Sawmilling competitiveness from the perspective of industry competitiveness models: a review

Globalisation and changes to the world economy have brought new challenges and opportunities for many industries, including the sawmill industry. This has led to a need to evaluate the competitiveness of South Africa’s sawmilling industry by studying the factors affecting competitiveness in other sawmill industries. The review evaluated published research on sawmill industry competitiveness to identify and address the research gaps in the literature. The systematic literature review implemented a PRISMA protocol. Sankey diagrams showed the relationships between the factors driving change and those affecting competitiveness. The results showed that most factors affecting and driving industry competitiveness were similar. The reviewed papers pointed to the availability of wood, formation of clusters, policy implications, level of innovation and employment conditions as the factors affecting industry competitiveness. The research findings corresponded to some of the early ideas presented by Michael Porter on industry competitiveness. The research will guide future research on the South African sawmill industry.