The renaissance of a local wine industry: The relevance of social capital for business innovation in DOQ El Priorat, Catalonia

Spatial Agglomerations in the Spanish Food Industry: Does Sectorial Disaggregation Matter?

“…In our analysis, the subsectors with the largest number of relevant clusters are in line with the case studies about agrifood clusters in Spain: preparation of fruit and vegetable juices (twenty-nine clusters) and other processed and preserved fruits and vegetables Aldecua et al 2017;Larreina, Gómez-Bezares, and Aguado 2011;Macías Vázquez 2011;Sánchez-Hernández 2011;Soler Montiel 2011). These studies highlight the geographical proximity between the components of the cluster as a factor which generates agglomeration economies through internal specialization and division of labor.…”

“…On the other hand, social networks and the knowledge exchange are important factors for cluster innovation, and many authors evidence this in the context of wine clusters. Thus, the research focusing on the wine cluster in the region of El Priorat, Spain, verified the importance of creating and strengthening intraregional links based on trust and solidarity, links that enable the efficient diffusion of this innovative information, in such a way that the knowledge can be shared (Aldecua et al 2017). Similarly, Hira and Swartz (2014) analyzed the Napa wine cluster and found that social capital and the efforts of entrepreneurs to work together to develop the technological breakthroughs give them a comparative advantage.…”

“…Agrifood clusters in Spain have also been analyzed, such as olive oil in Andalusia (Sanz Cañada and Macías Vázquez 2005), the case of Valencian citrus (Gallego Bono 2007), the Iberian ham cluster (Diez-Vial 2011), and the foodstuffs (nougat) cluster in the Valencia region (Molina-Morales et al 2015). Numerous documented examples of clustering activity in the food sector focus on wine clusters (Porter 1998;Giuliani and Bell 2005;Morrison and Rabelloti 2009;Beebe et al 2013;Hira and Swartz 2014;Aldecua et al 2017). Studies have also considered Latin American countries (Dirven 2001;Boucher and Requier-Desjardins 2005;Mancini 2013;Crespo, Réquier-Desjardins, and Vicente 2014).…”

Social Capital and Entrepreneurship in Emerging Wine Regions

“…Similarly, Aldecuaa et al (2017) identify strong links, facilitated by industry associations and associated with bonding capital (i.e., idea and resource sharing, social cohesion/loyalty) among wineries that historically served local markets in a region of Spain and weak links associated with bridging capital, stemming from the introduction of four new winery operators, who helped bridge the local network with external agents (i.e., distributors, caterers, sommeliers, specialized journalists, and potential trade partners), leading to a renaissance in the region. The authors recommend a balance of bonding and bridging capital.…”

“…Social capital is simply the value of the resources (actual and potential) inherent in the social relationships of individuals or collectives (Nahapiet and Ghoshal, 1998; Gedajlovic et al, 2013). Related studies of wine regions indicate performance advantages of greater connectivity and provide insights as to how such networks form, highlighting the roles of industry associations (Aldecuaa, Vaillant, Lafuented, and Gómez, 2017; Giuliani and Bell, 2005).…”