Adding Value to Wood-Based Products: A Systematic Literature Review on Drivers

The term “added value” is frequently used by stakeholders in the forest wood sector. However, beyond its intuitive meaning, what does “added value” mean in economics, and what are the main ways of adding value to wood-based products? To answer these questions, a theoretical framework of the concept of “added value” and an overview of its main applications within wood supply chains are provided. Subsequently, the results of a systematic literature review are reported. A total of 1974 primary research articles published in English in the last decade were collected from the Scopus and Web of Science databases. The main objectives were to understand how the “added value” concept is addressed, determine which wood-based products are studied, identify how value is added, and ascertain the main consequences. The analysis of the 111 selected articles showed that the term “added value” is often used as a label rather than a clearly defined concept. Improved production processes and the valorisation of raw materials were found to be the main methods of adding value to wood-based products, while environmental benefits emerged as the most frequent objective. The findings may serve several purposes, such as identifying research needs, guiding industrial innovation, and informing policy makers, helping to implement measures that really benefit wood supply chains. Building on this study, future research could explore how added value is perceived and implemented by forest enterprises, wood industries, policymakers, and other stakeholders. This would provide a broader reference framework for applying the concept of added value.