SWOT Analysis of Current State of Information and Communication Technology in Finnish Forest Sector
Contreras, Roxana (2023)
2023
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2023120534298
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2023120534298
Tiivistelmä
The forest industry is currently experiencing rapid digitalization. The case of Finland is particularly important, due to the large impact that the information and communication technology (ICT) and forestry sectors have in the economy. Both sectors, ICT and forestry, individually constitute critical components of the Finnish economy, with large impact on the domestic turnover.
The objective of this thesis is to study and to evaluate the competitiveness and strategic position of the combined fields of ICT and forestry in Finland, mainly because as of now, this type of study addressing both components simultaneously has not been carried out.
The method chosen for this study is a qualitative analysis technique commonly used in strategic management to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT). A wide variety of sources was used in this analysis, especially statistical analyses and reports published by public entities.
It was found that the prominence of both, ICT and forestry sectors in Finland have a main impact on the strengths, together with a solid infrastructure. On the other hand, high maintenance costs and the current state of deterioration of the vast forest road infrastructure, contribute to the main weaknesses.
ICT has great potential for ecologically sustainable digitalization in this evolving field, especially in forestry. Open data sources together with the widespread use of LiDAR technologies, were identified as opportunities. The main threats found correspond to issues with the right to privacy of forest owners. This is especially sensitive with the directive 2003/4/EC on public access to environmental information. The introduction of a new climate strategy creates uncertainty, and therefore it also represents a threat.
Two possible lines of research may be derived from this work for future analysis. Adding an analytical component to the analysis would be a natural step to follow, to assign weights to the elements identified in the SWOT analysis. This requires input and cooperation with local experts in each field at different levels of management within each organization and the assignment of weights must come from their expert opinion. Second, a deeper analysis of devices and software currently available and in use is needed; for this, a list of such applications should be proposed and tested individually.
The objective of this thesis is to study and to evaluate the competitiveness and strategic position of the combined fields of ICT and forestry in Finland, mainly because as of now, this type of study addressing both components simultaneously has not been carried out.
The method chosen for this study is a qualitative analysis technique commonly used in strategic management to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT). A wide variety of sources was used in this analysis, especially statistical analyses and reports published by public entities.
It was found that the prominence of both, ICT and forestry sectors in Finland have a main impact on the strengths, together with a solid infrastructure. On the other hand, high maintenance costs and the current state of deterioration of the vast forest road infrastructure, contribute to the main weaknesses.
ICT has great potential for ecologically sustainable digitalization in this evolving field, especially in forestry. Open data sources together with the widespread use of LiDAR technologies, were identified as opportunities. The main threats found correspond to issues with the right to privacy of forest owners. This is especially sensitive with the directive 2003/4/EC on public access to environmental information. The introduction of a new climate strategy creates uncertainty, and therefore it also represents a threat.
Two possible lines of research may be derived from this work for future analysis. Adding an analytical component to the analysis would be a natural step to follow, to assign weights to the elements identified in the SWOT analysis. This requires input and cooperation with local experts in each field at different levels of management within each organization and the assignment of weights must come from their expert opinion. Second, a deeper analysis of devices and software currently available and in use is needed; for this, a list of such applications should be proposed and tested individually.