Factors Explaining the Interest of Adult Offspring in Succeeding Their Parents as Forest Owners

Abstract

In the past, Swedish ownership of the forest estate was predominantly passed on by parents to their descendants. However, a general societal change has given successors a larger say in decisions on such matters. Their willingness to become forest owners has, therefore, become an important factor for who will own the forest in the future. To study what factors explain adult descendants’ interest in taking over as forest owners, this study determined how adult children, who expressed a willingness to take over their parents’ forest estate, were different from those who were not willing. Members of the Northern Forest Owner Association in Sweden were asked to provide contact addresses of their children, in the age group 30 to 50 years old. The logistic regression analysis of the 249 participating offspring respondents revealed several significant factors. Offspring who helped their parents with the management of the estate were more likely to be willing to take it over, showing that developing into a forest owner remains a socialization process that starts with practical work. Values, such as the respondents’ attitude towards maintaining a forest ownership tradition, as well as the interest in forest income, hunting, and fishing, were also found to be factors affecting the willingness to take over. The results also indicate that the socialization process is still gender-biased, and that the distance between a descendants’ present home and the forest estate is a factor that mattered.