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Int. J. Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Vol. 12, No. 1, 2011
A comparison of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal entrepreneurs in the Quebec forestry sector Jean-Michel Beaudoin* and Luc LeBel Département des Sciences du Bois et de la Forêt, Université Laval, 2405 rue de la Terrasse, Québec, G1V 0A6, Canada E-mail:
[email protected] E-mail:
[email protected] *Corresponding author Abstract: This paper compares the portrait of forestry entrepreneurs within the Ilnu community of Mashteuiatsh to one of non-Aboriginal forestry entrepreneurs. The information was mainly collected using a survey in the winter of 2008 for the Aboriginal group and in the winter of 2007 for the non-Aboriginal group. Interviews were also conducted in situ with the Aboriginal forestry entrepreneurs, their principal clients, the Band Council (or local government) and the local economic development organisation. A few key differences between the two groups of forestry entrepreneurs were observed and are discussed in this paper. The results highlight the importance of offering flexible political answers that account for distinctive local characteristics. Keywords: Aboriginal entrepreneurship; Canada.
people;
forestry;
economic
development;
Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Beaudoin, J-M. and LeBel, L. (2011) ‘A comparison of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal entrepreneurs in the Quebec forestry sector’, Int. J. Entrepreneurship and Small Business, Vol. 12, No. 1, pp.44–61. Biographical notes: Jean-Michel Beaudoin obtained his Masters at Laval University. Some of his thesis results were published in The Forestry Chronicle, the paper’s title is: ‘Aboriginal forestry entrepreneurship: a case study in Mashteuiatsh Ilnu Nation’. He is currently a PhD student at the University of British Columbia. He is also a Research Associate for Research Programme on Forest Harvesting, Transportation and Roading Contractors (PREFORT) at Laval University. Luc LeBel is a Forest Engineer. He received his Masters in Engineering Administration, his MSc and PhD in Forestry and Forest Products from Virginia Tech. He is currently a Professor and Programme Leader of forest operations at Laval University. His main research area is concerned with wood procurement systems analysis. Luc LeBel is also a Researcher at FOR@C (Research Consortium in e-Business in the forest products industry) and a member of Centre Inter-Universitaire de Recherche sur le Réseaux d’Entreprise, Logistique et de Transport (CIRRELT).
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