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This preliminary study contributes to enrich the empirical eviendences on the role and impact of SM technology adoption in the Italian wine sector. In particular, the aims are to (i) understand the reasons that guide entrepreneurs to adopt SMs, (ii) identify the usefulness of SMs in the various business activities and (iii) examine the perception that the implementation of these tools has on the company's economic and organizational performance. In order to collect these ifnromation an electronic survey has been conducted among Sicilian wineries. Our findings show that the main raisons driving entrepreneurs to adopt SMs technology are the need to promote corporate image and to exploit a new communication channel. These tools are used to monitoring comments in order to understand both the attitudes towards purchasing and buying preferences and how messages are perceived by customers. Results confirm a positive effect of SM adoption in terms of corporate image and customer relationship management. This research has some theretical and practical implications. If appropriately used our results can support the entrepreneurial choices taking into consideration that these tools allow to improve the customer relationship management and in particular the corporate image of the firm into the market.

The paper investigates the practices of environmental sustainability implemented in viticulture to minimize the negative impact of agricultural operations on the environment. Through the use of an electronic questionnaire, developed on a theoretical approach based on the Stakeholders Theory and the Theory of Planned Behaviour, and sent to a sample of wineries of the Canton of Ticino, the research pursues a triple aim: (i) to understand which are the main practices and initiatives of environmental sustainability adopted at firm level; (ii) to identify the main stakeholders that affect the choices of managers and owners to orient the firms towards the adoption of practices aimed at greater environmental sustainability; and (iii) to identify the personal drivers that most influence the managers' orientation towards a lower impact on the environment. The results show that the most common practices are the reduction of chemical inputs and the minimization of soil working. In this sense, a significant weight is exerted by the pressures coming from regulatory, societal, and value chain stakeholders, that, together with the manager's perception on the environmental practices, influence the orientation of the firm towards strategies that have a lower impact on the environment. The small size of the sample does not allow generalizing the results, but it provides some suggestions from a managerial and political point of view and it gives new ideas for future research.

The objective of this paper is dual. The first is to identify the key factors that characterize the most successful organizational models of firms operating in the Greek wine industry. The second is to verify if the adoption of third party certifications influences the firms performance. In particular, paying attention on the internal resources of firms, the Resource based view approach is proposed as theoretical framework. Through a cluster analysis has been possible gather the wineries observed on the basis of a similar organisational model, while a non parametric test has been used in order to verify the influence of voluntary certifications on firm performance. Findings show that the most successful wineries are those the most modern, with a higher orientation toward adoption of voluntary certification and managed by expert managers or owners, with a good educational level. The results could provide useful information in order to improve own performances, especially for firms characterized by a limited availability of economic and physical resources.

Since ancient times Man and Soil have experienced interwoven links. Nowadays soil scientists continue to stress such links highlighting the importance of soil to provide man’s growing demand for food, water and energy, and also the soil’s importance in providing ecosystem services that affect climate change, human health and biodiversity. In soil management for agricultural purposes, pedotechniques to tailor soils suitable for table grapes cultivation in large-scale farming are used to get substantial financial returns. However farmers, in tailoring soils for high income crops, frequently do not take into account the fundamental objective of the pedotechnique, i. e. to meet the needs of man, avoiding any undesirable environmental consequences that may occur during handling of earthy materials. In fact, we should consider that any human intervention on the environment, could originate new soilscapes and new soils whose security should be verified. In this note, we report on an emblematic case study of pedotechniques application in Sicily (Italy). After stressing the threats to soil security derived by the presence of anthropogenically tailored soils for table grapes cultivation, we assess their economic sustainability, taking into consideration only the internal factors and excluding the external economic contributions that are allocated to social sustainability. To evaluate the effectiveness of the financial investment, results have been compared with profitability data related to the same crop without pedotechniques application. Results highlight that the transformation of the soilscape, from one hand, allows for considerable investment costs, on the other hand, the highest productivity and the consequent higher profitability of the cultivation, compared to the conventional plants, allow to amortize the startup costs. We cannot ignore that this transformation could trigger potentially a considerable decrease in quality of the environment and in pedodiversity.

