Dual attractiveness of winery: atmospheric cues on purchasing

Abstract

Purpose

The wine business is a fast growing industry in Taiwan particularly since the government deregulated the monopoly system, which in turn has induced fierce competition. Affective theory suggests that consumer emotion affects mood and purchasing behavior. The purpose of this paper is to propose that wineries may attract diverse customers by using pleasant atmospheric cues.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 346 samples from four famous wineries of two different types were collected and customers' mood and emotional factors relating to the wineries were explored, and the relationship between the factors of winery atmosphere, customer satisfaction, and purchasing behavior were examined.

Findings

Test results confirm that a pleasant atmosphere attracts and strengthens the customer's affective commitment, which in turn strengthens the customer's repetitive purchasing intention.

Research limitations/implications

Samples from four wineries may be too limited to allow generalisability of research findings, although these wineries attracted the majority of winery visitors.

Practical implications

Wineries should target and attract broader customer segments to include general tourists by creating the winery as a place of interest for leisure activities. The inclusion of customer‐centric factors in marketing campaigns in response to customer demands is needed in spanning market boundaries.

Originality/value

This paper expands the conventional wisdom of attracting wine consumers through wine tasting to include the overall attractiveness and appeal of the winery. Involving more diversified customer types as target groups will effectively broaden the winery's business scope and turnover.

Citation

Pan, F., Su, S. and Chiang, C. (2008), "Dual attractiveness of winery: atmospheric cues on purchasing", International Journal of Wine Business Research, Vol. 20 No. 2, pp. 95-110. https://doi.org/10.1108/17511060810883731