Tales of Georgian wine: storytelling in the Georgian wine industry

ABSTRACT Entrepreneurial processes are most often based on new physical or organizational innovations; however, prior research has shown that the opening of new markets for existing products can be a key innovative component in an entrepreneurial process. Most research on innovation focuses on new technologies, products and organizational forms. However, the key role played by different marketing tools in entrepreneurial processes is seldom highlighted. In this study, we highlight how story telling can become a vehicle in an entrepreneurial process to open new markets for existing products and how national history and culture are used in story telling. This article highlights how the Georgian wine industry uses story telling to open a new market for Georgian wines and identifies elements used to differentiate Georgian wines from the current market division into the ‘old’ and the ‘new world’, with a product that embodies an ancient heritage, opening a market for historical wines. The study is based on in-depth interviews and content analysis using both phenomenography and text analysis. Results unravel meaning in market communication and enabled the identification of stories and the archetypes used to create consumer recognition. Sources are in-depth interviews, field visits and homepages of wineries.