Purpose

One of the main difficulties for wine managers is understanding and interpreting how some strategies and company behaviours could affect firms’ performance. This study aims to contribute to improve these concerns by examining the evolution of the competitive wine industry structure over time using the strategic group membership dynamics approach.

Design/methodology/approach

This study empirically analyses a data set spanning the period 2004–2014 to identify the strategic groups in the Spanish wine industry and to model their evolution over time. A time inhomogeneous hidden Markov model (HMM) is used for this purpose.

Findings

Three strategic groups are identified: Young Makers, Quality Lovers and Major Players. Young Makers are small wineries that produce low-quality wines. They are not part of a collective brand – Protected Designation of Origin – and do not invest in marketing campaigns. Quality Lovers produce the highest quality wines but offer a narrow assortment. They invest modestly in advertising, and most of them belong to a Protected Designation of Origin. Major Players produce medium-quality wines, offer a wide assortment and invest heavily in advertising. The groups seem stable over time.

Practical implications

The results show that strategic group analysis can be used to identify and compare patterns of strategic activity within the wine industry, providing a better understanding of the competitive environment.

Originality/value

No previous studies have analysed the competitive structure of the Spanish wine industry. This study delineates the structure of this industry using strategic groups, which is supported by a valid econometric model. Therefore, from a theory base perspective, this study adds new evidence to the stream of research on strategic groups by investigating their evolution over time in the wine industry and the effect of strategic group membership on performance.

中文翻译：

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建模葡萄酒行业的群体动态

目的

葡萄酒经理面临的主要困难之一是理解和解释某些战略和公司行为如何影响公司的业绩。本研究旨在通过使用战略群体成员动态方法检查竞争性葡萄酒行业结构随时间的演变来改善这些担忧。

设计/方法/途径

本研究对 2004 年至 2014 年期间的数据集进行了实证分析，以确定西班牙葡萄酒行业的战略群体，并对其随时间的演变进行建模。时间非齐次隐马尔可夫模型 (HMM) 用于此目的。

发现

确定了三个战略群体：青年制造者、质量爱好者和主要参与者。Young Makers 是生产低质量葡萄酒的小型酿酒厂。它们不是集体品牌的一部分——受保护的原产地名称——并且不投资于营销活动。Quality Lovers 出产最高品质的葡萄酒，但品种较少。他们在广告上的投资不大，其中大部分属于受保护的原产地名称。主要参与者生产中等质量的葡萄酒，提供广泛的品种并在广告上投入巨资。随着时间的推移，这些群体似乎很稳定。

实际影响

结果表明，战略群体分析可用于识别和比较葡萄酒行业的战略活动模式，从而更好地了解竞争环境。

原创性/价值

之前没有研究分析过西班牙葡萄酒行业的竞争结构。本研究使用有效的计量经济学模型支持的战略群体描绘了该行业的结构。因此，从理论基础的角度来看，本研究通过调查战略群体在葡萄酒行业中随时间的演变以及战略群体成员资格对绩效的影响，为战略群体的研究流增添了新的证据。