Competitiveness of wine cooperatives in light of pricing strategies and marketing channels: Evidence from Germany

For decades, the literature has engaged in a robust debate regarding the competitiveness of wine cooperatives. Many studies suggest that these cooperatives may exhibit lower pricing competitiveness compared to other enterprise forms, while others have found the opposite. To clarify these conflicting...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Rebecca Hansen, Sebastian Hess
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Firenze University Press 2025-03-01
Series:Wine Economics and Policy
Subjects:
Online Access:https://oaj.fupress.net/index.php/wep/article/view/16253
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850097741051461632
author Rebecca Hansen
Sebastian Hess
author_facet Rebecca Hansen
Sebastian Hess
author_sort Rebecca Hansen
collection DOAJ
description For decades, the literature has engaged in a robust debate regarding the competitiveness of wine cooperatives. Many studies suggest that these cooperatives may exhibit lower pricing competitiveness compared to other enterprise forms, while others have found the opposite. To clarify these conflicting findings, this study employs two datasets focused on German winegrowers’ cooperatives to compare their competitiveness across various price segments of the wine market through hedonic price analyses. The first dataset encompasses the premium wine segment, comprising 1,320 observations derived from wine guide data. The second dataset, which includes 18,740 observations, reflects the broader market characterized by lower average wine prices. The results reveal that the heterogeneity in cooperative sizes influences diverse marketing strategies within the German wine market. Especially larger cooperatives operating in the broader market at lower price segments tend to achieve relatively lower prices compared to other enterprise types. However, this competitive disadvantage dissipates within the high-price, high-quality segment, particularly for wines recognized in wine guides. The findings indicate that the organizational structure of cooperatives in the wine sector does not inherently confer a competitive disadvantage relative to other enterprise forms; rather, it is the heterogeneity among cooperatives that explains the variability in competitiveness. Furthermore, the findings suggest that wine prices in the lower price segments are particularly sensitive to signalling of quality attributes. Thus, cooperatives may enhance their competitiveness by emphasizing the quality attributes of their wines to offset any pricing disadvantages.
format Article
id doaj-art-7bb55a1feebc4a7c88dff966f43ea2dc
institution DOAJ
issn 2213-3968
2212-9774
language English
publishDate 2025-03-01
publisher Firenze University Press
record_format Article
series Wine Economics and Policy
spelling doaj-art-7bb55a1feebc4a7c88dff966f43ea2dc2025-08-20T02:40:55ZengFirenze University PressWine Economics and Policy2213-39682212-97742025-03-0114110.36253/wep-16253Competitiveness of wine cooperatives in light of pricing strategies and marketing channels: Evidence from GermanyRebecca Hansen0Sebastian Hess1Institute of Agricultural Policy and Markets, Research Centre of Cooperatives, University of Hohenheim, 70599 Stuttgart, GermanyInstitute of Agricultural Policy and Markets, Research Centre of Cooperatives, University of Hohenheim, 70599 Stuttgart, GermanyFor decades, the literature has engaged in a robust debate regarding the competitiveness of wine cooperatives. Many studies suggest that these cooperatives may exhibit lower pricing competitiveness compared to other enterprise forms, while others have found the opposite. To clarify these conflicting findings, this study employs two datasets focused on German winegrowers’ cooperatives to compare their competitiveness across various price segments of the wine market through hedonic price analyses. The first dataset encompasses the premium wine segment, comprising 1,320 observations derived from wine guide data. The second dataset, which includes 18,740 observations, reflects the broader market characterized by lower average wine prices. The results reveal that the heterogeneity in cooperative sizes influences diverse marketing strategies within the German wine market. Especially larger cooperatives operating in the broader market at lower price segments tend to achieve relatively lower prices compared to other enterprise types. However, this competitive disadvantage dissipates within the high-price, high-quality segment, particularly for wines recognized in wine guides. The findings indicate that the organizational structure of cooperatives in the wine sector does not inherently confer a competitive disadvantage relative to other enterprise forms; rather, it is the heterogeneity among cooperatives that explains the variability in competitiveness. Furthermore, the findings suggest that wine prices in the lower price segments are particularly sensitive to signalling of quality attributes. Thus, cooperatives may enhance their competitiveness by emphasizing the quality attributes of their wines to offset any pricing disadvantages. https://oaj.fupress.net/index.php/wep/article/view/16253Hausman-Taylor estimationCompetitiveness of cooperativeswine cooperativesquantile regressionhedonic price analysis
spellingShingle Rebecca Hansen
Sebastian Hess
Competitiveness of wine cooperatives in light of pricing strategies and marketing channels: Evidence from Germany
Wine Economics and Policy
Hausman-Taylor estimation
Competitiveness of cooperatives
wine cooperatives
quantile regression
hedonic price analysis
title Competitiveness of wine cooperatives in light of pricing strategies and marketing channels: Evidence from Germany
title_full Competitiveness of wine cooperatives in light of pricing strategies and marketing channels: Evidence from Germany
title_fullStr Competitiveness of wine cooperatives in light of pricing strategies and marketing channels: Evidence from Germany
title_full_unstemmed Competitiveness of wine cooperatives in light of pricing strategies and marketing channels: Evidence from Germany
title_short Competitiveness of wine cooperatives in light of pricing strategies and marketing channels: Evidence from Germany
title_sort competitiveness of wine cooperatives in light of pricing strategies and marketing channels evidence from germany
topic Hausman-Taylor estimation
Competitiveness of cooperatives
wine cooperatives
quantile regression
hedonic price analysis
url https://oaj.fupress.net/index.php/wep/article/view/16253
work_keys_str_mv AT rebeccahansen competitivenessofwinecooperativesinlightofpricingstrategiesandmarketingchannelsevidencefromgermany
AT sebastianhess competitivenessofwinecooperativesinlightofpricingstrategiesandmarketingchannelsevidencefromgermany