4
LUOMA ET AL .
customers to understand the potential value of data more fully. There- fore, the case company was receptive to the idea of this timely analy- sis (Gray, 2018). We saw great value in a non-anonymous case of this nature, for the opportunity – rare in forest-business research – to afford deeper understanding of the emerging convergence of environmental-sustainability and data work. This is especially valuable since both often are perceived as complex and abstract areas with lit- tle sound empirical research. Among Metsä Tissue's customers are retailers but also various cli- ents engaged in professional sales (such as distributors of office sup- plies). Improving environmental performance is not only a top priority for Metsä Tissue but also crucial for its customers, which face mount- ing pressure for environmental sustainability from their own stake- holders and, hence, seek proof of environmental improvements in the associated supply chains. Explicit demands for Metsä Tissue arise from, for example, customers' commitments to reducing their greenhouse-gas emissions in line with specific science-based targets (Science Based Targets Initiative, n.d.). In addition, the company has directly committed to varied sustainability targets, among them having entirely fossil-free mills and products by 2030 (Metsä Tissue, n.d.). Operating primarily in Europe, it also must honor EU-level regulatory requirements for corporate environment-related reporting and trans- parency (e.g., European Commission, 2022).
example, may trigger changes in customer-experienced value (Flint et al., 1997). Anticipating what customers will perceive as valuable, in their context and in their terms, is seen as critical to maintaining cus- tomer value in a continuously changing world (Hur et al., 2013; Rantala et al., 2019; Rintamäki & Saarijärvi, 2021).
3
METHODOLOGY
|
3.1
The context of the research
|
The pulp and paper industry, with the tissue-paper industry being no exception, faces complex demands for environmental sustainability, from a wide range of directions. These demands are driven by more extensive awareness of sustainability by customers and other stake- holders, tightening regulatory limits, and globalization of the industry itself (Ghosal, 2015; Toppinen et al., 2017). The multi-tier supply chains, which feature forest management and harvesting, manufactur- ing, logistics, retail sales, and use of the products, have crucial implica- tions for environmental sustainability (Vidal et al., 2010). This industry uses wood-based fiber, water, energy, and chemicals, all in significant amounts (Lipiäinen et al., 2022). Hence, climate change, resource- efficiency, and sustainable forest management have been among the topics prioritized on the industry's environmental agenda (Ranängen & Zobel, 2014; Tuppura et al., 2016). Tissue-type papers, such as (for home and away-from-home use) paper towels and toilet paper, are put to cleaning-related and personal use in households' day-to-day life and professional-sales customers' routine operations (e.g., cleaning and facility management, industrial production, and public-sector work). Demand for them is rising steadily in response to changes in consumption patterns. Both virgin and recycled fibers are among the main raw-material inputs, and the goods are typically produced relatively close to the consumption sites, for short transportation distances. The tissue-paper industry's turn- over in Europe comes to roughly 10 billion euros annually, accounting for 25% of the global market for these papers (European Tissue Symposium, n.d.). About 75% of the value arises through retail sales, and the rest comes from away-from-home and B-to-B markets such as hotel and restaurant, hospital, and office use (European Tissue Symposium, n.d.). Against this background, we chose one company to represent firms within this expanding industry offering unique and in-depth insights into value creation based on data. The case company chosen for study in combination with its retail- and professional-sales cus- tomers was Metsä Tissue, one of the largest tissue-paper suppliers in Europe (European Tissue Symposium, n.d.), which has nine production units, in Finland, Sweden, Germany, Poland, and Slovakia. With 1.2 bil- lion euros in 2022 sales, Metsä Tissue alone employs approximately 2500 people. The company is part of Metsä Group, a Finnish forest- industry entity that provides a broad range of wood-based products to global markets. The management team at Metsä Tissue recognized a need to make better use of data in support of environmental sus- tainability, and the company's managers were ready to work with their
3.2
The study's design
|
To advance understanding of the customer-perceived value of data for environmental sustainability, we chose to conduct an inductive single- case study, for a qualitative design wherein the analysis is strongly grounded in empirical data (Gioia et al., 2013). Case studies are attuned to developing conceptual contributions and nuanced accounts of the phenomenon in a real-world context (Gray, 2018; Voss et al., 2002), especially in fields with relatively little prior attention from empirical science (Bansal et al., 2018). The exploratory approach we applied (Gray, 2018) enabled us to unpack the complex phenomenon of the perceived value from the angle of the case company and its customers by uncovering its unique features and patterns (Bernard et al., 2017). The approach added value for the participants too, as the process unfolded: sparking of insight in real time strengthened scholarly under- standing of the context further (Bansal et al., 2018). Furthermore, this way of engaging enabled scientific and practical understanding of the phenomenon to inform each other (Bansal et al., 2018). With its collab- orative method, the study genuinely strengthened Metsä Tissue's environment-related data capabilities as relevant individuals from its sustainability, marketing, data-management, and corporate functions were brought into the project. The full process was designed as a six-month (January – June 2022) collaborative research project with a working group that com- prised five members of the sustainability, marketing, and data- management functions and a steering group with four corporate-level managers. In addition, the regional vice-presidents for sales and selected key-account managers were involved in the process, both via
Made with FlippingBook Digital Publishing Software