The institutional framework of the wine sector in the Republic of Croatia
Project leader: Jana Katunar, PhD, Assistant Professor
Abstract:
In institutional economics, institutions are understood as a set of formal rules and informal norms. This particular concept gathers influences as laws and other regulations, entrepreneurial climate, accessible legal system and local business customs etc. Therefore, institutional perspective is appropriate to include joint efforts for scientists from different fields of study involved in this multidisciplinary project in a research in the same domain.
The proposed project brought together researchers from the fields of economics, agro-economics and law as well as partners from the business community, with the aim of conducting research in the area of wine sector competitiveness and consumer preferences in the wine industry. Viticulture in the Republic of Croatia is an important and successful economic sector in agriculture and tourism. In the last 20 years, the wine sector has developed significantly due to an increase in the share of quality and premium wines and their recognition on the foreign markets. The adaptation of the sector to market requirements in context with the adaptation of EU policies to the specifics of member countries and the adaptation to consumer needs can lead to a strengthening of the competitiveness of small wine producers. Since the wine sector is predominantly composed of small family farms and family farmers, producers are often in an unequal position where, if they have not developed their own distribution channels, there is an asymmetry of power and information that favours distributors and retail chains. The dependence of wine producers on distribution, where distributors are dominant partners, negatively affects the price and reduces the capacity for further investment in the development of technological and innovative solutions. Climate changes have a significant impact on the level and quality of production, therefore investing in the development and application of new technological products and processes is particularly important for a sustainable way of doing business and preserving traditional wine production.
In this project, researchers will first identify the causes of the problems in the wine sector with the help of business partners and wine producers. Based on the analysis of market relationships and distribution channels, as well as consumer preferences and the identification of their impact, the stage will be set for a better understanding of the problems in the wine sector and for the creation of new knowledge that will be useful to academia, industry and regulators. In addition, the interdisciplinary nature of the project, through the publication of scientific papers and the presentation of project results at international conferences, will contribute to the development of solutions and lead to a strengthening of relations between science and industry, recommendations for regulatory authorities and a final symposium for all interested stakeholders will be organised by the project team members.