Resource based view approach is proposed as theoretical framework in order to identify the existence of similar organizational models in a sample of firms operating in the Sicilian wine industry, and the key success factors for superior export success. The findings of this research show that managers’ age and wineries’ export experience in export success are the key organizational capabilities, that explain a firm’s strategic advantage over its competitors. The importance of these capabilities is further uncovered through the main characteristics of the clusters. The result informs strategy design at the firm level; wineries need to incorporate significant capabilities associated with managerial experience in exports into their organization.

Quality and environmental management systems have become prominent business strategic tools to address social and environmental problems. Several voluntary certification schemes have been developed in various economic sectors, as well as in the food one. Nevertheless, it remains unclear if a positive business profitability exists as a consequence of their adoption. Aims of this work was to compare two specific groups of firms operating in the wine industry, certified and non certified ones, in order to verify the existence of a positive impact directly belonging to the adoption of environmental and food safety proactive approaches. To this scope, a sample of 173 cellars located in the Southern Regions of Italy has been considered. Our findings demonstrate how the adoption of voluntary certifications positively influence some of the profitability ratios of firms. Moreover, a linkage of such profitability with firm size, leading to an interpretation mainly focused on specific trade channels managerial choices. This work suggests interesting inputs for academics as well as for wine managers, highlighting an environmental pro-active input typical of internationalization and trade channels strategies and policies in enabling not only the market diffusion of such kind of green tools but also the achievement of targeted positive profitability ratios. © 2016, SRAC - Societatea Romana Pentru Asigurarea Calitatii. All rights reserved.

The process of market globalization has led to a redefinition of business models in order to compete in domestic and international markets. In the current competitive scenario, the survival of companies is linked to their ability to reduce or contain the sum of both production and transaction costs. The aim of this paper is to identify the existence of similar organizational models of a sample of Sicilian firms active in the Ornamental Plants sector based on those transaction costs that they support in relation to the sales channel and the other human and firm characteristics. Using a clustering procedure, we identified four well-distinct organizational models whose formation is influenced not only by the physical and economic size of firms but also by the transaction costs experimented. A reconsideration of these models, both in cooperatives and in small firms managed by young entrepreneurs, is needed.

Despite the growing interest of the wine industry in quality and environmental certifications and the influence of these standards on positioning in international markets, scholarly research has paid proportionally limited attention to the link between winery export intensity and the adoption of internationally recognized standards. This study aims to analyze which factors make an organizational model performant, and to verify the impact of the adoption of third-party certifications on the export performance by using the resource-based view (RBV) theory as a theoretical lens. Findings show that younger wineries are more oriented towards the adoption of voluntary quality and environmental certifications, and they achieve the best economic performance, expressed in terms of overall turnover on the market. On the contrary, the better export performance is achieved by the largest group of wineries, which make the greatest effort in promotion and advertising activities and sell their products through intermediaries, while showing a low adoption of certifications. Our results have a number of theoretical and practical implications.

