IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/forpol/v53y2015icp21-28.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Social capital in small-scale forestry: A local case study in Southern Sweden

Author

Listed:
  • Guillén, Luis Andrés
  • Wallin, Ida
  • Brukas, Vilis

Abstract

Small-scale forestry builds upon interactions among local stakeholders. Forest management entails multiple social situations such as consultations or cooperative engagements between owners and forest professionals. Successful social endeavours rest on positive social capital as operationalised via trust. Based on qualitative in-depth interviews with forest owners, managers and other forestry stakeholders, this study explores how trust influences the social relationships in a local context of Southern Swedish forestry. Most strikingly, the analysis reveals large differences in owners' trust towards two major actors: the Swedish Forest Agency (SFA) and the forest owner association (FOA) Södra. Permanence of personnel, a client-based approach, and personal features of SFA's local forest officer lead to strong local anchoring and high trust towards SFA. Södra proved to be a trustful partner in the aftermath of calamities; however its industrial priorities seem to erode owners' trust. The empirical findings of this study demonstrate the importance of recognising personal relationships and the catalysing role of bonding social capital in order to understand the local forest management situations. Our results are useful for forestry organisations and policy-makers willing to comprehend the local context and implement best practices in small-scale forestry.

Suggested Citation

  • Guillén, Luis Andrés & Wallin, Ida & Brukas, Vilis, 2015. "Social capital in small-scale forestry: A local case study in Southern Sweden," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 21-28.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:forpol:v:53:y:2015:i:c:p:21-28
    DOI: 10.1016/j.forpol.2014.12.006
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1389934114002342
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.forpol.2014.12.006?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tulaeva, Svetlana, 2013. "Institutional trust: The process of trust formation in Russian forest villages in accordance with the international system of forest certification," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 20-27.
    2. Kulyasova, Antonina, 2013. "Trust as a strategy of interaction: Three logging companies in one district," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 28-36.
    3. Paldam, M. & Svendsen, G.T., 2000. "Missing Social Capital and the Transition in Eastern Europe," Papers 00-5, Aarhus School of Business - Department of Economics.
    4. Nysten-Haarala, Soili, 2013. "Creating trust in institutions in Russian forest localities," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 12-19.
    5. Krott, Max & Bader, Axel & Schusser, Carsten & Devkota, Rosan & Maryudi, Ahmad & Giessen, Lukas & Aurenhammer, Helene, 2014. "Actor-centred power: The driving force in decentralised community based forest governance," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 34-42.
    6. Bart Nooteboom & Frédérique Six (ed.), 2003. "The Trust Process in Organizations," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 2811.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Kant, Shashi & Vertinsky, Ilan, 2022. "The anatomy of social capital of a Canadian indigenous community: Implications of social trust field experiments for community-based forest management," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    2. Nilsson, Jerker & Helgesson, Matilda & Rommel, Jens & Svensson, Ellinor, 2020. "Forest-owner support for their cooperative's provision of public goods," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    3. Sotirov, Metodi & Sallnäs, Ola & Eriksson, Ljusk Ola, 2019. "Forest owner behavioral models, policy changes, and forest management. An agent-based framework for studying the provision of forest ecosystem goods and services at the landscape level," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 79-89.
    4. Hintz, Kendisha Soekardjo & Pretzsch, Jürgen, 2023. "Smallholder perceptions of and willingness to participate in Forest Farmers' Organizations: Insights from case studies in Ethiopia and Tanzania," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    5. Curtis, Keeli & Guillén, Luis Andrés & Brukas, Vilis, 2023. "Creating the landscape, one stand at a time: The dual roles of timber buyers in the nested domains of Swedish forestry," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    6. Thorning, Anna, 2024. "Co-operative forest owner associations - harmonized values for sustainable development?," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    7. Senko, Sergei & Pykäläinen, Jouni, 2020. "Exploring the views of forest industry companies on the long-term forestry development in Russia: A case study in Republic of Karelia," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    8. Aurenhammer, Peter K., 2017. "Forest land-use governance and change through Forest Owner Associations – Actors' roles and preferences in Bavaria," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(P1), pages 176-191.
    9. Syed Aflatun Kabir Hemel & Mohammad Kamrul Hasan & Md. Abdul Wadud & Rojina Akter & Nasima Akther Roshni & Md. Tariqul Islam & Afsana Yasmin & Keya Akter, 2022. "Improvement of Farmers’ Livelihood through Choi Jhal ( Piper chaba )-Based Agroforestry System: Instance from the Northern Region of Bangladesh," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-20, December.
    10. Górriz-Mifsud, Elena & Secco, Laura & Pisani, Elena, 2016. "Exploring the interlinkages between governance and social capital: A dynamic model for forestry," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 25-36.
