How wine sector SMEs approach strategic questions - Some comparative lessons representation of distinctive competencies

Purpose - Faced with major new challenges in a rapidly evolving world market, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the wine sector in the Bordeaux region urgently need to reconsider their strategic options. This paper, through an analysis of the nature, role, and interaction of competencies in strategy-making processes in the wine sector, aims to identify the main components of wine companies' competencies in order to devise a tool to aid their strategic decision making. Design/methodology/approach - The research methodology, which is based on a cognitive approach, employs critical incidences methodology, content analysis and causal mapping. Findings - A competencies study founded on a series of interviews conducted with the personnel of six wine SMEs in the Bordeaux region reveals the importance of eight core competencies (production, labour, costs, quality, investment, market, competition, and clients/sales) in devising strategy. In addition, this paper demonstrates that core factors affecting the success of strategic development include: knowledge versus know-how; investment, quality; labour difficulties, team issues, market positioning; customer relationship and trust. The implications of the practical implementation of these results are discussed. Originality/value - Shows the future prospects for French wine companies not being taken for granted. On account of radical market changes the French wine sector needs to re-evaluate the situation and investigate new strategic options that might permit it to regain a competitive advantage in a changing environment.