The Embedding and De-embedding Process of Public Timber Auctions
This article analyses the dynamics of the embedment/(dis)embedment process at work in French public timber auctions. It presents the different conditions and forms of coordination created by local buyers to share lots and batches. However, we show that under the influence of economic and non-economic factors, the formal institutional framework elaborated by the National Forestry Service (ONF – Office National des Forets) allows that competition be enhanced during the sale. Describing the power relations existing between market laws and social norms of allocation allows us to demonstrate that agreements between buyers are not necessarily in contradiction with the sellers’ interests. In fact, they offer–especially in times of economic crisis–higher stability for the entire timber industry.