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1 – 10 of 103The purpose of this mixed-methods explanatory sequential study was to assess the effects of an external wine education and certification program on trainee reactions, learning…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this mixed-methods explanatory sequential study was to assess the effects of an external wine education and certification program on trainee reactions, learning, transfer and financial results.
Design/methodology/approach
The quantitative phase was a mixed experimental design in which the training intervention was between-subjects and time was within-subjects. The sample comprises 91 employees (NTraining = 43; NControl = 48) from 12 units of a fine dining restaurant group. The qualitative phase, comprised of semi-structured interviews with training group participants (N = 12), was implemented after the experiment.
Findings
Training group participants reported high scores for attitude toward training content, instructional satisfaction and transfer motivation. Financial metrics, tracked up to 60 days post-training, demonstrated the wine education program was effective in increasing wine knowledge but not wine sales. Four themes emerged from the qualitative data: sense of accomplishment, enhanced guest interaction, tips and gratuities and defeat. Integrated findings revealed increased wine knowledge led to personal financial impact (increased tips) rather than organizational impact.
Originality/value
This research builds on existing training literature and human capital theory by examining external training programs. Further, the use of a mixed-methods design and integration of the quantitative and qualitative findings offers a previously unidentified explanation for why wine training, although effective in facilitating positive reactions and learning, fails to result in transfer behaviors which generate increased wine sales.
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Markus Filter and Chris D. Pentz
This study contributes to the scant research on dealcoholised wine from a consumer behaviour perspective by providing insight and reporting on the attributes that South African…
Abstract
Purpose
This study contributes to the scant research on dealcoholised wine from a consumer behaviour perspective by providing insight and reporting on the attributes that South African Generation Y consumers prefer when purchasing dealcoholised wine.
Design/methodology/approach
A two-phased research approach was adopted, involving a main quantitative phase, preceded by a qualitative phase. Data were gathered from 626 South African Generation Y respondents by means of a questionnaire. The best–worst scaling method was applied to 13 selected dealcoholised wine attributes, to measure the level of importance of each attribute. To gain more insight on the data, the best-worst scaling scores were further standardised to a probabilistic ratio scale.
Findings
“Taste”, “price” and “I have tried it before” were the most important attributes that respondents considered when purchasing dealcoholised wine. Furthermore, “taste” was by far the most important of all the attributes. The attributes of “back label”, “attractive front label” and “brand name” were identified as the least important by the respondents, suggesting that they did not consider the visual elements of a bottle of dealcoholised wine as particularly important in their purchasing decision.
Originality/value
The findings of this pioneering study contribute to the lack of knowledge about dealcoholised wine from a consumer behaviour and marketing perspective, and provide insights and strategies that can be used by stakeholders to enhance the dealcoholised wine market in South Africa.
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Grégoire Croidieu and Walter W. Powell
This paper seeks to understand how a new elite, known as the cork aristocracy, emerged in the Bordeaux wine field, France, between 1850 and 1929 as wine merchants replaced…
Abstract
This paper seeks to understand how a new elite, known as the cork aristocracy, emerged in the Bordeaux wine field, France, between 1850 and 1929 as wine merchants replaced aristocrats. Classic class and status perspectives, and their distinctive social closure dynamics, are mobilized to illuminate the individual and organizational transformations that affected elite wineries grouped in an emerging classification of the Bordeaux best wines. We build on a wealth of archives and historical ethnography techniques to surface complex status and organizational dynamics that reveal how financiers and industrialists intermediated this transition and how organizations are deeply interwoven into social change.
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Bettina König, Christian Pfeiffer, Marcus Wieschhoff and Elena Karpova
The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of wine closure types on the quality perception of wine consumers in a traditional wine market, combined with the willingness…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of wine closure types on the quality perception of wine consumers in a traditional wine market, combined with the willingness to pay for red and white wines in bottles closed with screw caps compared with that for wines in bottles with a cork closure.
Design/methodology/approach
An online experiment with 436 Austrian wine consumers was conducted in a two-by-two between-groups design. To assess the quality of Austrian red and white wine, quality indicators such as origin, grape variety, awards, the content of residual sugar, vintage, geographical indication, ageing potential, organic certification, vineyard designation and brand (producer) have been applied. Furthermore, different involvement levels as well as willingness to pay were taken into consideration.
Findings
Contrary to earlier findings, results confirm that Austrian consumers do not generally perceive wines (both red and white) in a screw cap bottle to be lower or different in quality from those in a cork-closed bottle. However, consumers expect red and white wines in bottles with a cork closure to be higher in price than wines in bottles with a screw cap. Among established quality indicators, the present analysis shows that price is the strongest cue for quality when it comes to wines and indicates that wines in bottles closed with corks and bearing a higher price tag are considered to be of higher quality.
Research limitations/implications
This research comes with limitations, such as the absence of sensory differences. Moreover, the research design is based exclusively on the description of wines and a limited set of quality indicators and does not involve the actual tasting of wines.
Practical implications
Outcomes suggest that in the strategic positioning of wines, the difference in wine consumers’ quality perceptions between wine bottles with screw caps and cork closures plays a smaller role than anticipated. Findings are relevant for practitioners, particularly in old-world wine markets where cork is still seen as the closure of choice for higher-quality wines.
Originality/value
The results of this survey contribute to understanding consumers of an established old-world wine market and their attitudes towards alternative bottle closure types such as screw caps. It adds new insights to the research stream of the quality perception of wines.