The paper analyses the impact of Mediterranean Sea warming on some species of small pelagic fish (pesce azzurro) in the Italian fishing industry. In particular, through a time series regression model, the research examines the productivity trend in physical terms of target species of small pelagic fish from 1950 to 2016, considering the Mediterranean Sea Surface Temperatures Anomalies as an indicator of sea warming, and the Western Mediterranean Oscillation index and the North Atlantic Oscillation index as proxies of climatic variability. The research results show an evident link between the reduction of fish availability and sea warming, with potential repercussions on the incomes of the employees in thefishing industry. Our findings provide interesting suggestions and implications on the theoretical, managerial, and political level, providing insights for new researches.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, it identifies distinct organizational models in a sample of small and medium enterprises operating in the Sicilian wine industry; and second, it identifies the key factors enabling a superior export success. Design/methodology/approach Internal resources were analyzed theoretically in order to achieve the aims of the study. Subsequently the empirical investigation was carried out administering a questionnaire to a sample of 102 wineries in Sicily, Italy. A cluster analysis was performed in order to group these firms into homogeneous categories. Findings The findings show that success in the international market is more common among wineries characterized by a larger physical and economic size, a longer experience in the international market, managed by entrepreneurs-owners who are highly educated and proficient in foreign language, and implement voluntary certifications. Research limitations/implications The results need to be interpreted within the context of the study’s research design; more specifically, the reader should take into account that the study focuses exclusively on one industry and on one region (wine in Sicily). Practical implications The findings offer a valid support for managers who could use this results to better focus their effort and choose the most appropriate strategy in order to improve their performance in foreign markets. Originality/value Very few empirical studies have been carried out on the impact that internal and in particular organizational resources have on the firms’ organizational models operating in the wine industry.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to identify distinct organisational models in a sample of firms operating in the wine industry; and second, to identify the main internal resources that characterise those firms most motivated towards the adoption of social media (SM) tools and those that perceive SM investment as more effective. Design/methodology/approach The empirical investigation was carried out by administering an online questionnaire to a sample of 82 Sicilian wineries. The principal component analysis was used to identify latent factors that drive managers to invest in SM technologies and to measure the impact perceived by managers. Subsequently, a cluster analysis was performed to identify similar organisational models. Findings The findings show that large wineries with a high number of employees possessing knowledge and skills in regard to SM tools and social network (SN) management are highly motivated towards the adoption of SM and perceive their SM investment as more effective. Research limitations/implications The main limitation of the paper lies in the limited sample size, which does not allow the results to be generalised. Practical implications The findings provide support for managers, who could use these results to better focus their investment on infrastructure that facilitates the development of specific skills needed to manage SM tools and SNs, as well as customer relations. Originality/value To date, very few empirical studies have focussed on providing evidence on the role and impact of SM integration into the marketing communication plan of a strategic industry, such as the wine industry.

Over the past few years, public attention has focused on the quality and safety control, traceability, and environmental issues surrounding food products. Several mandatory public standards and private voluntary schemes worldwide have been developed to address these concerns. Using survey data, this paper analyses the key factors affecting the adoption of voluntary quality standards in the wine industry and the existence of a relationship between the adoption of voluntary quality standards and economic performance, measured in terms of labour productivity and marketing behaviour. The survey involved 89 cellars, of which 68 were non-certified and 21 had one or more food quality certifications. Using the data collected, an index based on Euclidean distances was constructed to compare economic performance between certified and non-certified firms. The findings provide evidence that internal motivations drive entrepreneurs to adopt voluntary standards and that wineries adopting voluntary standards exhibit better economic performance than non-certified wine firms. From a managerial viewpoint, these results suggest that although the adoption of voluntary quality certifications does not have a direct effect in terms of a labour productivity increase, it entails a business management improvement. For policymakers, the results suggest a need to develop policies and establish more stable financial assistance for the internationalisation of wine firms, thereby supporting them through this transition.

Over the past few years several private voluntary schemes have been developed worldwide to address the environmental issues in the forest based industry. Using survey data, this study analyse the main factors motivating companies operating in the Italian forest based industry to implement FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) standard, as a tool to promote responsible forest management and traceability of derived products, and the impact of this standard on the economic and organisational results. The findings provide evidences that signalling mechanisms drive the entrepreneurs towards the adoption of FSC certification, followed by moral and ethical reasons. In terms of impact, emerges that companies are compared to higher operation costs necessary to obtain the certification of compliance with the scheme requirements, that are only partially compensated, not by an increase in the selling price of certified products, but by the company's ability to establish new business relationships with a consequent increase in the sales.

