1.

External factors - those from the enabling environment which are not under the control of the
organization but which affect its structure and development.
Economic factors
These define the economic situation in which production and processing take place. For forest owners
these mainly concern the market for wood.
Structure of the wood market /
industry
Number, size and distribution of local institutions, enterprises or
groupings and their share of production and processing.
Socio-economic factors
These define the socio-economic context in which the organization operates.
Forest ownership structure The relative proportion and distribution of ownership classes
(state, communal, private) affect the potential for co-operation
between forest owners.
Political-administrative factors
This group of factors refers to the political and administrative arrangements, which define the legal
boundaries and organizational options.
Role and influence of
forest authority / forest
service
Forest administrations play a crucial role in determining forest owner
organization. They can act either as support bodies (provision of
subsidies, extension services) or supervisory bodies or both.
2. Internal factors - organizational characteristics, instruments and bodies.
Purpose of the organization
Interest representation

The individual landowners interests are brought together and
introduced as a group interest through the political decision making
process. Organized interest representation is therefore to be found
on the same levels as general political decision making (local,
regional, national).
Organizational structure and instruments
The more appropriate an organizational structure to the local situation and services it wishes to offer, the
more efficient and effective it will be.
Structure type The responsibilities of the organization towards its members as well as
the level of member influence indicate the potential effect of the
organization on individual forest management decisions. Three levels
of member influence may be defined:
Corporate Forest / Community forest, where the individual ownership
of a specific area is lost and members only own shares. A joint
management covers the entire membership area.
Production associations, where the individual ownership of an area
remains, but forest management is conducted across the borders of
individual properties (though larger areas may still be managed
individually).
Interest associations, where the joint activities are limited to marketing
and/or supply purchase and member areas are still managed
individually.
3. Individual choice factors - members joint or individual decisions regarding expected costs and benefits.