On the Nature of Intergenerational and Social Networks in the African Forest Sector

One classical form of industrial organization dominated the production and trade of tropical rainforest timber until the 1990s. Heavy investments, lack of flexibility, harvesting policies showing a clear preference for high-value hardwoods, and a low level of specialization in marketing strategies among operators form the footprint of this organization. Since the mid 1990s, a more flexible form of industrial organization has developed in the sector by communities of overseas Chinese, Indians, Lebanese and Italians. Based on responsive and mobile inter-firms networks, this form of industrial organization has enabled a high degree of specialization in marketing strategies. These networks, diverse in origin, are nevertheless very similar in their structure. Involved firms are simultaneously in cooperation and in competition (‘coo-petition’), with information exchange and low transaction costs the source of their competitiveness.