Italian wine is increasingly appreciated in new world consumer countries and, in particular, in Russia where consumers associate its consumption with an Italian lifestyle. In this paper, market value for wine search attributes is measured through the estimation of a hedonic price model using online data from a Wine Searcher website and the information contained in the labels of wines marketed in Russia. Results show a premium price for wines from Piedmont and Tuscany, and in particular for non-native varieties and for Indicazione Geografica Tipica and Protected Geographical Indication wines. Additionally, vintage and higher alcohol content have a significant positive impact on the prices that consumers are willing to pay for wines. The knowledge of the implicit price of wine quality attributes has important implication for producers to aid in the adoption of effective marketing strategies, and for decision-makers for the adoption of effective measures to improve regional competitiveness in the world market.

The paper is an original article that uses accounting frameworks to determine what creates a competitive advantage in a cooperative business model. In particular, it investigates the influence of tangible, intangible and financial resources on the business performance of cooperatives operating in the Sicilian wine industry, with the RBV of the firms as a theoretical background. Using a linear regression model, our results show that tangible and financial resources are a source of a sustained competitive advantage. This study fills the gap existing in the strategic management literature related to the role of resources, tangible and intangible, in the cooperative system, providing both theoretical and practical implications.

Conference of the World Association of Soil and Water Conservation

Purpose The purpose of this paper is dual. The first is to assess the quality of websites of Italian wineries, using the Web Assessment Index (WAI), and compare e-commerce and e-marketing websites. The second is to verify the existence of a relationship between the website quality and business revenue, on one hand, and the characteristics of managers, on the other. Design/methodology/approach A two-step survey was carried out to respond to the aims of the study. First, a sample of wineries was contacted to capture information on both the wineries and managerial characteristics. On the basis of the observed data, a second step of the analysis was performed taking into consideration 84 wineries having a website. The website quality has been evaluated by WAI, and afterwards, it has been related to the internal business factors previously identified. Findings Findings show that the website quality is higher in e-commerce websites than in e-marketing websites, and that business revenue and the education level of managers have a positive influence on the websites’ quality. Research limitations/implications The results of the study need to be interpreted within the context for which this research was designed and cannot be applied generally to all businesses. Practical implications Findings have some theoretical and practical implications. From a theoretical point of view, this study validates the WAI model in the wine sector. From a managerial perspective, results are useful both for wineries creating an online presence for the first time, and for those already existing which, and for system designers of websites. Originality/value Very few empirical studies have been conducted on the relationship between website quality, business performance and managerial characteristics.

In this paper we apply the hedonic price model in order to estimate implicit price for the main objective characteristics appearing on the label of Italian wines sold in Japan, easier to identify than sensory attributes by consumers. In this paper, the wine searcher dataset has been used in order to select the retailer price and the research score for 829 wines, for each of which we have observed information about their geographical origin, vintage, grape varieties, vintage, and the alcohol degree. Our results indicate that international grape varieties, alcohol content and the year of production explain the major part of price difference. On the other hand, the origin appellations linked to specific Italian territories negatively affect the medium price of wine.

In the last few decades an increasing emphasis of public and private organization on quality and safety control, on traceability of food products and on environmental issues, has been registered. Mandatory public standards and private voluntary today drive this process in order to assure food safety and traceability standards. The aim of this work is to analyze the main reasons that drives some Sicilian wineries in the adoption of quality voluntary standards, and comparing their economic attitudes and performance with those firms not certified. Results show a very similar performance patterns among the two groups of firms, highlighting a series of differences that are not directly attributable to the possession, or not, of certifications, but on the opening level together with structured net of sale agents. This findings suggests that it should be necessary to segment the overall firm turnover in order to find any possible effect. This results are justified by the specificities of the wine sector.

