Philanthropy in the global wine industry: an exploratory study: part 1 cross-national qualitative analysis

Purpose: Research on philanthropy in the wine industry is limited. This cross-national study seeks to explore philanthropy in the American, Spanish and New Zealand wine industries; specifically it identifies the philanthropic activities that are being carried out by wine businesses, the drivers of these activities, and the benefits (if any) that are gained from undertaking these activities.

Design/methodology/approach: The owners or managers of eleven wineries in the three nations were interviewed in order to obtain qualitative data. Analysis has identified common themes across the wineries and/or nations.

Findings: The major finding is that all of the interviewed wineries are undertaking philanthropic activities, with the donation of wine being the most common activity. Philanthropy across these wineries is predominantly being driven by altruistic rather than strategic motives, and the main benefit to arise from philanthropic activities is personal satisfaction, rather than any improvements in business performance. The commonalities found in this study suggest that winery owners are similar in terms of their wish to provide support for society, irrespective of cultural or national differences.