Online popularity as a development factor for cooperatives in the winegrowing sector

Abstract

Spain is a global leader in the wine sector in terms of production capacity, which is in stark contrast to its low domestic wine consumption. This situation forces Spanish producers to develop a clear focus on exports. Traditionally, the business model in Spain has been based on low prices, high volumes, and a strong dependence on traditional markets, which places Spain at a clear competitive disadvantage in terms of value. Given these commercial challenges in this sector, where cooperatives play a central role, information and communication technologies, particularly websites, offer a source of competitive advantage. The main aim of this research is to analyze the organizational factors and commercial features that are associated with the online popularity of wine producers. This study seeks to verify the influence of organizational aspects (company size and integration), commercial features (sales of bottled wine, internationalization, and organic certification), and website quality on the popularity of corporate websites. The analysis was conducted using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). The results reveal that the number of website visits is positively related to business integration, organic certification, export activity, website quality, and the marketing of bottled wine.