Use of Marketing Tools in the Slovakian Forest Biomass Trade

Abstract

The fast growing renewable energy market offers opportunities for the traditional forest sector both in Europe in general and Slovakia in particular. The reasoning behind this is twofold. First, in last decade the renewable energy business has gained significant attention. Among other reasons, this is due to the goal of a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Second, changes in downstream markets due to financial crises have put pressure on forest enterprises to redefine their sales portfolios. As marketing can help to realize new opportunities for forestry, the aim of this research study is to shed more light on how forestry enterprises in Slovakia use marketing tools in the trade of forest biomass, the main renewable energy source available to Slovakia. Due to its explorative nature, a case study research design with qualitative methodology has been applied. The capacity for use of marketing tools by (state and private) forest enterprises was explored through in-depth personal interviews analyzed with the help of content analysis. By presenting four detailed cases, the results show that in the forest biomass trade, the forest enterprises all used a marketing mix of »The 5Ps« (product, price, place, promotion, and people) and consequently applied a set of tools different from those observed in other industry sectors.