Communication through visual contents: Instagram use in the wineries’ strategies

Considering the visual social media diffusion, this research aims at analysing the content of the photos posted by high-end wineries on Instagram. The objective is to evaluate the opportunities in terms of communication strategies by defining content categories and their ability to create engagement. Visual content analysis of 662 pictures is applied. Results show that the majority of the photos still focus on the product and few consider the wine in a holistic way, linking it with elements such as history, art or food even if some of these categories seem promising as far as the engagement is concerned

Configuration challenges for the “Made in Italy” Agri-food Industry

The paper presents the results of an exploratory investigation on the approaches to e-commerce strategies by firms in the agrifood sector, with a focus on Italian small and medium- sized enterprises (SMEs). The article tries to assess the fit between online sales configurators (OSCs) that enable product customization and the habits of Italian online buyers. The study elaborates the empirical results of two data collection efforts: (i) the first effort is to collect data on the food configurators’ capabilities deployed by a sample of 105 active OSCs and (ii) the second effort is to collect data on the characteristics of the e-commerce websites from a sample of 522 Italian SMEs. Matching the results of the two analyses with existing literature on Italian customers' requirements while shopping for food online, the study provides insights on the opportunities offered by mass-customization delivered via OSCs to food SMEs, especially in terms of customer experience (CE) innovation

An overview of the biodynamic wine sector

The wine industry is currently shifting toward more sustainable production practices. Due to the growing globalized wine market and the increasing environmental impacts, producers have begun to pay more attention to organic and biodynamic products. Using a systematic literature review, this review aims to investigate the biodynamic production system in the viticulture and winemaking process. In particular, the review examines, 1) the biodynamic practice and its main characteristics including the certification system; 2) the biodynamic market characteristics and the recent trends, the production costs and the marketing strategies adopted by wineries; 3) the demand attributes and wine consumers' perception on sustainable practices and "green products" such as biodynamic products; and 4) the association between the biodynamic wine chain and the environment. The review highlights the research progress in this field and reflects on the potentiality and needs of the biodynamic viticulture and wine sector. The literature clearly indicates the lack of knowledge regarding, mainly, the biodynamic farming concept and the label. Moreover, while it is clear that consumers are willing to spend more for an organic wine than for a conventional one, there are no data about the willingness to pay for biodynamic wines. Finally, the review concludes with implications and suggestions for further research

How Product Attributes and Consumer Characteristics Influence the WTP, Resulting in a Higher Price Premium for Organic Wine

Sustainable production systems have become a relevant issue for consumers in the wine industry. Several studies have revealed that consumers are increasingly interested in organic wine and have attempted to estimate the price premium that consumers would have to pay for this ‘new’ product. The aim of this paper is to assess the role of organic attributes in driving consumer choice, and how consumer socio-demographic characteristics influence the price premium for organic wine. An on-line survey was administrated among Italian wine consumers (N = 317) and an ordinal logistic regression model, based on cumulative probability distribution, was estimated. The results show important differences in the Willingness to Pay (WTP) between different market segments. Younger people have a more positive attitude towards wine with sustainable characteristics, and we found that consumers aged under 50 have a higher WTP. Price is another attribute that affects preferences for organic wine: consumers that state that price is a very important factor in the choice of a bottle are less willing to pay for organic wine. Consumers characterized by a low consumption frequency have a higher WTP for organic wine

Consumers' Willingness to Pay for Quality and Safety in Clams

The aim of the research is to estimate the potential demand for certified clams in Italy and to investigate the determinants of maximum amount that respondents are willing to pay for this product. Quantitative analysis was used based on 1,067 face-to-face interviews collected in 3 Italian regions in the north bordering the Adriatic Sea (Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Veneto, and Emilia-Romagna) carried out during 2008. The consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) is measured using a contingent valuation method. In order to estimate separately the determinants of the probability that respondents are willing to pay and the maximum that they are willing to pay, a generalization of Tobit model was adopted. The results indicate that consumers are willing to pay a premium price mainly to purchase better quality products. The research provides some initial insight into consumers' WTP that can be useful for certified fish farming. © 2014 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Digital marketing strategies in the Italian wine sector

