Sustainability in production and consumption is increasing in importance in many diverse industries worldwide. The wine industry is no exception. There are many wine-related eco-certifications that incorporate sustainability concepts; however, it is unknown to what extent wine consumers value such certifications in wine-producing countries such as Chile. An online survey was conducted in which 526 Chilean wine consumers were asked about their attitudes towards and willingness to pay for sustainably produced wines. Statistical analysis was undertaken using multiple linear regression. It is notable that 76% of respondents had previously purchased eco-certified wines (fairtrade, biodynamic, organic, natural, and sustainable), and there was an evident willingness to buy eco-certified wines in the future—78% expressed a willingness to buy organic wines, and 77% sustainable wines. Furthermore, we asked how much more willing the respondents would be to pay for wines with eco-certification; 22% indicated that they would be willing to pay a premium price, ranging from USD 5 to USD 16 more, for organic wines, while 19% expressed a willingness to pay the same price premium for sustainable wines.

Purpose: This paper is about data, information, knowledge and judgment; their definitions and their parallel cognitive dimensionalities; and it is about their implications in innovation. This paper aims to discuss and illustrate the implications of this cognitive framework on innovation science and on the ability to innovate. To that end, the authors use a progression of examples and cases to identify and discuss new challenges and predicaments in innovation.Design/methodology/approach: The authors discuss how the development of Chemistry, as a science, inspires this work. But the authors have purposely eschewed examples from mathematics or the natural sciences. Instead, the authors study business examples because they are more readily understood. However, the implications they reveal, on innovation, are no less significant. The explosive volume, complexity and requirements – for data, information, knowledge and intelligence in business – are arguably more messy, demanding and difficult. They are sociotechnical problems of unprecedented scale and qualitative change.Findings: The authors frame their conclusion as the mega-nano hypothesis, which asserts that problems, at this new scale and qualitative difference, cannot be solved with conventional thinking and tired mental models. They obstruct the ability to innovate and impede creative thinking about theory.Originality/value: The mega-nano hypothesis is consistent with historical trajectories in scientific development. Namely, when there are mega or nano changes of scale and frame-breaking phenomena, a new science is required to address the new and unprecedented problems that emerge.

The Chilean wine industry faces a growing challenge in terms of the increasing global competition, along with other difficult challenges such as exchange rate fluctuations, higher labor and energy costs and climate change. In light of this, the present paper proposes a new approach to increase competitiveness of Chilean wineries based on findings of the current performance management systems practice in the industry. The methodology encompasses a thorough survey of the industry's management systems, with special emphasis on the balanced scorecard (BSC) and its derivatives. The study finds, upon examining the results, that the ISO 9001 norm and the national code of sustainability of the Chilean wine industry are the two most commonly used and that only 14% of the companies have designed a BSC of some type, offering a unique opportunity to introduce this novel approach focusing on performance and sustainability, incorporating the spatial and temporal dimensions of the industry today.

As eco-certified wines are being produced in increasing quantities and varieties, so are the definitions and the labels that accompany them. This has resulted in confusion with regard to what type of eco-certified wines customers prefer and what prices they are prepared to pay for such wines. The purpose of the research is to provide clarity regarding consumer knowledge about eco-certified wines and their preferences for each category as expressed by their willingness to pay (WTP). Specifically, the goal of the research was to identify the willingness to pay for South African eco-certified wine with a focus on three labels: biodynamic, fair trade and sustainable. The methodology used by the study was to identify the willingness to pay for the wines by using contingency valuation modelling. A survey was administered using the Qualtrics platform. It consisted of three sections: the first set of questions included questions about purchasing behaviour and important considerations when buying wine. The second set of questions collected perspectives and opinions about the multiple wine certifications discussed in this article and the third set of questions collected demographic data. The research focused on South African consumers and consisted of 267 respondents. Three WTP models were run separately for biodynamic, fair trade and sustainable wines. The study found that younger individuals with higher incomes, higher levels of education, previous eco-labelled product purchases and better knowledge of eco-certified wines have a positive impact on the WTP. The only exception seems to be the in case of biodynamic wines where previous knowledge of eco-certification has a negative effect on the WTP. The research outcomes provide guidelines to producers, retailers and restaurateurs about their output, marketing and sales efforts towards the ever-growing consumer demand for such wines.

There is increasing interest in the environmental sustainability of consumer food and drink. This is especially true for younger people. An interesting case study to examine is wine. This research focuses on consumers by age and their attitudes towards sustainability produced wine. While there are many different environmental wine certifications, there is interest in if and how consumers attitudes to sustainable wine differed by age. For this purpose, the study asks if young wine consumers would prefer sustainably produced wines and if they are willing to pay more compared to older consumers, and what factors influence these behaviors. To conduct the research approximately 2500 wine consumers are surveyed, online, in seven prominent wine nations including: the United States, South Africa, Netherlands, Italy, France, Chile and Australia. Descriptive statistics and the two-sample t-test analyze the which factors determine consumers preferences towards sustainably produced wines. Also, Pearson’s chi-squared test and ordinal logistic regression with marginal effects is used to examine whether the willingness to pay a premium for sustainably produced wines differs significantly based on age. Findings indicate that younger people believe drinking sustainably produced wine is more important as compared to older individuals. Also, transnationally, younger individuals do have a higher willingness to pay for sustainably produced wine compared to older individuals. The most important factor determining willingness to pay a premium is holding the view that sustainable certification of wine is important. Future research should continue to question younger consumers and rank their importance of the different sustainability and eco-certifications.