Sales capabilities in the wine industry: current scenario and emerging issues

Several studies have highlighted the positive impacts of salespeople capabilities and sales management capabilities on sales and overall firm’s performance. However, previous research does not sufficiently consider that the capabilities required for effective performance may be – at least to a certain extent – industry-specific. This paper addresses this gap by examining sales capabilities of wine producers. Despite the primary role of sales for wine producers, knowledge about sales capabilities in the wine industry is scarce. Hence, the purpose of this research is to ascertain the most important salesperson capabilities and sales management capabilities in the wine industry and the related emerging issues. An empirical analysis based on in-depth interviews with 4 of the 30 largest Italian wine producers was conducted and collected evidence was analyzed through template analysis. Four themes emerged: capabilities enrichment, capabilities balance, capabilities specialization, capabilities acquisition process.