The diffusion of digital instruments as means to communicate and sell products and services attracted the interest of academics and professionals in recent years. Digital marketing strategies are seen as beneficial in the wine industry, especially for small wineries, given the richness they allow in the communication of products and terroirs, their purported affordability vis-à-vis traditional marketing strategies, and the access they provide to international markets. Consensus on the importance of digital marketing is high, but the reality is sober: many wineries are lagging behind in adopting digital tools. Based on an exploratory study of 113 small and medium sized Italian wineries, the paper identifies organisational factors that influence the use of digital tools in marketing strategies: size, familiarity with various areas of digital marketing, number of employees and longevity of the firm

Struttura ed evoluzione delle esportazioni italiane di vino da tavola e a denominazione di origine

In the last decades the Italian wine market is experiencing a strong transformation as well as an intense and continuous process of internationalisation. The contribute of Italian wines in the international market is very relevant. In 2005 Italy is the second exporting country: the exports’ value is more than 3 billions dollars, the market share is 18% (Unioncamere, 2007). Wine is one of the most important products of the Italian agrifood trade balance, its incidence is around 15% of Italian agrifood exports (inea, 2005). The intense evolution of the trade reflects the need of different frequency and place to consume the product. At the same time, demand is more and more segmented and open to high quality wine. Given the relevance of the changes in the international trade, the objective is to study, by means of time series analysis methods, structure and dynamics of Italian exports of wine for different product typologies, considering both white and red wines and their classification in table and do wine. The data set (istat/ice) consists of monthly observations of world exports for all kinds of wine relatively to 13 years (January 1996 - December 2007). 13 product categories have been identified for the analysis on the basis of wine typology (vqprd or other wines), colour (white, red or rosè) and container (smaller or greater than 2 litres).

Analysis of food consumption in Europe via time series clustering

The purpose of the paper is to investigate the evolution of food consumption in the European countries. In particular the attention will be focused on the food consumption patterns and the major differences occurred in the period between 1961 and 2009. The statistical technique, that has been used, is the Cluster Analysis of Time Series, with the measure of the Dynamic Time Warping (DTW)

Dalla catena del valore le chiavi per le decisioni strategiche nelle filiere della pesca

Generally the Italian food chains suffer problems caused mainly by internal low efficiency standards or qualitative aspects. This paper would offer a methodological/ applicative framework for a food chain’s analysis in order to evaluate its internal functioning and connection mechanisms and to identify some strategic actions aimed at stimulating the product competitiveness and the chain’s performances based on the pointing out of its competitive advantage. The value chain analysis permits to represent the total interrelated activities managed by a firm and the competitive advantage could be reached optimising the several connections’ linkages. Analysing the available data and information the Authors choose the case study along the Northern Adriatic coast, more precisely referred to the Chioggia seaport (Veneto region). The main objective of the study is to complete a global evaluation of the bluefish chain surveying its functioning mechanisms and defining its competitive advantages useful as milestones for the valorization of the product. This result permits a strengthening of the chain on the whole. Concerning the methodology every step of the chain has been examined following a "from sea to fork" approach including all the physical flows of the product but also considering the involved trade intermediaries and the other figures participating to this process, the logistical aspects and the information movements. The bluefish value chain has been represented through descriptive maps containing the Chioggia bluefish flows from a physical point of view and those of the information related to this product, according to the Cardiff Business School publications. First the paper discusses the concept of agrifood chain and then describes the bluefish context in the Chioggia seaport through the catches and technical characteristics of the sector. Then the Chioggia bluefish chain has been divided in some phases and it has been deeply analyzed looking for its competitive advantage or disadvantages. The final step of the work was aimed at gather the bluefish value chain from the construction of maps representing the different flows of products and information with their timing details. Finally the Authors present some reflections and ideas for discussion.