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ŠUMARSKI LIST 3-4/2017 str. 45     <-- 45 -->        PDF

MARKET CHARACTERISTICS AND CLUSTER ANALYSIS OF NON-WOOD FOREST PRODUCTS
TRŽIŠNE KARAKTERISTIKE I KLASTER ANALIZA NEDRVNIH ŠUMSKIH PROIZVODA
Ljiljana KEČA, Milica MARČETA, Stjepan POSAVEC, Sreten JELIĆ, Špela PEZDEVŠEK-MALOVRH
Summary
The share of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is largely present in forestry, especially in the segment related to non-wood forest products (NWFPs) in Europe. They are also a dominant category in entrepreneurship in Serbia. Therefore, the subjects of this research were the companies operating in the sector of NWFPs, within specific statistical regions of Serbia. The database of SMEs was obtained from 119 SMEs and the share of surveyed SMEs was 81.5%. The main research method was two-step cluster analysis. Questionnaire was used for the purpose of the research. The aim of the research was to identify clusters in order to establish similarities within the defined clusters and the differences among them. Spatial distribution of specific categories of NWFPs in nature (mushrooms, medicinal and aromatic plants, honey and wild berries), contributed to the portfolio of the companies. This largely influenced clusters that are created by categories of products that are typical for certain statistical regions in Serbia.
KEY WORDS: cluster analysis, forest products, spacial distribution, Serbia, market.
INTRODUCTION
UVOD
Research related to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and their clustering was intensified in the past decade. Accordingly, many authors used cluster analysis based on different variables that were of importance for their research (Setyaningsih 2012). The transition to a market economy has resulted in a large number of SMEs (Audretsch and Thurik 2000; Jaouen and Lasch 2015) and they represent the dominant category of entrepreneurship in Serbia. At the same time, they are the bearers of economic activities at the broader European level. Even in the developed European economies, such as Britain, over 99% of companies are categorised as SMEs (Brinkley 2008). On the other hand, in transitional and developing countries SMEs play a very important role in such economic systems (Hunjra 2011; Kraja and Osmani 2013; Eniola and Ektebang 2014). They are primarily enterprises involved in the field of trade. The increase in the number of SMEs can significantly contribute to the strengthening of the economy (Kurniawati and Yuliando 2015). If one considers the forestry sector in Serbia, primarily focused on gathering, processing and selling of non-wood forest products (NWFPs) (Keča et al. 2013), small family businesses frequently employ less than 10 people. According to their product orientation, they are primarily focused on purchase, processing and selling of medicinal plants, mushrooms and berries. According to