A social network analysis of cooperation in forest, mining and tourism industries in the Finnish-Russian cross-border region: connectivity, hubs and robustness

In this article the distribution and intensity of cross-border cooperation (CBC) networks are tested with primary survey and interview data collected from the Finnish-Russian cross-border region. The study concentrates on the cross-border connectivity of three regionally significant and interlocking sectors (forest, mining and tourism industries together with associated research and administrative organisations) with varying strategies towards natural resource use. The collected data were examined by applying social network analysis tools developed for cross-border contexts. The results depict varying landscapes of CBC depending on the type (firms, research and administrative organisations) of the surveyed actors. Overall the studied CBC network is weakly developed with low firm-level participation and low integration between the sectors - a weakness in the sustainable utilisation of natural resources. Local administrative and research organisations are the network hubs in the studied cross-border region. As apositive note, the CBC network is not solely reliant on these few network hubs but also consists of several moderately connected cross-border actors that increase its robustness against cross-border network failures. The emergence of new and the deepening of the existing cross-border links between the industries would be pivotal for good policy design regarding local land-use and natural resource use policies.