Development of competitive capabilities in mature, slow moving international niche markets
: the case of the portuguese port wine industry

  • Nina Anique Hadeler (Student)

Student thesis: Master's Thesis

Abstract

Nowadays, globalization affects every industry. Globalization has likewise accelerated the development speed of alcoholic beverage companies, necessitating any business that wants to remain competitive to adapt. In the international context, the rather unexploited Port wine industry is noticeably stable. Founded in the 16th century, the industry has gone through numerous industry cycles and is currently present in over 100 countries. However, the industry faces several threats, appearing out of its minor size and an increasingly hostile and dynamic environment. This thesis aims to examine the challenges of a mature, slow-moving, yet highly international niche industry, and analyses which strategic moves are specifically necessary in the Port wine industry to develop the dynamic capabilities to remain competitive. To explore these topics, an inductive exploratory case study was conducted. Eight experts were interviewed to derive three hypotheses about the reasons for the historic stability, the current agility and future prospective of this industry. The results display that (1) in historic context the Port wine industry was able to respond promptly and in consensus to market changes, (2) the core-capabilities of the industry are derived mainly from past-experience and have a shortage in the development and release of new resources, (3) the industry is aware of key threats and opportunities but incapable to transform the knowledge accumulated into a new value-creating strategy. The findings implicate that collaboration and a more modern approach to marketing is needed to regain visibility in saturated markets and capture new customers.
Date of Award14 Feb 2017
Original languageEnglish
Awarding Institution
  • Universidade Católica Portuguesa
SupervisorNuno Cardeal (Supervisor) & Ricardo Reis (Co-Supervisor)

Keywords

  • Wine
  • Port wine
  • Dynamic capabilities
  • Strategy
  • Innovation
  • Collaboration
  • Brand definition

Designation

  • Mestrado em Gestão e Administração de Empresas

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