Over the last few decades, the wine market has been affected by a deep structural transformation due to globalization and mounting international competition. In particular, the wine demand has registered a geographical change with a fall in the traditional markets and an increase in the new markets among which Russia and China. Russia is one of the largest markets for wine on the planet, therefore, know what quality attributes are appreciated by Russian consumers is relevant in order to define effective business and marketing strategies. An hedonic price model has been used in this work in order to estimate implicit price for the main objective attributes of Italian wine sales in the Russian market. Our findings show that Russian consumers are willing to pay a premium price for wines from Veneto and Tuscany, and in particular for non native varieties and for IGT wines. Additionally, Vintage and the higher alcohol content have a significant positive impact on the prices that consumers are willing to pay for wines. An effort to promote a differentiated quality wine produced in specific wine growing area is essential in order to increase the knowledge of different type of Italian wines.

The aim of this study is to analyse the specialization patterns of the main wine world actors, consumers and traders, so as to verify whether or not the patterns of comparative advantages for the trade of this countries have experienced significant changes over the period 2003-2012. The analysis carried out through the estimating of Lafay index reveals deep changes in the global wine market. In particular Italy, France, and Spain, though keeping an unquestioned importance in the international scenario, are experiencing a progressive loss of competitiveness. Differently, new countries have reinforced their presence in the international market, and among them Chile for the bottled wines, and South Africa, for bulk wines, pointing out the success of policy measures implemented in these new producing countries and for the progressive market orientation. In the outlined scenario, is clear that the only sector policies are unable to increase the competitiveness of producers in the world wine market, and an example are the EU countries. Is necessary to take into account the specificities, the differences, the sizes and the economic opportunities for each of the countries target, in order to undertake targeted actions and effective strategies.

In recent years, several enterprises in different sectors have adopted e- business models exploiting the potential offered by ICT and particularly by the internet. As many authors have highlighted, web presence offers enterprises important opportunities which are linked to overcoming spatiotemporal and cost limits which characterize traditional means of communication. This study aimed to analyze how the web marketing is used in Sicilian wineries, and the relationship between the quality of content and features of websites to their business revenue. results show a different approach to web marketing by wineries which use the net as a mere tool to promote their image, to increase their visibility on this virtual space, bringing down communication costs but neglecting other possibilities that the web may offer. Simple modifications that contribute to the improvement of browsing and usability of the site are frequently neglected, as well as tools for interaction with web users. Most of the sites consulted have limited web features regarding search modes and interactivity with consumers. Knowing how wineries use websites, which features are given more consideration, and what relationship there is between website quality and business performance, can provide useful indications both to enterprises which are appearing for the first time in the virtual world, and to those already existing which, by replanning web marketing strategies, could improve their economic performance.

This study applies the hedonic pricing model to examine important objective attributes appearing on the label of Italian wines influencing average customer wine prices in Japan. Data on 829 red Italian wines sold in the Japanese market were collected through the wine searcher dataset, and the information included on the wine labels, useful for assisting in the selection and appreciation of wines, has been included. A log-linear model was esteemed and the proposed hedonic equation accounted for 43.5% of the variation in wine prices. The results indicate that international grape varieties, alcohol content and the year of production explain most of the price difference. On the other hand, the appellations of origin linked to specific Italian territories negatively affect the medium price of wine. The proposed model will provide useful information for export-oriented Italian wineries in order to establish effective marketing strategies.

This study offers a contribution to understanding the complexity of the international wine trade analysing the specialisation patterns of 14 among the most important wine world actors in the period 2007–2016, in order to verify if the patterns of comparative advantages for the trade of this countries have experienced significant changes. Using the Lafay index, as a comparative advantage measure, our results reveal deep changes in the global wine market exchange. Our result constitutes a base element for the future development of the competitive scenario and provides some both theoretical and practical implications. In the baseline projection, the maintenance of the competitive position is closely linked to the needs to know the specificities, the differences, the sizes and the economic opportunities for each of the countries target, in order to undertake targeted actions and effective strategies.

