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Besides verifying the current consistency on the Internet of websites set up by Sicilian (Southern Italy) EVO oil firms, this paper aims to verify their e-service quality by evaluating which main quality features, as derived from the literature, they have. To process the data, descriptive statistics were used, which allowed detection of the presence/absence of the variables examined. The study found 280 websites with some qualitative gaps. Findings highlight that EVO oil firms do not exploit the potentialities of the web adequately. They often use the Internet as a communication and promotion tool, but only to a lesser degree for e-commerce. The results may be useful to both agrifood managers, in formulating marketing strategies to improve online business performance and designing a successful e-shopping environment, and to academic debates, since they generate empirical information about the adoption of e-marketing strategies by agrifood firms. To the best of our knowledge, no studies have specifically verified the e-service quality of websites in the EVO oil sector. There are very few attempts that analyse a sample of agrifood firms (among which there are olive oil firms) and their web marketing strategies.

Italian Review of Agricultural Economics, Vol 71 No 2 (2016)

Sustainability is reshaping the global wine industry. This paper provides a fact-finding contribution to the knowledge on how the Sicilian winegrowing sector is facing the challenge of the new scenario of sustainable productions. To reach this goal we carried out an explorative analysis of those Sicilian wineries involved in 2 important sustainability programs in the Italian wine sector, Magis and SOStain, aimed at improve the implementation of sustainable viticulture and wine production. The results of our research concerning 5 wineries in Sicily reveal that adopting sustainable productive methods has lead in general to good technical and financial results by improving their business efficiencies and management systems, with positive socio-economic implications at a local level., Italian Review of Agricultural Economics, Vol 71 No 1 (2016): Vol 71, No 1 (Suppl.) (2016)

The study investigates the agricultural multifunctional activities carried out in a Sicilian typical rural area, the motivations for entrepreneurial choices and the overall level of satisfaction. An exploratory survey was therefore carried out on a selected group of 13 farms localized in 3 Sicilian provinces, with the goal to identify strengths and weaknesses of their multifunctional activities. From the farm survey, several positive results came to light, among which a wide variety of services and activities, an increase in farm workforce and a high level in communication and Internet services. On the other hand, some criticalities emerged in the transition process, such as heavy delays in the administrative authorizations or in plant construction, as well as long Pay-Back periods, due to both an increased local competition in the supply of multifunctional activities and a generalized financial crisis., Italian Review of Agricultural Economics, Vol 71 No 1 (2016): Vol 71, No 1 (Suppl.) (2016)

The green harvesting (GH) policy measure has been introduced in Italy starting from the 2009/2010 wine season, with the goal of preventing market crises by reducing the yield of a given parcel to zero. In the 2010-2012 period, almost 85% of the national expenditure and about 81% of European Union (EU) expenditure for this measure have been showered on Sicily. This paper, after examining the application of GH in this Region, explores the motivations of 300 vine growers of Western Sicily for taking part, or refusing to do so, in the GH measure. The survey shows the contrasting nature of the opinions that the implementation of GH has caused among the interviewed sample. In fact, on the one hand we have evidence of the farmers’ desire to secure for themselves a guaranteed income, following the typical logic of accepting state assistance and subsidization. On the other hand, we found out a determination, in some producers, not to join in the GH even in the future, justified by factors connected with entrepreneurial culture and ethics. Finally, the statistical model shows that the decision to join is strongly connected to being part of a specific value system.

The Italian wine sector shows an increasing interest towards sustainability issues. As a result, a wide number of programs and initiatives concerning environmental, social and economic sustainability has been developed in recent years. The aim of this manuscript is to describe the adaptation of the Sicilian wine sector to the new scenario of sustainable productions. To this purpose a direct survey of 5 Sicilian wineries involved in two different sustainability programs, SOStain and Magis, was carried out. The findings of the study reveal that the sustainability path undertaken by the wineries analyzed has led to management awareness that company activities can ensure social and human benefits, as well as fulfill environmental and economic objectives in the long term., Italian Review of Agricultural Economics, Vol 71 No 1 (2016)