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Lala Hu, Diana A. Filipescu and Albena Pergelova
The aim of this study is to understand how digital platforms and context-specific characteristics of China – such as swift guanxi – affect opportunities for small and medium…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to understand how digital platforms and context-specific characteristics of China – such as swift guanxi – affect opportunities for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) entering this market.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopts a qualitative approach based on a multiple-case study of Italian SMEs in the wine industry that have activated international activities in China. Primary data consist of 32 interviews with SMEs’ managers, local consumers and other stakeholders involved in firm internationalization.
Findings
The findings of this study highlight that in SMEs’ internationalization, the process of knowledge/learning on digital platforms takes place in a bidirectional way thanks to the interactions among multiple stakeholders, which activate consumer education and knowledge sharing.
Originality/value
While previous research has emphasized firms' knowledge acquisition in the internationalization process, this study incorporates both the consumer perspective and the firm perspective, along with considering interactions with various stakeholders.
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Andrew Muhammad, Anthony R. Delmond and Frank K. Nti
Chinese beer consumption has undergone major changes within the last decade. The combination of a growing middle class and greater exposure to foreign products has resulted in a…
Abstract
Purpose
Chinese beer consumption has undergone major changes within the last decade. The combination of a growing middle class and greater exposure to foreign products has resulted in a significant increase in beer imports. The authors examined transformations in this market and how beer preferences have changed over time. This study focuses on changes is origin-specific preferences (e.g. German beer and Mexican beer) as reflected by habit formation (i.e. dynamic consumption patterns) and changes in demand sensitivity to expenditure and prices.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors estimated Chinese beer demand – differentiated by source – using a generalized dynamic demand model that accounted for habit formation and trends, as well as the immediate and long-run effects of expenditures and prices on demand. The authors employed a rolling regression procedure that allowed for model estimates to vary with time. Preference changes were inferred from the changing demand estimates, with a particular focus on changes in habit formation, expenditure allocating behaviour, and own-price responsiveness.
Findings
Results suggest that Chinese beer preferences have changed significantly over the last decade, increasing for Mexican beer, Dutch beer and Belgian beer. German beer once dominated the Chinese market. However, all indicators suggest that German beer preferences are declining.
Originality/value
Although China is the world's third largest beer importing country behind the United States and France. Few studies have focused on this market. While dynamic analyses of alcoholic beverage demand are not new, this is the first study to examine the dynamics of imported beer preferences in China and implications for exporting countries.
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Mohamed Fawzi Afifi, Asad Mohsin and Mustafa Farouk
The study investigates perceptions and debate that are linked to the relationship between religion, alcohol, tourism and hospitality within the context of an Islamic tourist…
Abstract
Purpose
The study investigates perceptions and debate that are linked to the relationship between religion, alcohol, tourism and hospitality within the context of an Islamic tourist destination. An analytical approach involving a review of literature, assessment of conservationists’ attitude representing Islam and Christianity, and current trends using a student sample to determine intentions is used. The study findings suggest that alcohol and religiosity are not compatible, use, abuse and dependency are more common among non-believers than believers. A tense dispute continues in the Arab World around alcohol. The study contributes to the literature by highlighting economics, social practice, theoretical and managerial implications related to alcohol service in Egypt and suggests a way forward for global Muslim staff working in the hospitality, tourism, and travel industries.
Design/methodology/approach
The study uses an analytical approach involving a review of literature, assessment of conservationists’ attitude representing Islam and Christianity and current trends using a student sample to determine intentions.
Findings
The study findings suggest that alcohol and religiosity are not compatible, use, abuse and dependency are more common among non-believers than believers. A tense dispute continues in the Arab World around alcohol.
Research limitations/Implications
The study is assessing the relationship between religion, alcohol, hospitality and tourism within the context of Egypt, advances knowledge about halal tourism and hospitality by explicitly linking religious obligations and the implication on tourism. The findings should be used with caution considering the subjectivity of responses and the size of the sample.
Practical implications
The service/hospitality industry managers could be Muslims or non-Muslims representing major airlines, hotels and restaurants where alcohol is served by Muslim employees. These managers should consider avoiding the sale or serving of alcohol completely, and if not, they must not force their workers to serve alcohol if they chose not to.
Social implications
Faith-based (e.g. Muslims, Seventh Day Adventists and Mormons), ideological or ethically driven alternative services should be created for the staff concerned with alcohol service/consumption. Employment is to be provided to adherents of these faiths or ideologies as an alternative resort.
As Finland became an associate member of the European Free Trade Association in early 1960s, the domestic brewing industry faced a new threat posed by imported beer. It was…
Abstract
Purpose
As Finland became an associate member of the European Free Trade Association in early 1960s, the domestic brewing industry faced a new threat posed by imported beer. It was neutralized effectively with joint and individual efforts of the breweries. This paper aims to analyze the maneuvers taken by Tornion Olut Oy to brand its new product, Lapin Kulta, which ultimately became the most popular beer in Finland. In addition, the contemporary changes in the Finnish society with related social tensions are shown to have contributed to its success significantly.
Design/methodology/approach
Archival research focusing on primary sources complemented with biographies, historical newspaper and magazine articles as well contemporary research papers with an aim to reconstruct and better understand the historical and social context of the events.
Findings
The success of the Lapin Kulta beer in 1960s was not only based on the effective marketing, although a well-thought name, the successful participation in international beer “competitions” enhancing the brand and both improved distribution and logistics certainly contributed to it. Instead the success is shown to have depended also on seemingly odd collection of external factors. However, when put together, the success is shown to have been based on brand's capability to address the social tensions present in Finland during 1960s.
Originality/value
The importance of the context reconstruction in historical marketing research is underlined as developments traditionally attributed solely to product qualities and marketing may equally stem from a multitude of external factors. As a case study, the research represents a fresh take on the subject through a variety of previously neglected sources.
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