Abstract:
This research examines the importance of networks within the emerging country industry
context. The majority of studies on business networks have only examined the perspectives of
direct actors and their own contributions, however very little is known about the use of indirect
business networks, their contributions and effect on firm strategies. Also, there is limited
research around the differentiation between the direct actors' contribution and the resources
acquired and/or learnt from other actors that they contribute towards firms’ strategies. This
research presents findings from a study of vineyards and wineries in an emerging tropical wine
industry that has not been studied from a business network perspective. Studies of the tropical
wine industry have only been examined from the technical perspective of viticulture and
winegrowing. This study contributes towards understanding the implications of networks on
building an emerging wine industry within emerging economies and analyzing the industry
from a hierarchical perspective using the ARA model. The methodological approach to this
research adopts a qualitative exploratory approach. A systematic review of business network
studies within emerging country industry contexts is adopted to support theorizing and
discussions for primary data collection. Semi-structured interviews were utilized to collect data
from participants mainly business owners or CEO in Philippines, India, Thailand and Tahiti.
Thematic analysis results suggested two main themes from the systematic review and four main
themes from the analysis of interviews. Both analyses provided important insights towards the
use of networks for knowledge sharing and the important roles that governments, organizations
and associations play in developing industries within emerging economies.