Dynamics, motivations and barriers in internationalisation processes of wineries in Calabria

Abstract

This research has a twofold purpose: to get an insight into the internationalisation process of the wine industry in Calabria (South Italy), a region that has recently started to be credited for high-quality wines, and to conduct an investigation on internationalisation dynamics of Calabrian wineries, on the stimuli that push them into international context and the barriers they face. A qualitative case-study methodology was used following several steps: a theoretical background on SMEs’ internationalisation models was carried out in order to characterise the internationalisation patterns of Calabrian wineries; the Resource Based View (RBV) model was applied to investigate the Calabrian wineries’ leverages; a regulatory/normative approach was adopted in order to analyse the role of institutions and public agencies and how the local culture, values, beliefs and norms affect the international activity; finally, an Entry Mode Matrix was implemented to evaluate the market entry strategies adopted by Calabrian wineries. Findings clearly showed how the internationalisation process of SMEs can be highly context-specific and how a combination of tangible and intangible firms’ resources in interaction with home-based external conditions plays a crucial role in the internationalisation process of Calabrian wineries. [EconLit citations: Q120, Q130].