Systemic intermediaries and the transition toward forest-based bioeconomy in the North
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Systemic intermediaries and the transition toward forest-based bioeconomy in the North Antje Klitkou 1
& Suyash
Jolly 2
& Nina
Suvinen 3
Accepted: 21 October 2020/ # The Author(s) 2020
Abstract The activities of cluster initiatives operating as systemic intermediaries and supporting networking activities have been discussed in prior studies. We integrate insights from the cluster theory and the literature on sustainability transitions to study the activities of clusters acting as systemic intermediaries in the different phases of the development of a forest-based bioeconomy, namely (1) predevelopment and exploration; (2) takeoff; (3) acceleration and (4) stabilisation. We study three regional cluster initiatives in three different Nordic regions: forest bioeconomy, Central Finland, Finland; Paper Province, Värmland, Sweden, and Arena Skog, Trøndelag, Norway. The paper highlights that the crises in the forestbased industries in Värmland and Trøndelag were the starting point for forestbased cluster development in these regions, while in Central Finland the development was a part of the general economic restructuring of the Finnish economy during the first phase. In the fourth phase, the discontinuity of developed collaboration structures created opportunities for project-oriented collaboration in the case of Central Finland while in the Värmland and the Trøndelag case, the cluster initiatives have broadened the focus of the cluster but also continued the core activities. Keywords Intermediaries . Bioeconomy . Trøndelag . Värmland . Central Finland . Forest
industry
R11: Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues and Changes
* Antje Klitkou [email protected]
1
NIFU Nordic Institute for Studies in Innovation, Research and Education, Oslo, Norway
2
Lund University, Lund, Sweden
3
Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
Review of Evolutionary Political Economy
1 Introduction The European pulp and paper industry has been in crisis due to the decreasing demand for print paper and increased competition from Southeast Asia and Southern America. Pulp and paper mills have focused on incremental innovation and efficiency gains as a strategy to compete (Hansen and Coenen 2017). More forward-looking strategies to overcome this path dependency include forest-based biorefineries producing a broad scope of products, and they have been discussed for Finland (Kangas et al. 2011; Hämäläinen et al. 2011; Näyhä and Pesonen 2014), Sweden (Söderholm and Lundmark 2009; Karltorp and Sandén 2012; Hansen and Coenen 2017; Bauer et al. 2018; Scordato et al. 2018) and Norway (Klitkou et al. 2019; Skog22 - Arbeidsgruppe fiber og bioraffineri 2014; Klitkou 2020). As the global forest industry is undergoing a major structural change, there is a demand for new value-added products, such as bioplastics, pharmaceuticals, wood products for the construction sector and new materials for the textile and chemical industries. The bioeconomy has gained attention due to the emphasis on the conversion o
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