PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to identify the key management skills for running a successful winery business, which in the Australian industry is predominately a small to medium sized business, and explores the existence of such skills within the industry.Design/methodology/approachThe information was obtained through structured interviews with a range of winery owners and managers in the four main wine regions of Western Australia.FindingsWhilst a set of universal management skills are identified by the industry participants, these are not universally held. The study examines skills and training issues highlighting the diversity of winery owners and managers.Research limitations/implicationsThe study was conducted using qualitative methodology in one state of Australia only.Practical implicationsThe findings require further quantitative testing, but strongly imply that managerial skills in the wine industry are limited, and most managers are more focused on technical expertise than financial, strategic, marketing or HR planning and management.Originality/valueThe paper has benefit for the wine industry showing the strengths and weaknesses of its managers, and also for theorists who seek to understand management processes in a specific sector predominantly comprising small and medium sized enterprises.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.