Strategies of internationalization, such as export, have a central role as well to safeguard the market position and survival for many enterprises, including small and medium ones. The aim of this study is to investigate, through a resource-based view (RBV) approach, the main firms' internal factors that affect the export propensity of sparkling wines producers in Sicily and their ability to insert into foreign market. Based on review of extant literature we have identified the main factors, related both to the firms and to the managers characteristics, that affect the firm performance in the export market. Using survey data of 94 Sicilian small and medium wineries export oriented, this paper shows that some firms and managers' characteristics affect the export activity of Sicilian wineries. In particular, our findings show that a lower perception of export barriers, experience in the sales in foreign market and the educational level, are the most important factors influencing the propensity to export. Results, although not generalizable, may help managers to be aware of the importance that some features have on the involvement of their company in the foreign market.

In the last few years, wine industry has been characterised by profound changes that have determined an intensification of competition on a global scale. The aim of this study is to identify the firms’ internal factors that most influence the export intensity and the ability to fit into the international market of the Italian wineries producing sparkling wines through a resource-based view (RBV) approach. Results of our study supporting the findings of previous empirical researches presented in this paper. In particular, the main factors affecting export intensity are: innovation degree and intensity of investment in advertising and promotion, among firms’ characteristics, and abroad experience, proficiency of foreign languages, educational level, and perception barriers, among managers’ characteristics.

This paper, based on transaction costs theory, represents a contribution to the existing literature, and a first step towards a more in depth study, aimed to identify the more important transaction costs able to influence the strategic choices of firms. In particular, this approach has been used to evaluate, through a telephone survey, the influence of transaction costs on the sale channels choice made by a small sample of Sicilian firms active in the Ornamental Plants economic sub-sector. Results show that transaction costs increase moving from direct sale to the sale to wholesalers and large scale retail (LSR) channels, confirming our starting hypothesis. In particular, information and negotiation costs are higher for those firms that sell to intermediaries and/or LSR. For this last channel results show the relevance of monitoring costs too. Our results have implications on the organizational model of firms and on the opportunity that a cooperative model is able to offer also in this economic sub-sector.

The paper analyses preferences and motivations of Italian consumers of flowers and ornamental plants, both conventional and organic. The results helped to outline their profile. Purchases are still done in the traditional places (flower shops for cut flowers and plant nurseries for potted plants), however positive trend is found for potted plants purchases at large distribution chains. Some differences came out as to purchase motivations: cut flowers are mainly bought in special occasions whereas potted plants purchases are linked to personal use. The results confirm a positive relationship between the purchase of flowers and plants and the age of the interviewees, besides showing that women are interested on purchases. The information we obtained is relevant not only for the sector's operators in order to define effective managerial strategies, but also for the policy maker to address new market and consumption policies.

Lo studio si propone di analizzare la relazione tra i costi di transazione e le strategie adottate dalla imprese che operano nel comparto florovivaistico, con particolare riferimento alle diverse tipologie di canale di commercializzazione adottato.I risultati mostrano che la costituzione di consorzi di tutela o di associazioni di produttori florovivaistici potrebbe conferire agli imprenditori maggiore potere contrattuale e sostegno durante le diverse fasi del processo produttivo.

This paper examines the consumers’ behaviours in buying flowers and ornamental plants in Italy, through the analysis of attitudes, motivations, preferences and, in particular, of the tendency to purchase organic flowers and ornamental plants. The results if, on the one hand, show a modest spread in purchasing organic flowers and ornamental plants, on the other hand, show a good tendency to purchase and the willingness to pay for organic products, revealing concrete opportunities of growth for this area of the market.

The present work aimed to investigate the main quality attributes that influence the purchase decisions of fresh berries. To this regard, an empirical survey has been conducted by interviewing 200 consumers of fresh berries at the exit of the main centers of the large scale retail trade in the city of Munich (Germany). An econometric model has been adopted to examine the relationship that single attributes has on the purchase frequency of fresh berries. Results showed that nutraceutical properties and health benefits of berries have a strong appeal to the consumers and confirmed that intrinsic attributes are determinants of consumer purchase decision