Abstract
The aim of this article is to investigate how owners of family businesses combine their traditional heritage with changes in a new competitive arena. This is done by allowing the owners and managers of six vineyards to give voice to their concerns about the past, present, and future. The findings suggest that family businesses in the South African wine industry are subject to a process of institutionalisation in which entrepreneurial activities, which are part of this process, may not be as entrepreneurial as they appear at first. It is found that the two forms of logic behind the institutionalisation of the family firm and entrepreneurial activities in the context of the post-apartheid era can be successfully merged. Theoretical and practical implications bring the article to a close.
Highlights
This article deals with family-owned and managed wine businesses in the Stellenbosch region of the Western Cape area of South Africa
The age of the industry and the fact that the majority are in the family business (504 out of 524 were privately held in 2011 according to SAWIS statistics/www.wosa.co.za/sa/statistics, 2013) mean that family traditions are of great importance and that present generations remain faithful to their family’s way of making wine
The findings suggest that family businesses within the South African wine industry are subject to a process of institutionalisation, and that entrepreneurial activities are part of this process, but that they may not be as entrepreneurial as they seem at first
Summary
This article deals with family-owned and managed wine businesses in the Stellenbosch region of the Western Cape area of South Africa. Much of the South African wine industry, which dates back to the seventeenth century (Williamson &Wood, 2003), is family owned, and has been so for a few generations. The industry can be labelled as ‘doubly’ institutionalised, since it builds on traditional wine making methods and family traditions. It is historically well established almost all over the world. New entrepreneurial practices may be important in order to succeed in the market. The introduction of a new method of production. Employing one’s parents-in-law in order to give the impression of being a family business The rhetoric of the romantic story about wine farming on the website
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