Female Entrepreneurship in the Wine Industry: Characteristics of the Entrepreneurial Process and the Role of Social Ties

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to provide readers with an overview of the main reports and literature on female entrepreneurship; furthermore, the focus from Chapter 3 forward will be the wine industry. In particular, nine firms are interviewed in order to discover the role of networks in inherited female firms and female founded ones during some critical moments. The empirical part of this thesis builds on existing methodologies both for conducting the interviews (critical incident technique) and for the subsequent qualitative analysis to seek qualitative rigor (Gioia Method, 2012). The cases are localized in the regions of Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia and they are producing heterogenous types of wines and serve different markets. The research is diversified on multiple variables such as entrepreneurs’ age, educational background, firm dimension, turnover, legal form, type of product; in this way, the analysis takes into consideration the role of different individual and organizational variables in explaining the entrepreneurial process. The practical implications of this thesis are the following: for policy makers, it turns the spotlight on the need for less bureaucracy and a greater flexibility in working relationships; for entrepreneurs, both males and females, the necessity to cooperate in a different way, in order to benefit from the participation in networks and use them fruitfully; for women, the awareness of not being alone. Considering that female entrepreneurship in the wine context is rare as a phenomenon, this thesis will contribute to explain the relationships leading to such a choice and influencing the success or failure of the strategy of those companies.