Craft beer sector collaboration in North East Scotland: The role of individual success

Abstract

<jats:p> Our understanding of craft brewing is beginning to grow and a key theme to emerge from this artistic and intrinsically creative sector is the dependence on collaboration between entrepreneurial agents. In the North East of Scotland, the growth in craft beer is also recognised to come from a deep rooted collaboration, as a reaction to and in resistance of large mainstream competition. However, one such enterprise, BrewDog, has grown to achieve global reach to rival that of the large-scale brewers the craft scene sought to challenge. We consider what this unprecedented success means for the remaining collaborators in the local craft beer sector. Our findings point to a shared optimism and possibility of achievement among the craft brewers, aided by BrewDog’s success. However, the nature of collaboration is anchored more in community embeddedness and shared responsibility for market development, rather than in business growth and success replication. While the craft scene acknowledges the inspirational success of ‘one of their own’, strategic drive comes from more localised relations and a desire for independence. This has implications not only for craft beer but also on how collaboration among entrepreneurs sustains in respond to success from within the group. </jats:p>

Collaborative Resistance: How a Craft Beer Scene was Built Through Sharing and Nurturing Relationships

“…In support of Cunningham and Barclay (2020), our brewers point to a collective desire to bring more knowledgeable custom into the craft beer market (Figure 3). Much of this desire to 'educate' a latent customer base is rooted in a dissatisfaction with mainstream brewers.…”

“…Second, we integrate these findings with the extant literature to build a conceptual model on the nature of collaboration in the craft beer sector. As such, we develop from the initial exploratory work of Cunningham and Barclay (2020) to build an explanatory model to frame future research.…”

“…This has built a band of home-based 'necessity' entrepreneurs, seeking only a living from the craft skills they have developed. A combination of tax levies and accessible brewing equipment has facilitated the beginning of the craft brewing 'movement' (Mason & McNally, 1997;Wyld et al, 2010), along with the presence of talisman 'heroes' such as BrewDog and Sierra Nevada (Cunningham & Barclay, 2020).…”

Applications of Experience Economy in Craft Beer Tourism: A Case Study in Thailand’s Context

“…However, in craft beer tourism research, the social and economic dimensions are equally substantial domains and have been addressed in several studies in different contexts [28,29]. For instance, extant studies showed how craft beer tourism can foster social sustainability through localized collaboration between craft breweries and local communities to create various craft beer tourism forms such as brewery visitations, beer trials, and beer festivals [30,31]. In addition, economic sustainability in craft beer tourism can emerge from fostering innovative business strategies [17].…”

“…Because craft beer brewing is considered an artwork or a form of artisan entrepreneurship [31], many craft beer consumers become drawn to their favorite artists and have devoted themselves to brands. Attending a festival that has multiple brewers opens opportunities for the attendees to interact with and support their favorite craft brewers and brands.…”