Sustainability as a Competitive Strategy

Sustainability as a Competitive Strategy for Small Winery Operators in the U.S.

Presenter: Omri Assado

Co-Presenter(s):
Tanya Aguilar, Alexis Perez, Piper Collins

Presenter Status: Undergraduate student

Academic Year: 22-23

Semester: Spring

Faculty Mentor: Kyuho Lee

Department: Business Administration

Funding Source/Sponsor: Koret Scholars Program

President's Strategic Plan Goal: Sustainability and Environmental Inquiry

Abstract:
Despite small wineries only having a market share of about 10% when compared to larger wineries across the Unites States, studies show that they can still leverage competitive advantages through the adaptation of sustainable practices. This is mostly due to the increase in consumers’ environmental and health awareness as green movements continue to sway the public towards sustainability in their purchasing decisions. This study aims to uncover if trends toward certain practices exist within each region, as well as if traditional wineries may be influencing newer establishments inadvertently through information sharing and their position as authority figures within the industry. As of the writing of this abstract, the results of our study are still pending and will be ready in the weeks leading up to the ORSP Week of Research. By identifying small wineries that produced less than 10,000 cases annually in the Sonoma, Napa and Healdsburg, we gathered data on an initial batch of 98 wineries using a mix of quantitative and qualitative analysis methods, as well as a snow-ball sampling technique in order to accurately discern the different types of sustainability practices used by each winery. We then took our findings and constructed a representative data set and ran it through descriptive/frequency tests, T-tests, and multivariate analysis using SPSS (Statistical Product and Service Solutions software). It should be noted that some wineries failed to meet the study’s criteria, and were eliminated from the study.