Are Environmental Regulations to Promote Eco-Innovation in the Wine Sector Effective? A Study of Spanish Wineries

Félix Calle,Carmen Córcoles,Ángela González-Moreno,Inmaculada Carrasco

doi:10.3390/agronomy12010021

Félix Calle, Carmen Córcoles + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12010021

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Abstract

In a changing socio-economic and ecological context, the agri-food industry, where the use of natural resources is very important, must pay more and more attention to green and eco-innovation. Public decision-makers have started to implement measures to encourage the adoption of sustainable practices by companies, which are also pressured by supply and demand factors. This article aims to determine the factors that drive eco-innovation in the wine sector in Spain, a mature and traditional sector characterized by its high fragmentation. In particular, we sought to determine the role environmental regulations play in promoting eco-innovation in the sector. To this end, an empirical study was developed using a structural equation model established using a partial least squares technique for a sample of 251 wineries from all over the country. The study shows that the current regulatory framework inhibits eco-innovation in Spanish wineries, who are more encouraged by positioning and external motivation factors.

Highlights

The successive enlargements of the European Union and the complex internal process of the modernization of the different productive sectors have given rise to a melting pot of highly diverse territories and many dualities
Our study contributes to the literature on eco-innovation, providing information on a mature and traditional sector characterized by its high fragmentation, characteristics that can cause the different factors driving eco-innovation to have a different impact than in other sectors or specific cases
Given the specific characteristics of the Spanish wine industry, integrated into the European framework of the Common Agricultural Policy, this study provides certain lessons that could be applied on a broader scale:

Summary

Introduction

The successive enlargements of the European Union and the complex internal process of the modernization of the different productive sectors have given rise to a melting pot of highly diverse territories and many dualities. The globalization of agricultural markets has made them more vulnerable [1], with the consequent risk of a loss of agricultural activity, which could lead to important social and environmental problems such as depopulation or biodiversity loss For this reason, the maintenance of profitable, competitive and environmentally sustainable agricultural activity [2,3] is vital for the development of spaces often characterized by low rates of regional and sectoral innovation [4,5,6]. The maintenance of profitable, competitive and environmentally sustainable agricultural activity [2,3] is vital for the development of spaces often characterized by low rates of regional and sectoral innovation [4,5,6] In this sense, innovation is a key determinant of productivity growth in agricultural activity and, by extension, in the agri-food industry and rural areas [7,8]. Environmentally-friendly food products are being developed since innovation in agricultural activity is associated more and more with sustainability problems in the sector [10,12,13,14,15]

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