Branding your identity online! The importance of the family dimension for Italian family wine businesses’ foreign turnover

Purpose of the paper: Drawing on the resource-based view and moving from Devigili et al.’s (2018) framework on wine brand identity, the paper aims at investigating which brand identity dimensions family wine businesses are benefiting from in their foreign sales turnover. In particular, it focuses on the impact of the territorial identification (distinguishing between denomination, locality, region, and country) and the governance attributes (looking at family, tradition, innovation, and storytelling) on foreign sales turnover. Methodology: A unique database consisting of 120 family wine businesses has been analyzed through an OLS regression model. Questionnaires were collected between 2017 and February 2019 through wineries’ websites and phone calls. Results: Our results indicate that family wine businesses are hampered by and benefit from the adoption of specific brand identity sub-dimensions. More precisely, the region of origin (territorial identification) and the use of tradition (governance attribute) have a negative impact on wineries’ foreign sales turnover, while only the use of family (governance attribute) has a positive impact. Research limitations: The paper is built on a sample of the Tuscan family wine business. Practical implications: The study demonstrates that wineries need to pay attention to their online brand strategies. More precisely, family wine businesses should better emphasize their family dimension, while being careful of the region of origin and tradition sub-dimensions. Originality of the paper: The paper contributes to research on the internationalization of family businesses and brand management by illustrating the main brand identity dimensions that lead to higher foreign sales turnover.