Globalisation and the wine market: developments in the small Albanian context

Abstract

The current wine sector is characterised by two main producers’ groups adopting contrasting management philosophies: the EU traditional producers (Italy and France in the lead) that ‘sell off to produce’ and ‘The New World of wine’ producers (the USA, Australia, etc.) that ‘produce to sell’. These trends influence each other both strategically and operatively. New small producers like Eastern Europe countries (Romania, Bulgaria, Georgia, Ukraine and Albania) are emerging lately. In light of the above scenario, the present work is aimed at answering the following questions: Which management philosophy have these emerging countries adopted to develop production? Can a new management model be assumed to develop production, or rather, can the former be compared to one of the above-mentioned models? What are the prospects for the near future in these countries, with special reference to Albania? Are they likely to be strong enough to change the balance of the wine sector internationally?