Silvio Menghini

Productivity growth in the winery sector: evidence from Italy and Spain

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to estimate total productivity change in the winery sector, decomposing it into efficiency change and technical change. Design/methodology/approach – The methodology is based on the estimation of the Malmquist productivity index for a sample of Spanish and Italian wineries between 2005 and 2013. Findings – The results show very low efficiency levels for the wineries under study. Further, Spanish and Italian wineries show a decrease in their average annual productivity for the period of time analysed. Practical implications – The analysis of the efficiency and the productivity of the wineries is crucial to improve their competitiveness and guarantee their survival. Originality/value – For the first time, a comparative analysis is carried out with data from two major wine-producing countries.

Possible development of organic production in a mountain area of the Florence province in Tuscany

The organic production technique is a significant innovation for both process and product aspects of the agricultural sector. In less favoured areas, organic production contributes to develop the potential revitalisation of the production sector and also supports the application of endogenous development models, thus favouring sustainable development both on socio‐economic and ecological bases. The paper focuses on a case study about the possible growth of organic production in a mountain area of the Florence province, in Tuscany. The organic and non‐organic agricultural activities of the area are illustrated, with regards to the whole territorial organisation and the need to maintain agricultural activities for territorial defence. The potential development of the organic product supply is described as a result of a direct survey on the major distribution channels. The main reasons for the delayed expansion of the organic production are outlined in a direct survey on the farms of the area.

State of the art of ecosystem services research at the global level: a multiscale quantitative review

A literature review focused on ecosystem services (ES) research on a worldwide level was performed. The work considered a quantitative analysis based on text mining. Digital information derived from more than 13,000 scientific papers was processed. Temporal trends of ES, the primary research interest, and specificities of different contexts were depicted. Based on a multiscale approach, the above parameters were defined for the global level, regions of the world and countries. The results focused on the relation among ES issues with: 1) techniques for the monetary quantification of ES; 2) the investigation of payments for ecosystem services at a regional scale; 3) the analysis of sustainability pillars. The applied methodology was an updatable and flexible approach useful for the quantitative literature review of specific ES branches, as well as for gap analysis. The final remarks concentrated on future improvements to facilitate the widespread and user-friendly diffusion of the method.

Optimisation of the regional energy supply network: a multi-objective analysis in the province of Florence (Italy)

This work presents an integrated method for the optimisation of a regional wood-energy supply network. The model is based on a scalar system that comprises a demand point (district heating plants (DHP)) and bio-energy sources (supply basin (SB)), each of which is related to a biomass terminal. The objective of optimisation is based on both technical-logistics and environmental parameters. An SB is defined by the anisotropic weighted Voronoi tessellation methodology. The parameters are then aggregated to a multi-objective analysis that includes the optimisation of variables and compromise programming approach. Results permit the identification of the best supply chain organisation and the determination of the agro-forest energy districts where rural policy and intervention could be applied. The model was tested in the province of Florence (central Italy) to depict efficient scenarios for the fuelling of DHPs.

Why do you drink? A means-end approach to the motivations of young alcohol consumers

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the motivations of young consumers of alcoholic beverages in order to supply information for the definition of corporate and social marketing strategies. The target of young consumers was chosen because of its association with the choice of consumption behaviours often resulting in health and social issues related to alcohol. The focus on motivations, on the other hand, is justified by the need to assess the contents of appropriate and efficient communication campaigns for both producers and public institutions. Design/methodology/approach A means-end approach was used on a sample of young consumers from Tuscany via face-to-face interviews. The interviews were carried out with students who were completing their last year of high school. The results were processed using an MEC analyst software for the construction of the hierarchical value maps and cognitive maps showing the links between products and consumers. Findings The results highlighted the perception of a “socialisation” attribute that is stronger when linked to the consumption of beer and spirits; however, wine is still perceived as a non-friendly beverage. The aspect of socialisation underlines both the pleasure of sharing consumption experiences and the dangerous binge drinking behaviour. Thanks to this approach, the study identifies the main elements in the cognitive structure that, if used to define a communication strategy, may guarantee a high degree of efficacy. Originality/value The findings of the study constitute valuable information that can be used to prepare stages of communication plans within larger corporate and social marketing strategies. The wine sector can benefit from understanding the motivations that prevent young people from drinking wine and can attempt to fill the psychological and cognitive gap between young consumers and the product. Public institutions, on the other hand, may benefit from understanding the motivations that lead young people towards dangerous drinking behaviours. In turn, the institutions may be able to send appropriate messages within their communication activities aimed at containing such behaviours.

Il catasto da strumento di conoscenza “strutturale” a strumento di informazione “funzionale” delle risorse territoriali

Nella societa contemporanea e nei contesti socioecomicamente “piu avanzati”, come comunemente intendiamo definire quello nel qual noi stessi viviamo e sempre piu evidente l’esigenza di confrontare i crescenti bisogni individuali e collettivi con la sostenibilita delle scelte che effettuiamo: sostenibilita che misuriamo ponendo attenzione tanto ad obiettivi di crescita economica che di garanzia di certi valori sociali e ambientati, sia in favore delle presenti generazioni, sia di quelle future. Tra le molteplici risorse, quella territoriale rappresenta senza dubbio la componente sulla quale si concentrano le maggiori attenzioni e le piu complesse problematiche di scelta, dovendo conciliare le posizioni di molteplici portatori di interessi che contemporaneamente si rivolgono legittimamente ad esse. L’esasperazione della pressione antropica in tutte le sue forme1 sollecita una crescente attenzione verso la gestione sostenibile di questa risorsa, attribuendo alla piena conoscenza delle sue caratteristiche un punto indispensabile per sviluppare qualunque processo decisionale legato ad un suo razionale impiego: conoscenza che soddisfa gli obiettivi di sviluppo solo se essa giunge a relazionare, con opportuno dettaglio di georeferenziazione, tutte le informazioni relative alla consistenza e alle caratteristiche di tutte le risorse territoriali in rapporto a tutti gli altri elementi utili a descrivere le caratteristiche del sistema sociale, economico e ambientale locale. Nell’ambito specifico del contesto rurale, ossia in quell’ampia parte dell’area vasta governata dalle attivita del primario, questi temi relativi alla sostenibilita delle scelte, ovvero al rapporto tra risorse e bisogni, sono strettamente coniugati alla “multifunzionalita” delle attivita agricole: ammessa l’esigenza di pretendere che una attivita produttiva impieghi le risorse territoriali conciliando l’interesse delle singole imprese2 con