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1、School of BusinessSTOCKHOLM UNIVERSITYMaster thesis 10 Credits Autumn semester 2004 Opportunities for Swedish Wood Export to China Supervisor Author Sikander Khan Bin Li ABSTRACTThe purpose of this thesis is to explore possibilities for Swedish wood export to China.Known for its fast-growing economy
2、 and huge population, China is often regarded as a market with enormous potentials. Those Swedish wood exporters who are motivated to search for new markets and expand their business are as well interested in seeking opportunities on the Chinese market. When exploring business opportunities on or in
3、tending to enter the Chinese market, it is crucial that Swedish wood exporters are aware of and understand the impact that Chinas economic, political, legal and cultural variables may have on their export marketing in China. Good knowledge of these forces is not only necessary but also a competitive
4、 advantage for those who want to succeed on the Chinese market. In addition, Swedish wood exporters need acquaint themselves with Chinese business culture and try to adapt to it. Particularly important in Chinese business culture is a network of guan xi. The Chinese wood market is huge and complex.
5、Although the volume of wood import in China is gigantic, when it comes to opportunities for Swedish sawn red pine and sawn white spruce, international competitors from Russia, New Zeeland and North America do exist there. In China, furniture manufacturing is a large field for wood consumption. More
6、specific, companies manufacturing and exporting softwood furniture can be a most promising market segment for Swedish wood export, preferably large-scale private firms or joint-ventures, because of their strong purchasing power. Furthermore, Guangdong province can be an appropriate region to start w
7、ith when exporting wood to China, on the basis of its economic prosperity, favourable business environment and due to the enormous wood import and flourishing furniture industry in that region. Finally, with regards to entry modes to China, direct export entry is considered to be more favourable tha
8、n an indirect one. It is hoped that this thesis has served its purpose of providing an overview of Chinese wood market and opportunities for Swedish wood in China. Additionally, it is wished that this paper has also offered the reader some knowledge of Chinese business culture and a guideline of cho
9、osing the right export entry mode for the Chinese market. Key words: Wood, Export, China, Sweden.FOREWORDAlthough the process of writing my thesis has not been always easy, I did get a lot of pleasure from this work. And I owe many people my thanks. First of all, I would like to thank my thesis supe
10、rvisor Dr. Sikander Khan for his advice and guidance I have received from him during my whole working process. Special thanks should be tendered to Mr. Ulf Srmark, Consul General of Sweden in Guangzhou, who has commissioned my thesis work. Mr. Ulf Srmark was also Head of Swedish Trade Council in Tai
11、pei and has played a very important role in initiating and promoting the first Swedish wood exports to China since 1996. I also want to thank all my interview respondents who contributed their time and knowledge to my work. It really has been a great pleasure to talk with them. Finally, I would like
12、 to thank my thesis opponents Alexander, Fredrik and Karima for those helpful feedbacks I got from them. Bin Li Stockholm, January 7th 2005Table of ContentsABSTRACT1FOREWORD21. INTRODUCTION51.1 Background51.2 Research questions61.3 Purpose61.4 Delimitations72. METHODOLOGY82.1 Theoretical basis82.1.1
13、 Hermeneutic and positivistic82.1.2 Inductive and deductive82.1.3 Qualitative and quantitative92.1.4 Objectives of research112.2 Practical approaches123. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK153.1 Macro-environmental forces153.1.1 Economic forces153.1.2 Political/legal forces173.1.3 Social-cultural forces183.2 Chin
14、ese business culture193.2.1 Influence of Confucianism193.2.2 Guan Xi193.2.3 Establishing a relationship203.2.4 Attitudes to contracts203.2.5 Face213.2.6 Holistic thinking213.2.7 Speech acts213.3 Export market selection223.3.1 Export market selection223.3.2 Market definition and segmentation223.3.3 M
15、arket niche233.4 Export entry modes243.4.1 Indirect export243.4.2 Direct export254. RESULTS - SWEDISH WOOD EXPORT264.1 Swedish softwood264.2 Swedish sawmilling industry264.3 Swedish wood export to China275. RESULTS - CHINESE WOOD MARKET295.1 Forest resources of China295.2 Chinas wood import305.3 The
16、 wood import regulations325.4 Imported softwood325.4.1 Softwood from Russia325.4.2 Radiata from New Zeeland335.4.3 Softwood from North America345.4.4 Price comparison345.5 Wood import and marketing channels355.6 Fields of wood utilization in China355.6.1 Furniture manufacturing365.6.2 Construction37
