The Contribution of Small-Scale Forestry-Based Enterprises to the Rural Economy in the Developing World: The Case of the Informal Carpentry Sector, Sudan

Abstract

Small-scale forestry-based enterprises connected with wood processing are becoming of growing importance in the rural economy of developing countries. Little attention has been paid to the characteristics of these enterprises and their role in supporting economic development. The objectives of this study are to: (1) determine the socioeconomic characteristics of the operators of these enterprises; (2) assess the contribution of the informal carpentry sector to operators’ income; and (3) identify the factors limiting the expansion of the sector. The study was carried out in the Singa district, Sinnar State in 2011. Snowball sampling was used to select 250 operators from five markets in the district. The quantitative and qualitative data were collected using Participatory Rural Appraisal methods. The results revealed that most operators involved in the informal carpentry sector are males aged <30 years and their businesses have been in existence for <10 years. Operators’ incomes ranged between USD 100 and 500 monthly on average. The results also indicated that the operators face many constraints (e.g. finance shortage, lack of raw materials, insecure market, lack of technology and lack of organization) to expanding the informal carpentry sector. The study concluded that the informal carpentry sector has potential to contribute to rural economic development through increasing income and reducing rural poverty

Leadership and Organizational Culture in the Sustainability of Subsistence Small Businesses: An Intellectual Capital Based View

“…Entrepreneurs of small businesses in developing countries have a robust motivation to support their families [41,42]. Their decisions are based on intuition, personal experience, and business sentiment [43].…”

“…They tend to be individualists, not participating in associations and limiting cooperation with their competitors. Owner-managers often have little formal education [44], which is also generally not oriented towards practical activity [42]. Given this lack of training, they have little market orientation (Jardon, Gutawski, Martos, Aguilar, & Barajas, 2007), and have difficulty evaluating the costs of products [44].…”

“…Given this lack of training, they have little market orientation (Jardon, Gutawski, Martos, Aguilar, & Barajas, 2007), and have difficulty evaluating the costs of products [44]. The workers of these companies are usually not qualified, since SSBs have greater difficulties in finding qualified personnel [42,45]. They tend to operate at the frontier of the formal and informal sectors and are often in the latter [41], exposing their rivals to unfair competition.…”

“…Cultural issues have been studied as a source of sustainable competitive advantage [59,69], but SSBs present little strategic orientation [42], and the arguments of other companies are possibly not totally valid.…”

Technology and Culture in Subsistence Small Businesses

“…Small businesses present a community-based enterprise model [11]. This situation is more accentuated in countries that usually have poor infrastructure [12]. As a consequence, the culture of the territory influences the organizational culture and, consequently, the management of these companies [13].…”