Environmental strategy: does it lead to competitive advantage in the US wine industry?

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to investigate and compare the perceptions of competitive advantage (cost leadership, differentiation, and performance) of those wineries which have implemented a clear business case for an environmental management system (EMS) and those which have not. Benefits and challenges of sustainability practices are also addressed. Design/methodology/approach -Data were collected via self-report web-based survey. Of the 98 respondents, over 80 per cent were family-owned, family-managed. Findings -Those respondents with a clear business case for EMS exhibited significant differences in cost leadership and differentiation advantages over those without a clear business case for EMS. Those with a clear EMS derived significantly greater supply chain optimization and operational efficiencies than those without a clear EMS. Those with a clear EMS also felt that they gained an enhanced ability to enter new markets to a much greater extent than those without a clear EMS. Results of this study demonstrate a significantly higher level of commitment by those respondents with a clear EMS when addressing sustainability initiatives during a current economic down turn over those who did not. Those respondents who had a clear EMS indicated that they had somewhat increased their sustainability commitments, rather than conducting business as usual with no change or somewhat decreasing sustainability commitments as those who did not have a clear EMS. Originality/value -Activities that create competitive advantages for wine businesses are understudied; this research bridges that gap.

Environmental Proactivity and Environmental and Economic Performance: Evidence from the Winery Sector

“…In the case of wineries, EP has a positive and significant effect on perceived corporate performance in line with the results obtained by Atkin et al [23]. The first hypothesis is therefore accepted despite the very low explained variance (11.6%).…”

“…These studies have focused on the factors leading to the adoption of an environmental management system (EMS) (e.g., [53,54]) or have examined subjects relating to consumer perceptions, brand image, or eco-labelling or eco-branding product differentiation strategies (e.g., [55,56]). Authors such as Atkin et al [23] go even further and attempt to confirm links between the adoption of an EMS and entrepreneurship in wineries, but are unable to link this adoption with any cost reduction. One reason given by the authors for this is that although costs can easily and quickly be quantified, benefits are often long term and harder to measure.…”

Ensuring Competitive Advantage through Innovation Capability and Clustering in the Thai Automotive Parts Molding Industry: A SEM Approach

“…In particular, businesses can reduce internal management costs as well as reducing and shortening the development and manufacturing process. Resource management in organizations is a cheap and effective technique to accomplish this [13][14][15][16][17].…”

Sustainability in the Wine Industry: Key Questions and Research Trends

“…A consistent body of research can be found in the general management and business strategy literature, that analyses the role of people involved within the organization in promoting a sustainability orientation: various issues have been investigated such as the role of top management's values in determining sustainability orientation (Berry and Rondinelli 1998;Quazi 2003), entrepreneurial commitment to sustainability (Shaltegger 2002) or management practices and principles reshaped by a sustainability orientation (Atkin et al 2012;Warner 2007).…”