Firm capabilities in the Finnish forest cluster: comparisons based on self-organizing map

Abstract

This paper examines the capability portfolios of Finnish forest cluster firms in 1998–2008. In particular, the focus is on what kind of capabilities the firms in the cluster have developed, whether the firms have developed such capabilities consistently, and whether they have developed similar capability portfolios. Further, a particular focus is on the links between innovativeness and other identified capabilities. We approach the topic with an exploratory quantitative analysis of the annual reports of 11 large firms in the cluster by using computerized content analysis and a self-organizing map as the main research methods. Based on the content analysis and earlier literature, we first identify fifteen capabilities, and then build capability portfolios for the firms on the basis of the results of the self-organizing map. At the firm level, the results reveal both similarities and differences in the capability portfolios of the forest cluster firms. Similarly, we identify both continuity and change in the development of the portfolios. At the cluster level, the focus is on innovativeness capability and its relationship with other capabilities. The results suggest that especially being strategic, market-oriented, and monitoring the external environment are positively related with innovativeness; in contrast, a focus on finance and change seems to suppress innovativeness.