Innovation and R&D: Contrasting the US and Nordic Europe forest sectors

Abstract

Forests and wood products are increasingly recognized as potential contributors to global sustainability goals, and innovation is emphasized as essential for the sector to contribute to sustainability, but questions remain regarding the sector’s capacity for innovation and research and development (R&D). This work utilizes content analysis of annual and sustainability reports from the 20 largest (based on sales) publicly-held companies in Nordic Europe and the US to explore differences in their approach to communication regarding innovation, innovativeness, and R&D. We find that Nordic European companies are more likely to emphasize both innovation and R&D than US companies. Overall, firms are most focused on sustainability-oriented narratives when presenting their innovation work. Collaboration with customers and stakeholders for innovation is emphasized, whereas explicit cross-sector collaboration is rarely mentioned. Our findings provide a foundation for future research into the innovation practices of forest sector firms and into how public reporting frames innovation and R&D.