and the role of were found to follow a fairly similar logic in how was understood and implemented in the wood industry s seeking for competitive advantage.

Acknowledgments

Financial support from Academy of Finland (Grant Number 127889) is gratefully acknowledged. We would also like to express our gratitude to the Editor and two anonymous reviewers of this journal for their insightful comments. All errors remain our own.

Notes

5. As defined in European Union law, the main factors determining whether a company is an SME are number of employees (micro < 10, small < 50, medium‐sized < 250) and either turnover (micro ≤ € 2 million, small ≤ €10 million, medium‐sized ≤ € 50 million) or balance sheet total (micro ≤ small ≤ € 10 million, medium‐sized ≤ € 43 million) (Commission Recommendation 2003). In addition, the European Union specifies terms of ownership, stating that SMEs must be independent, with less than 25 percent being owned by outside interests (European Commission 2007). In China, the definition of an SME varies among different industries and much larger enterprises are categorized as SMEs in China. For administrative purposes, the Interim Regulations on Small and Medium Enterprises Categorizing Criteria defines SMEs based on three identifying criteria (National Bureau of Statistics of China 2003): payroll (small < 300, medium‐sized 300–2,000), total assets in million RMB (small < 40, medium‐sized 40–400), and total revenue in million RMB (small < 40 small, medium‐sized 30–300). There is no requirement on the independent ownership of a SME in China (NBSC 2003).

Additional information

Funding

Academy of Finland

Notes on contributors

Ning Li

Ning Li is postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Forest Sciences at the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Helsinki.

Anne Toppinen

Anne Toppinen is professor of Forest Products Marketing and Management at the Department of Forest Sciences at the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Helsinki.

Marja Lantta

Marja Lantta is junior researcher at the Department of Forest Sciences at the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Helsinki.