Title: Growth and sustainability of agricultural systems: the case of Sicilian wine-growing farms

Authors: Filippo Sgroi; Riccardo Testa; Salvatore Tudisca; Anna Maria Di Trapani; Léo-Paul Dana

Addresses: Department of Agricultural and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Ed. 4, 90128 Palermo, Italy ' Department of Agricultural and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Ed. 4, 90128 Palermo, Italy ' Department of Agricultural and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Ed. 4, 90128 Palermo, Italy ' Department of Agricultural and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Ed. 4, 90128 Palermo, Italy ' Montpellier Research in Management, Montpellier Business School, 2300 avenue des Moulins, Montpellier, France; Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA

Abstract: The Sicilian wine-growing sector is characterised by the presence on the one hand of many small enterprises that limit their activity to the first stage of the supply chain (field production) and on the other of few enterprises that adopt a strategy of total vertical integration, from the production to the sale of wine. The first group of enterprises operates in a competitive market and in many cases with marginal revenues that are lower than marginal costs, leading entrepreneurs to abandon the activity of grape production. The second group operates in an oligopolistic market and it is able to compete in an international market. Findings reveal that competitive advantage could be achieved lowering the production costs, so as to arrive on the market with a lower cost with respect to competitors. This strategy is particularly suitable for all those small Sicilian enterprises that operate in a competitive market and that limit their activity to the production phase.

Keywords: agrifood products; competitiveness; entrepreneurship; income; local development; rural areas; economic sustainability; Sicily; small and medium-sized enterprises; wine SMEs; supply chain management; SCM; wine growing farms; firm growth; sustainability; sustainable development; grape production.

DOI: 10.1504/IJESB.2016.078047

International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, 2016 Vol.29 No.1, pp.103 - 111

Received: 04 Jul 2015
Accepted: 14 Oct 2015
Published online: 31 Jul 2016 *

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