Sandra K. Newton

Using the tasting room experience to create loyal customers

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to determine if positive affect, in combination with product quality, fair pricing, and customer‐focused operations leads to higher levels of customer satisfaction and repurchase intentions.Design/methodology/approach – A total of 89 undergraduate and graduate business students, ages 23 to 59, each visited a winery they had never visited before. Afterward they filled out a questionnaire evaluating the winery on product quality, fair pricing, feelings of commitment towards the winery, positive emotions felt, preference for wine, overall customer satisfaction, and repurchase intentions. Data were analyzed using multiple regression. Repurchase behavior was the dependent variable.Findings – Product quality, positive emotions felt, preference for wine, customer commitment, and fair pricing were all significant predictors of repurchase intentions.Research limitations/implications – The findings are based on a small sample of 89 business students. Future research could r...

Exploring the Systems Analyst Skill Set: Perceptions, Preferences, Age, and Gender

Information systems (IS) workers need an appropriate skill set to effectively exploit technology innovations. Social constructivist theory would indicate that some aspect of a systems analysts job evolution is attributable to the nature of both their perceptions of importance for various job skills and preferences toward using their professional job skills. Self-report survey data gathered from 124 systems analysts reveal analysts collectively recognize all skill dimensions explored have some degree of importance to their role. Systems analysts seem to perceive their role as a socio-technical function and desire this functional duality as they rank interpersonal skills and system development skills significantly higher than political skills and knowledge, technology skills, and business task knowledge for both preferences to use and perceptions of importance. Results show differences exist in perceptions and preferences among the sexes and age groups studied. Findings will add to the existing body of IS human resources research, and provide job development and career planning.

Using winery web sites to launch relationships with Millennials

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine the attitudes of Millennial wine consumers and determine if positive evaluations of the winerys web site lead to increased trust in the winery and perceptions of product quality, higher levels of brand equity, and increased purchase intentions. The tasting room experience will be evaluated for consistency with the image created by the web site and the meeting of Millennial expectations during the web site visit.Design/methodology/approach – In total, 122 young people (Millennials) with an average age of 23 were asked to visit winery web sites and then evaluate the web sites for quality and perceptions formed relating to the overall image of the winery and its products. The participants were then asked to visit the winery and evaluate their winery experience and its products.Findings – Web site quality was a significant predictor of increased trust in the winery and perceptions of the quality of the wine. Web site evaluations of brand equity carried over t...

Environmental strategy: does it lead to competitive advantage in the US wine industry?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate and compare the perceptions of competitive advantage (cost leadership, differentiation, and performance) of those wineries which have implemented a clear business case for an environmental management system (EMS) and those which have not. Benefits and challenges of sustainability practices are also addressed.Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected via self‐report web‐based survey. Of the 98 respondents, over 80 per cent were family‐owned, family‐managed.Findings – Those respondents with a clear business case for EMS exhibited significant differences in cost leadership and differentiation advantages over those without a clear business case for EMS. Those with a clear EMS derived significantly greater supply chain optimization and operational efficiencies than those without a clear EMS. Those with a clear EMS also felt that they gained an enhanced ability to enter new markets to a much greater extent than those without a clear EMS. Results of t...

Perceived efficacy of sustainability strategies in the US, Italian, and Spanish wine industries

Purpose – This purpose of this investigation is to compare the perceptions of competitive advantage through cost leadership and differentiation with sustainable practices of wineries from the USA, Italy and Spain. Design/methodology/approach – Data are collected via self-report web-based surveys in California, Tuscany and Catalonia in 2010-2011 during a severe economic downturn in the wine industry. Findings – Of the 260 respondents among the three country samples, over 75 per cent are family-owned and family-managed. Respondents indicate who has implemented a clear business case for an Environmental Management System (EMS) and who has not. Benefits and challenges of implementing sustainability practices are also addressed. Practical implications – A comparable percentage of respondents across the three countries indicated a “clear business case for EMS”. Wineries in all three countries perceive that they have competitive advantage through implementation of EMS and commitment to sustainable practices. Top...

Consumer awareness and quality perceptions: a case for Sonoma County wines

The general hypothesis of this study is that the core wine consumer in the USA is not influenced by American Viticulture Area (AVA) (appellations) designation in deciding about wine quality above and beyond the geopolitical region designation (such as Sonoma County). Most wine consumers have higher awareness of the larger geopolitical region than the AVAs within that region. The case of Sonoma County, California, is used to investigate this question because legislation was recently enacted to ensure that the “Sonoma County” designation to be printed on all wine produced there. The authors assert that this “conjunctive labeling” will improve competitiveness. A national sample of 409 US wine consumers answer the call for more research on a national level.

Assessing the IT training and development climate: an application of the Q-methodology

The Q-methodology was employed to address the managerial problem of deciding which of the firms personnel development resources should be aimed at which personnel, or groups of personnel, through the various venues of development that are available to the firm for the development of its IT workforce. The procedure identified six interpretable groups of IT professionals that seem to be associated with the development priorities of the IT management, analytical, development & programming, and operations functions. Opportunities are identified for both future research and the practical application of the Q-methodology, its associated instrumentation, and analytical procedure as a managerial decision tool in the context of the internal development of the firms IT personnel to meet the firms goals.

The systems developer skill set: exploring nature, gaps, and gender differences research in progress

IT workers need an appropriate skill set to effectively exploit technology. The purpose of this study is to explore the nature of actual and desired systems developer, job skills. In viewing job skills from a social constructivist viewpoint, this study also investigates the perspectives of male and female systems developers recognizing that societal influences related to gender may affect IT job choices. Survey methodology was used to obtain self-reports of actual skill level and desire to use common dimensions of the systems developer skill set. Anticipated results will add to the existing body of IT job skills knowledge and may provide practice with job development and career planning guidance.

Attitudes and Work Environment Factors Influencing the Information Technology Professionals' Work Behaviors

This study aims to explore individual factors that moderate the relationship between fulfillment of the psychological contract and work behaviors. Two such work behaviors, innovative work IWB and organizational citizenship OCB, impact organizational performance. A sample of 258 information technology IT professionals across the U.S. responded to the web-based survey. Research hypotheses were evaluated using multiple regressions. Findings indicated that moderators self-efficacy, affective commitment, trust, and job satisfaction significantly affected the relationship between the IT professionals fulfillment of their psychological contract and their innovative work and organizational citizenship behaviors. Managerial implications for more informed decisions concerning policy and work environment issues are provided and avenues for further research are suggested.

Are strategic orientations and managerial characteristics drivers of performance in the U.S. wine industry

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of strategic orientations and managerial characteristics on the performance of wine businesses in the US wine industry. Also considered is the power of firm size as measured by production and firm age since founding, as moderating variables that could attenuate or heighten their impact.,Data were gathered via an online survey, where 306 representatives of the US wineries responded. Data are analyzed using descriptive statistics, multinomial logistic regression, cross-tabulations and Pearson chi-square (χ2) analysis.,Wine businesses that reported increased sales and profits over the previous three years made significant changes to organizational structure and staffing levels. Wineries that reported flat or decreasing sales and profits were less apt to make changes in organizational structure or staffing levels. Firm age was found to mediate performance in terms of incremental sales and profit growth; firm size was found to mediate only incremental profit growth.,Developing skills in marketing, strategic planning and entrepreneurial thinking to build a defensible industry position and to create the staffing and structure to support that position appear to be of great importance to wine businesses.,This study develops and tests a model investigating how firm size and age impact strategic orientations and managerial characteristics on the performance of the US wine businesses. This study investigates which strategic orientations and managerial characteristics wine businesses need to be successful in the future.