Guest editorial

Citation

Remaud, H. (2012), "Guest editorial", International Journal of Wine Business Research, Vol. 24 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijwbr.2012.04324baa.001

Guest editorial

Article Type: Guest editorial From: International Journal of Wine Business Research, Volume 24, Issue 2

This special issue takes advantage of the 6th International Conference of the Academy of Wine Business Research organized by Bordeaux Management School in June 2011. About 80 papers were presented during the two days of the conference. All disciplines related to wine business were represented in this conference, from marketing to public policies, and from finance to strategy. Each of the AWBR conferences highlights a specific topic, with the theme of “The faces of Wine Sustainability” selected for this conference in Bordeaux. The papers included in this special issue illustrate that theme.

Wine sustainability has become a hot topic quite recently. Many wine businesses have thought “sustainable” for many years, but it is only during the past few years that these companies (as well as new opportunist comers) promote and communicate about their sustainable engagement. Based on the Brundland Report (1987), “sustainability” encapsulates three key issues: environmental, economic and social. It is common sense to state that the economic part of sustainability is fundamental to all wine businesses. Due to the economic crisis, many businesses have been in a survival position, reminding us the importance of the economic sustainable pillar. The environmental component of the company’s (and wine region) sustainable engagement is the one wine researchers and wine professionals have the most focused on in the recent years. The social pillar is the “poor parent” of the sustainable faces of the wine industry and we are pleased to have one article in this issue approaching that face.

From a sustainable perspective, more and more wine regions have implemented actions aiming at producing wines with techniques and processes that are respecting to a greater extent the environment. At the company level, complementing (or not) such actions, environmental management system (EMS) can be used to improve environmental benefits and health, but also to increase social responsibility and economic viability. In the first article, Sharon Forbes and Tracy-Anne De Silva discuss the use of formal EMSs amongst New Zealand wineries that have implemented the Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand (SWNZ) programme. The authors found that New Zealand wineries experienced improved environmental performance when implementing an EMS but disappointingly achieved few social, economic or marketing benefits.

With a similar objective, Thomas Atkin and his colleagues investigated and compared the perceptions of competitive advantage of those US wineries who have implemented a clear business case for an EMS and those (still in the USA) who have not. Adopting an EMS makes a difference, especially with regard to supply chain optimization and operational efficiencies. It can be suggested that the implementation of an EMS in a company force this one to adopt new practices that can be leveraged when entering a new market and copping with the economic crisis.

The third article adopts a different perspective, illustrating the social and economic face of the wine industry sustainable development. In his article, Dieter Hoffmann explains why the upcoming International Alcohol Policy is endangering the economic sustainability of the wine business. The aim of his article is to evaluate the results of existing empirical studies on the price elasticity of alcoholic beverages by using the available results of studies on consumer decision making, especially between alcoholics (consumer segment causing alcoholism) and the average consumers. Key findings indicate that wine is highly affected by this alcohol policy due to the expectation of a decrease in overall consumption and the very high costs of alcohol content related taxes paid by all wine consumers. The social problem of alcoholism cannot be solved with this new policy and the development of and checks on new instruments for the direct control of alcoholics is needed.

Each of the AWBR conferences makes a significant contribution to the knowledge in wine business management and research. This special issue is a natural publication extension for articles presented during the conference.

In addition to these three papers focusing on wine sustainability, we have a fourth article of interest, investigating the influence of gender on wine purchasing and consumption. Socio-demographic variables, including gender, age, etc. have always “fascinated” wine researchers and practitioners because these variables could be used as a basis for market segmentation. Using an interviewer-administered questionnaire in New Zealand, Australia, UK and the USA, Sharon Forbes examined the actual purchase decisions made by 399 consumers inside stores. Results indicate that gender has little significant impact on the frequency with which consumers purchase and drink wine, suggesting that gender may not be a useful variable for segmenting the global wine market. But when buying wine, the author found that female would be more attracted by discounted price.

The next issue of IJWBR will cover other wine business issues, investigations and approaches with the objectives of sharing knowledge and insights with wine researchers and practitioners.

Hervé RemaudGuest Editor