The anatomy of exporting wineries of Argentina

Purpose This study aims to provide a detailed characterization of Argentinean exporting wineries using a new rich firm-level data set to understand how capabilities and business strategies differ among firms with different levels of involvement in the export market. Design/methodology/approach A survey was distributed among all wineries along all wine regions of Argentina; the 45-min questionnaire was answered by 230 wineries, a representative sample with a response rate of 26.3% of the total population of Argentinean wineries. The survey assessed the interaction between wineries’ dynamics and characteristics and their participation in export markets. In the comparative analysis, the results are presented by dividing the sample into four categories according to the export intensity of the wineries. Findings High-intensity exporting wineries in Argentina differ from other Argentinean wineries in several dimensions. In particular, the most internationalized Argentinean wineries are the most endowed with higher capabilities; they follow a specific business model emphasizing product differentiation, quality upgrading, brand building and the development of distribution channels. Exporting wineries from Argentina adopt business practices that differ from those that prevail among wineries that only target the domestic market. They have developed firm capabilities such as human capital and technology to play a critical role in quality upgrading for their participation in global wine markets. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to study the Argentinean exporting wineries using a firm-level sizeable representative sample.