Wine tourism as a catalyst for green performance: the mediating role of green knowledge sharing

As the global wine industry faces the pressing challenges of sustainability, the exploration of wine tourism emerges as a key tool to promote the dissemination of sustainable practices developed by wineries. In this context, the present research focuses on analyzing the impact of wine tourism on the green performance of Spanish wineries, as well as the mediating effect of green knowledge sharing on this linkage. In addition, age, size and membership in a protected designation of origin are introduced as control variables to increase the precision of the cause-effect relationships examined. The study proposes a conceptual model based on previous studies, which is tested using structural equations with data collected from 196 Spanish wineries between September 2022 and January 2023. The findings of the research reveal the existence of a positive and significant relationship between the development of wine tourism and the green performance of Spanish wineries, as well as the partial mediation of green knowledge sharing in this association. The uniqueness and significance of this study can be attributed to several crucial factors. On the one hand, it enhances the understanding and knowledge regarding the advantages associated with wine tourism development. On the other hand, this study contributes to the literature by offering a comprehensive exploration of how wine tourism serves as a catalyst for green performance among Spanish wineries, filling theoretical and practical gaps as it examines the mediating role of green knowledge exchange in this dynamic, an aspect so far scarcely explored in the academic literature.