Title: Export motivation and clustering of Greek yogurt firms

Authors: Zacharias Papanikolaou; Christos D. Karelakis; Konstantinos Polymeros; Apostolos Goulas; George Theodossiou

Addresses: Department of Agricultural Development, Democritus University of Thrace, Orestiada, Greece ' Department of Agricultural Development, Democritus University of Thrace, Orestiada, Greece ' Department of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece ' Department of Agricultural Development, Democritus University of Thrace, Orestiada, Greece ' Department of Business Administration, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece

Abstract: In a turbulent economic environment, the exports of dairy products and mainly Greek yogurt to Greece are essential for Greek firms' economic growth and empowerment. The study aims to cluster Greek yogurt production firms according to the antecedents of their internationalisation motives. Data were collected through a survey (structured questionnaire) in a sample of 137 yogurt firms, of which 21 have export activities and an overall response rate of 75.91%. The clustering of firms was achieved via the hierarchical cluster analysis method performed with the Ward method to minimise the differences within the clusters. Regarding selecting the number of clusters to be created, the choice was made based on the number of sample firms within a range of two to five clusters. The results show that Greek yogurt firms are divided into two distinct clusters: large-sized exporting firms with experience in the field and small-sized non-exporting firms of the local market.

Keywords: cluster analysis; competitive advantage; internationalisation; Greek yogurt.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSAMI.2025.147254

International Journal of Sustainable Agricultural Management and Informatics, 2025 Vol.11 No.3, pp.295 - 307

Received: 25 Sep 2023
Accepted: 27 Dec 2023
Published online: 14 Jul 2025 *

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