Cultivating terroir in subsistence markets: Development of terroir strategy through harmony-with-community framework

In many parts of the world, firms incorporate into their businesses a sense of land and place (e.g., France's Champagne region) as a means for connecting their products with a community's uniqueness. Building on this idea, "terroir" strategy is a community level perspective that focuses on the firm's ability to capture and build capabilities around community resources. This in turn enables the firm to deliver a product that will be competitive in multiple types of markets and that,can be sold at a premium price. Principles that place the firm in service to the community guide development of terroir strategy. These principles are expressed through a harmony-with-community framework that supports development of processes for creating a firm that represents and reflects the community's core values, customs and norms. The owners of the firm are or become lifelong community members. The firm's success is intertwined and interdependent on the community's overall wellbeing. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.