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

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.