17、5.6.3 Interior decoration375.7 The researched Chinese companies385.8 Attitudes to Swedish wood396. RESULTS - GUANGDONG PROVINCE406.1 General background406.2 Foreign trade416.3 Foreign investment416.4 Consumer market416.5 Wood import and furniture industry427. ANALYSIS437.1 Macro-environmental forces
18、437.1.1 Economic forces437.1.2 Political/legal forces447.1.3 Social-cultural forces457.2 Chinese business culture457.3 Opportunities for Swedish wood in China477.3.1 China needs sawn softwood477.3.2 Furniture manufacturers - dimension of product function487.3.3 Guangdong province - geographic dimens
19、ion497.3.4 The researched Chinese companies507.3.5 A market niche517.3.6 Price issue517.4 Export entry mode to China528. FINAL DISCUSSION558.1 Conclusion558.1.1 Macro environment558.1.2 Chinese business culture558.1.3 Opportunities for Swedish wood in China558.1.4 Direct export entry568.2 Suggestion
20、s for further research578.3 Discussion about own methods578.3.1 Objectivity578.3.2 Trustworthiness588.3.3 Source criticism58REFERENCES59WEBSITES61INTERVIEW RESPONDENTS61LIST OF TABLES62LIST OF CHARTS62LIST OF APPENDICES621.Guiding interview questions on the Swedish side622.Interview guides on the Ch
21、inese side621. INTRODUCTION In this chapter, I am going to present the background reasons why I chose this research subject. Besides, the research questions and purpose of my thesis are declared. Finally, the delimitation of my empirical study is clarified in order to narrow the research scope. 1.1
22、Background The forest industry in Sweden plays a significant role in the Swedish national economy. In 2001, Swedens forest products accounted for some 15 per cent of total exports, with the value of 110 billion kronor (SCB 2001). Western Europe has been the main market for Swedish wood products for
23、years. However, the demand on the European and Swedish markets has decreased during the recent years. As a result, it is of great importance for Swedish wood manufacturers to look for new markets. On the other end of the European-Asian Continent, with the worlds largest population of 1.3 billion peo
24、ple and a rapidly growing economy, China offers the world a huge market, enormous business opportunities and has attracted numerous foreign firms from many countries. Among the Swedish wood manufacturers and exporters, there is also a continuous interest in the Chinese market (Asplund 2003). Taken i
25、ts total area and population into account, China is poor in forests. The Chinese government has brought out a great number of regulations to reduce and even stop the felling of the forests ( 2003-11-15). However, the consumption of wood in China is expected to continue expanding in the coming years,
26、 because of the rapid economic development and the improved living standards. Therefore, the need for importing wood is increasing. Consequently, China is considered to be a huge potential market by wood manufacturers and exporters from many countries. Swedish wood exporters also wish to know if the
27、re are opportunities for them on the Chinese market. There has been some research on the possibilities to export Swedish wood to China which were done from the Swedish side; among others, Nordic Timber Council (Asplund 2003). Information of the Chinese wood market and research about the opportunitie
28、s for Swedish wood in China is still inadequate. Moreover, there is little research conducted from a Chinese point of view. These aspects aroused my interest in writing my thesis on the subject of exploring opportunities for Swedish wood in China. Another very important reason why I have chosen this
29、 subject for my thesis is due to my working experience and my background. In 2002, I worked as project leader at the Province Administration of Vsterbotten in Ume on a project named Sweden - China Wood Industry Partners. The main aim of this project was to help Swedish wood manufacturers develop the
30、 Chinese market for their wood products (e.g. sawn red pine and sawn white spruce) and to try to set up a long-term industrial and commercial cooperation between the Swedish wood industry and the Chinese wood, furniture and construction industry. For the work, I travelled two times to China in 2002
31、and spent totally two months there. I visited the wood markets in Guangdong, Shanghai, Beijing and Tianjin. Besides, I also interviewed more than 60 persons from wood industrial organisations, wood importers, furniture companies and construction companies, etc. This work was a great experience for m
