Wine tourism as a catalyst for green innovation: evidence from the Spanish wine industry

Abstract

Purpose – This research focuses on analysing the effect of wine tourism on green product and process innovations developed by Spanish wineries. In addition, age, size and membership in a protected designation of origin (PDO) are introduced as control variables to increase the precision of the cause–effect relationship analysed. Design/methodology/approach – The study proposes a conceptual model based on previous studies, which is tested using structural equations (partial least squares structural equation modelling [PLS-SEM]) with data collected from 202 Spanish wineries. Findings – The research results show that wine tourism activity has a positive and significant influence on green product and process innovation. Originality/value – The research contributes to the academic literature in several ways. First, the study advances knowledge and understanding of the benefits generated by wine tourism. Second, the research contributes to the literature that analyses the wine tourism–sustainability link, since it is predicted that this type of tourism can increase the capacity for green innovation. Third, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, there is no previous research that has analysed wine tourism as a catalytic variable for green innovation. Fourth, the proposed theoretical model has not been previously addressed in the academic literature, so the study represents an important advance in scientific knowledge.