Title: Producing good wine just is not enough: the role of management in building a competitive industry cluster

Authors: Svan Lembke; Lee Cartier

Addresses: Faculty of Management, The University of British Columbia, Okanagan Campus, 1137 Alumni Avenue, Kelowna, BC V1V 1V7, Canada ' School of Business, Okanagan College, 1000 KLO Road, Kelowna, V1P 1L2, Canada

Abstract: The wine industry is a central part of the agricultural products cluster in British Columbia. Findings from a range of applied research projects indicate that the cluster may have hit a glass ceiling in terms of its development. A better understanding of cluster dynamics and management processes is needed to assist the cluster grow to beyond its initial wave of success, build more refined decision-making processes and competitive advantage. This takes the research findings and present literature beyond the descriptive style of economic analysis and introduces causality as well as concepts from business strategy to the institutional and the business layers within the cluster. The purpose is to deliver a new direction for rural clusters that are defined by a multitude of small and mid-size firms acting without the influence of large mature multinational corporations and having outgrown the first generation of entrepreneurial cluster leaders.

Keywords: industry cluster dynamics; wine industry; management processes; comparative advantage; competitive advantage; decision-making; rural cluster development; entrepreneurial leadership; demand conditions; rival firms; related industries; factor conditions.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBG.2019.099306

International Journal of Business and Globalisation, 2019 Vol.22 No.3, pp.432 - 458

Received: 17 Jul 2017
Accepted: 20 Aug 2017
Published online: 26 Apr 2019 *

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