    11. Lodin, Isak & Brukas, Vilis, 2021. "Ideal vs real forest management: Challenges in promoting production-oriented silvicultural ideals among small-scale forest owners in southern Sweden," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    12. Bauer, Tina & de Jong, Wil & Ingram, Verina & Arts, Bas & Pacheco, Pablo, 2022. "Thriving in turbulent times: Livelihood resilience and vulnerability assessment of Bolivian Indigenous forest households," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    13. Bjärstig, Therese & Kvastegård, Emma, 2016. "Forest social values in a Swedish rural context: The private forest owners' perspective," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 17-24.
    14. Murtazashvili, Ilia & Murtazashvili, Jennifer & Salahodjaev, Raufhon, 2019. "Trust and deforestation: A cross-country comparison," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 111-119.
    15. Lodin, Isak & Brukas, Vilis & Wallin, Ida, 2017. "Spruce or not? Contextual and attitudinal drivers behind the choice of tree species in southern Sweden," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 191-198.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Grace B. Villamor & Lisa Wallace, 2024. "Corporate social responsibility: Current state and future opportunities in the forest sector," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(4), pages 3194-3209, July.
    2. de Vries, Jasper R. & Aarts, Noelle & Lokhorst, Anne Marike & Beunen, Raoul & Munnink, Josefien Oude, 2015. "Trust related dynamics in contested land use," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 302-310.
    3. Murtazashvili, Ilia & Murtazashvili, Jennifer & Salahodjaev, Raufhon, 2019. "Trust and deforestation: A cross-country comparison," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 111-119.
    4. Pappila, Minna, 2013. "Forest certification and trust — Different roles in different environments," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 37-43.
    5. Enrico Santarelli & Hien Tran, 2013. "The interplay of human and social capital in shaping entrepreneurial performance: the case of Vietnam," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 40(2), pages 435-458, February.
    6. Stea, Diego & Foss, Nicolai J. & Christensen, Peter Holdt, 2015. "Physical separation in the workplace: Separation cues, separation awareness, and employee motivation," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 462-471.
    7. Ongolo, Symphorien & Giessen, Lukas & Karsenty, Alain & Tchamba, Martin & Krott, Max, 2021. "Forestland policies and politics in Africa: Recent evidence and new challenges," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    8. Bin Dong & Benno Torgler, 2010. "The Causes of Corruption: Evidence from China," Working Papers 2010.72, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    9. Kluvankova-Oravska, Tatiana & Chobotová, Veronika, 2008. "Shifting Governance in Slovensky Raj National Park," Journal of Rural Cooperation, Hebrew University, Center for Agricultural Economic Research, vol. 36(1), pages 1-18.
    10. Zhang, Pei & Zhao, Jiacheng & Krott, Max, 2023. "Strictest nature conservation: China's national park policy underpinned by power shift and turf dynamic," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    11. Mijailoff, Julián Daniel & Giessen, Lukas & Burns, Sarah Lilian, 2023. "Local to global escalation of land use conflicts: Long-term dynamics on social movements protests against pulp mills and plantation forests in Argentina and Uruguay," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    12. Sheetal K. Chand & Martin Paldam, 2004. "The economics of immigration into a Nordic welfare state - and a comparison to an immigration state and a guest worker state," Economics Working Papers 2004-4, Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University.
    13. Svendsen, Gert Tinggaard, 2003. "Social Capital, Corruption and Economic Growth: Eastern and Western Europe," Working Papers 03-21, University of Aarhus, Aarhus School of Business, Department of Economics.
    14. Perrons, Robert K., 2009. "The open kimono: How Intel balances trust and power to maintain platform leadership," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(8), pages 1300-1312, October.
    15. Juniyanti, Lila & Purnomo, Herry & Kartodihardjo, Hariadi & Prasetyo, Lilik Budi & Suryadi, & Pambudi, Eko, 2021. "Powerful actors and their networks in land use contestation for oil palm and industrial tree plantations in Riau," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    16. Laurent Karsenty, 2013. "How to apprehend trust at work? [Comment appréhender la confiance au travail ?]," Post-Print hal-04464235, HAL.
    17. Kleinschmit, Daniela & Böcher, Michael & Giessen, Lukas, 2016. "Forest Policy Analysis: Advancing the analytical approach," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 1-6.
    18. Bin Dong & Benno Torgler, 2010. "The Causes of Corruption: Evidence from China," Working Papers 2010.72, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    19. Susanti, Ari & Maryudi, Ahmad, 2016. "Development narratives, notions of forest crisis, and boom of oil palm plantations in Indonesia," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 130-139.
    20. Purnomo, Herry & Kusumadewi, Sonya D. & Ilham, Qori P. & Puspitaloka, Dyah & Hayati, Durrah & Sanjaya, Made & Okarda, Beni & Dewi, Sonya & Dermawan, Ahmad & Brady, Michael A., 2021. "A political-economy model to reduce fire and improve livelihoods in Indonesia's lowlands," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:forpol:v:53:y:2015:i:c:p:21-28. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/forpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.