DIGITALISATION IN THE ITALIAN WINE SECTOR, WITH A FOCUS ON ORGANIC WINE MAKING FIRMS

Abstract

In the current worldwide context, digitalisation is spreading in almost every sector, and people are learning how to interact with new technologies. This situation also affects firms, this is why this thesis aims at understanding how Italian wine producer firms approach the use of digital tools in both production and marketing. To support this, an exploratory online survey has been developed and submitted to Italian organic winemaking firms, in order to understand their maturity level in terms of digital adoption.

In the first part of the dissertation, the current world wine scenario is analysed, focusing on the definition and description of the distinctive elements between New World and Old World countries. Moreover, a general overview about the Italian wine sector is presented and a focus on the specific organic wine market, both from international and national point of view, is displayed. In all cases, actual data about vineyard surface areas, wine production, wine consumption and international trade of wine are provided. The analysis continues with a brief examination of how the Covid-19 pandemic affected the wine scenario, both from the point of view of consumers and of companies.

The second part of the thesis concretely goes into the analysis of the use of digital tools in the wine sector, examining this concept in three main areas: production, management, and marketing. The whole discourse is developed on the basis of existing literature.

In the last part of the thesis, all the results of the online survey are presented and discussed, trying to underline existing differences or similarities between collected data and literature, on the analysis of the approach of wine firms to digitalisation.