Purpose

In Finland, new forest-based sector (FBS) businesses are seen as important for the transition to the circular bioeconomy. The purpose of this study is to explore the transition of Finnish FBS companies to new business models. The aim is to understand how FBS companies define their ideal future states and related business models for the year 2030.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses thematic interviews with managers from various FBS firms and companies from interfacing sectors. In the interviews, the key idea of backcasting was pursued when respondents discussed the desirable future states of their business.

Findings

The effort to achieve growth of the business and the appearance of new products characterize the company-specific desirable future states. In these desirable futures, expanded businesses will be based on strong knowledge. Resource efficiency and collaboration create a strong basis for the desirable future state of the whole FBS to create a sustainable and innovative “Wood Valley.”

Research limitations/implications

The key limitations are that the backcasting process has been conducted only through interviews and a participative approach with stakeholder dialogue is lacking in the process. This means that the desirable futures are created by the FBS companies only.

Originality/value

As a practical contribution, the study shows the future-oriented thinking and goals of FBS firms. As a theoretical contribution, it extends research on sustainable business models and discussions on the novel field of corporate foresight.

中文翻译：

---

对芬兰森林企业的理想期货进行回播

目的

在芬兰，新的以森林为基础的部门（FBS）业务被视为向循环生物经济过渡的重要组成部分。这项研究的目的是探索芬兰FBS公司向新商业模式的过渡。目的是了解FBS公司如何定义2030年的理想未来状态和相关业务模型。

设计/方法/方法

这项研究使用了主题访谈，采访了来自不同FBS公司的经理以及来自接口行业的公司。在访谈中，当受访者讨论其业务的理想未来状态时，便采用了“后退”的关键思想。

发现

为实现业务增长和推出新产品而做出的努力体现了公司特定的期望未来状态。在这些理想的未来中，扩展的业务将基于强大的知识。资源效率和协作为整个FBS理想的未来状态奠定了坚实的基础，从而创造了可持续和创新的“伍德山谷”。

研究局限/意义

关键的局限性在于，仅通过采访进行了重铸过程，并且在此过程中缺乏与利益相关者对话的参与性方法。这意味着理想的期货仅由FBS公司创建。

创意/价值

作为实际的贡献，该研究显示了FBS公司面向未来的思想和目标。作为理论上的贡献，它扩展了对可持续商业模式的研究以及对公司远见的新颖领域的讨论。