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Consumer acceptance of new bio-based products plays a key role in the envisioned transition towards a forest-based bioeconomy. Multi-storey wooden buildings (MSWB) exemplify a modern, bio-based business opportunity for enacting low-carbon urban housing. However, there is limited knowledge about the differing perceptions consumers hold regarding wood as an urban building material. To fill this gap, this study explores Finnish students’ perceptions of MSWB relative to their familiarity with wooden residential buildings, and then connects these perceptions to ‘consumption styles.’ Data were collected in the Helsinki metropolitan area via an online questionnaire (n = 531). The results indicate that the aesthetic appearance of MSWB are appreciated most by frugal and responsible consumers, whereas the comfort, environmental friendliness, and longevity of MSWB are important to consumers who identify themselves as ‘thoughtful spenders.’ The study suggests that both environmental and hedonic young consumers already familiar with the use of wood in housing contribute to a successful bioeconomy in the urban context.

Natural and business ecosystems are complex and dynamic service systems that interact through the utilization of ecosystem service offerings for human well-being. Currently, natural and business sciences have not developed a shared and common set of service-based terms or concepts for discussing ecosystem service offerings in the process of value co-creation. In this study, the ecosystem service approach was compared with marketing science's service-dominant logic. The terminology and concepts were harmonized, and the two approaches were then integrated into a service-dominant value creation (SVC) framework. The incorporation of natural ecosystems includes accounting for the flow of positive and negative impacts through associated value networks. Therefore, the term value-in-impact was proposed to describe these value flows. A case study of the global forest-based sector was then presented, demonstrating how to discuss current research challenges using the proposed framework. In conclusion, a shared service-dominant approach provides an opportunity for deeper inter-disciplinary discussion between natural and business sciences. This study represents a contribution towards the development of a holistic service science that includes consideration for natural ecosystems. The SVC framework also addresses many of the multidimensional challenges noted by previous sustainability frameworks.

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