Advancing Forest Sector Competitivenes through Marketing and Business Management Programs.
Selected Publications
Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research 2020
Women have been historically underrepresented in the forest sector. Given a graying workforce, there is a significant opportunity to diversify the sector via a younger generation entering the industry. To a large extent, the gender situation in the forest sector is influenced by the education of employees in the sector. Therefore, it is beneficial to know the perceptions of women student leaders, as future industry leaders, about gender diversity and equality in forestry universities. Utilizing interviews, we found that although our respondents perceived increase in the proportion of women students in forestry higher education, this is not proportionately reflected in the forestry workforce. Our respondents emphasize that women can be good leaders utilizing skills of listening, collaboration, and organization and it is not necessary to show agentic qualities to be considered a good leader.
Canadian Journal of Forest Research 2019
Increasing gender diversity is no longer just the right thing to do, but also the smart thing to do. Although there is general literature about gender diversity and the perspectives of females in top management and leadership, there are, however, very few forest sector specific studies. This exploratory study utilizes interviews to better understand how female executives in North America and the Nordic countries of Finland and Sweden perceive the impact of the situation of gender diversity in the forest industry. Respondents also provide career advice for young females entering or considering entry into the industry. Female executives in both regions agree that although the forest sector is still seen as a male-oriented industry, there are signs of increasingly positive attitudes regarding industry and company culture towards the benefits of greater gender diversity; however, the described changes represent an evolution, not revolution. Interestingly, despite the status of Nordic countries as leaders in bridging the gender gap, respondents from this region believe that there is significant progress yet to be made in the forest industry, especially at the entry level. With respect to career development, North American respondents suggested that young females should consider sacrificing their social life and leisure time activities, whereas Nordic respondents instead emphasized personal supports or using exit strategy from an unsupportive company or boss.
Journal of Forestry 2018
Little is known about what the public thinks of tall wood buildings (TWBs), which are structures made primarily from wood that are at least five stories tall. Understanding end-user beliefs can help the industry address public preferences and concerns. An online panel of 502 residents in the Portland, Oregon, and Seattle, Washington, metropolitan areas showed that only 19 percent were familiar with TWBs. The largest percentages of respondents believed that, compared with concrete and steel buildings, TWBs are more aesthetically pleasing, create a positive living environment, and use materials that regrow. However, they also believed that TWBs have greater fire risk and need more maintenance. Sizable percentages of respondents said they did not know about various durability, performance, aesthetic, and environmental attributes of TWBs. There were few meaningful differences between respondents who reported being familiar and unfamiliar with TWBs, but those who were familiar evaluated TWBs slightly more positively.
