ABSTRACT
In Europe, when referring to innovation in forestry, the dominant discourses mostly deal with technological innovation based on large-scale industrial investments. This chapter introduces the various implications of social and technological innovations on the forestry sector, especially in Europe. It provides links made with the various components of globalization and presents both technological and social approaches based on commonly used definitions. The chapter also presents several approaches by means of concrete examples. It also provides insights into how to integrate the approaches and discusses in relation to the perspectives of globalization and future development. The dominance of technological innovation in the forestry sector, pushed by industry-oriented forest countries such as the Nordic ones, has traditionally been driven by globalization of markets, finance, and economy. The globalization of information and related information technologies in forestry contribute to shape the future development of the forestry sector.
