Sustainability experiences in the wine sector: toward the development of an international indicators system

Merli, Roberto; Preziosi, Michele; Acampora, Alessia

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.06.129

Cited by 112 publications

(135 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…When looking at the sustainability drivers from a multidimensional perspective, the environmental dimension was dominating, in line with a previous Italian wine study (Borsellino et al, ). Whereas past studies highlight the importance of economic viability of sustainability practices in wine industries (Merli et al, ), especially in larger companies (Pomarici et al, ; Szolnoki, ), economic sustainability‐oriented drivers surprisingly obtained the lowest score in our study. Although the lower importance does not necessarily imply a lack of rational behavior on economic grounds, the implementation of sustainability appears to be more associated with other (e.g., environmental) impacts (Gilinsky et al, ; Knight, Megicks, Agarwal, & Leenders, ; Whitehead, ).…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 81%

“…This is also one of the first studies to look at aggregated groups of practices (Pullman et al, ), and one of the first to compare adoption of practices from different managerial domains (Dodds et al, ). Moreover, the inclusion of four evaluation indicators (intensity of use, financial and labor investments, and level of satisfaction) goes beyond current adoption literature that is mainly targeted towards the identification of drivers (Santini et al, ) and complements those studies that evaluate sustainability programs in the wine sector (e.g., EMS; Corbo et al, ; Flores, ; Hughey et al, ; Merli et al, ), which are considered to be more appropriate for large wine producers (Cordano et al, ; Szolnoki, ). Third, this study addresses the need for more research on sustainability perceptions and practices at the level of the wine producer (Santini et al, ) rather than at the consumer level (Mariani & Vastola, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thereby, wine producers were given information about these dimensions, based on their main principles and some examples (Corbo, Lamastra, & Capri, ; Szolnoki, ). Whereas previous research shows heterogeneity regarding sustainability definitions in the wine sector (Corbo et al, ; Flint et al, ; Flores, ), the focus here is also on the three‐dimensional concept of sustainability in wine studies (Merli et al, ; Thompson & Forbes, ), with an additional heritage dimension (Flores, ; OIV, ). It is important to mention that these four variables reflect wine producers' overall perceived importance of the dimensions as a whole (Armindo, Fonseca, Abreu, & Toldy, ; Borsellino et al, ) but are not developed based on different items (Pullman et al, ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Prior research in the wine sector demonstrates producers' difficulty in understanding sustainability (Szolnoki, ). After providing the producers with a general definition of sustainability, they were asked to indicate the importance of each of the four dimensions of sustainability on a 5‐point (from 1 = not important to 5 = very important ) scale (Merli et al, ; Szolnoki, ). Thereby, wine producers were given information about these dimensions, based on their main principles and some examples (Corbo, Lamastra, & Capri, ; Szolnoki, ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Second, sustainability can also be addressed through practices that are linked to supply chain management (Flint & Golicic, ; Varsei & Polyakovskiy, ), such as recycling, efficient packaging, and transport (Merli, Preziosi, & Acampora, ; Pullman, Maloni, & Dillard, ; Soosay, Fearne, & Dent, ; Szolnoki, ), by which collaboration with other producers (e.g., cooperatives) or other stakeholders in the chain can be initiated (Gabzdylova et al, ; Mariani & Vastola, ). A meta‐analysis by Golicic and Smith (), for example, demonstrated a positive link between environmental supply chain practices and various forms of firm performance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Drivers, adoption, and evaluation of sustainability practices in Italian wine SMEs

et al. 2019

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Based on a survey with 64 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in two Italian wine regions, this study aims to (a) identify key drivers and barriers of the adoption of sustainability and (b) compare the adoption and evaluation (use, financial/labor investments, and satisfaction) of sustainability practices in four management domains (marketing, chain, operational, and innovation). Results show that internal drivers were considered to be more important than external drivers. Economic sustainabilityoriented drivers scored significantly lower than drivers related to other dimensions, such as environmental sustainability and heritage. Key barriers refer to labor and investments costs, as well as concerns about greenwashing. Although there are substantial differences in adoption and evaluation of sustainability practices within and between management domains, this study confirms their widespread adoption in wineries. Among users, satisfaction levels outweigh the perceived investments.Except for innovation management practices, financial investments are considered to be lower than labor investments. Positive correlations between use-satisfaction (within each management domain) and between investments or satisfaction levels (between management domains) further lend support for producers' adoption of multiple practices. At sustainability dimension level, heritage is negatively correlated with the evaluation indicators, indicating that it may act as a potential barrier to some sustainability practices. Segmentation analysis identified a low (30%) and high sustainability clusters (70%), which differ significantly in terms of sustainability perceptions and drivers, adoption, and evaluation of practices, as well as company characteristics.Future research needs to validate the findings on SMEs, compare our measures with more objective evaluation indicators, future adoption rates, and multidimensional sustainability practices.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 81%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Drivers, adoption, and evaluation of sustainability practices in Italian wine SMEs

et al. 2019

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Achieving the circular economy through environmental policies: Packaging strategies for more sustainable business models in the wine industry

Mura,

Vicentini,

Botti

et al. 2023

Bus Strat Env

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The environmental and economic benefits of adopting a circular economy (CE) approach could be significant for firms. The CE and packaging constitute a fundamental binomial for our economy, yet there are still few studies of the advantages for food value chains, especially in the wine sector. Therefore, in this paper, we address this research gap by measuring the environmental and economic performance of a circular business model (CBM) adopting the wine industry as a reference. We apply a combination of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Costing (LCC) methods to a small Italian winemaking firm, which implements a circular strategy through the take‐back and refurbishment of wine packaging components. Results show that by implementing this sustainable and CBM, a firm can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from 8 to 90% and save from 6 to 63% of its economic costs.

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The sustainability orientation in the wine industry: An analysis based on age as a driver

Broccardo

Truant

Dana

2022

Corp Soc Responsibility Env

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Few studies probe small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the context of sustainability. Thus, this study examines the sustainability orientation in SMEs and its impact on financial performance, considering the 'ageing effect'. It employs a sample of Italian SMEs operating in the wine sector, using a survey questionnaire to collect qualitative and quantitative data for analysis. Accordingly, although sustainability remains typically unembedded within such SMEs, when it is embedded, a positive correlation with performance is evident. Furthermore, age is a relevant variable that can explain a different sustainability orientation and its impact on financial performance. This research contributes insight into sustainability orientation in SMEs, extending the sustainability, age, and SME performance literature. Managerial implications suggest the need to better emphasise social issues and invest more in skilled human resources and training programmes.

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Sustainability experiences in the wine sector: toward the development of an international indicators system

Cited by 112 publications

References 56 publications

Drivers, adoption, and evaluation of sustainability practices in Italian wine SMEs

Drivers, adoption, and evaluation of sustainability practices in Italian wine SMEs

Achieving the circular economy through environmental policies: Packaging strategies for more sustainable business models in the wine industry

The sustainability orientation in the wine industry: An analysis based on age as a driver

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