32、e, which is also why I decided to use the opportunity of writing my thesis to continue the research and conduct a deeper market analysis. In addition, the fact that I come from China has as well made this study more attractive and meaningful to me. 1.2 Research questions In this thesis, I am going t
33、o examine the following issues:1. What are the characteristics of the Chinese wood market?2. What potential opportunities do Swedish wood exporters have on the Chinese market? 1.3 Purpose The purpose of my thesis is to explore possibilities for Swedish wood export to China. In order to accomplish th
34、is objective, it is necessary to also look into two important issues which are directly related to the subject of export to China, namely, Chinese business culture and export entry modes. 1.4 Delimitations “Wood” is a very general concept. Wood can be timber, sawn wood, plywood, veneers, panels, fib
35、reboards, wooden floorings, wooden doors and wooden windows, etc. It is impossible to look into all these product types in my research. Sweden is the second largest exporter of sawn softwood in the world (www.svenskttra.org 2003-11-10). In Sweden, the forests are dominated by two conifer species; No
36、rdic red pine and Nordic white spruce, which belong to the specie of softwood (NTC p.3). Therefore, I decided to limit the scope into export of sawn red pine and sawn white spruce from Sweden to China. Thus, throughout my thesis, “wood” in the phrase “Swedish wood export” means sawn red pine and saw
37、n white spruce. On the other hand, it is worth reminding that the word “wood” in the expression “Chinese wood market” is a general definition. Geographically, China is also a large country, with 23 provinces, 4 municipalities and 5 autonomous regions ( 2003-12-15). In order to narrow down the resear
38、ch scope, I focused on Guangdong province, based on my pre-knowledge that Guangdong is a economically and industrially most developed area in China and a best representative example of Chinas fast growing market economy. For that reason, my empirical research of individual Chinese companies and mark
39、et in the micro scope was limited to this region. However, when necessary, some other provinces and areas were looked into as well. 2. METHODOLOGY 2.1 Theoretical basisThe intention of this section is to present the theoretical basis for my research methods. 2.1.1 Hermeneutic and positivisticThe her
40、meneutic approach focuses on obtaining a deeper understanding and seeking the meaning of action, while the positivistic approach concentrates on drawing general and universally applicable conclusions (Hollis 1992). The hermeneutic scientist illustrates peoples actions from the inside of the research
41、; thus the researcher becomes part of the study. As a result, such research reflects subjectivity to some extent. The hermeneutic researchers use subjective interpretation to gain deeper understanding. Research based on positivistic science can be regarded as logical, analytical and objective, since
42、 the researcher has an external relationship with the research object and attempts to explain the causes behind actions from an external perspective. The positivistic approach employs observation as the means of testing hypotheses against reality. (Hollis 1992)My research and analysis were based to
43、a great extent on my own interpretation of the empirical data I found. On the other hand, I also tried to observe and analyse the reality as objective as possible from an outsiders view. In this sense, my approach is characterised as being both hermeneutic and positivistic. 2.1.2 Inductive and deduc
44、tiveAccording to Perry (1998), there are two major approaches to theory development; inductive theory building and deductive theory testing. The differences between these two approaches can be viewed in terms of scientific paradigms. Inductive approach represents the hermeneutic paradigm. Inductive
45、reasoning is a process of generalisation and involves applying specific information to a general situation or future events. The deductive approach represents the positivistic paradigm. My search for theories took place mostly after the contact with my respondents and after my empirical research. In
46、 other words, my interpretation of the respondents words and viewpoints guided my theory study. In this sense, my research process had an inductive character. Perry (1998) also declares that, at interviews some deduction based on prior theory are used, although inductive theory building is more prom
47、inent. Interviews usually start with induction, while analysing the records from the interviews will normally become deductive. It is because that, the researcher has some prior theoretical issues in their mind which were obtained from the earlier literature studies and which is inevitably discussed in the data analysis as the theory testing (Perry 1998). Thus there is interplay between empirical findin
