Unraveling the relationship between ESG strategy and sustainable performance in the Spanish wine industry: a structural equation analysis

Javier Martínez-Falcó, Eduardo Sánchez-García, Bartolomé Marco-Lajara and Luis A. Millán-Tudela

Social Responsibility Journal, 2025, vol. 21, issue 5, 962-986

Abstract: Purpose - This study aims to assess the relationship between environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy and sustainable performance, in addition to exploring the mediating role of green innovation in this connection. Moreover, age, size and membership in a Protected Designation of Origin are incorporated as control variables to increase the precision of the relationships examined. Design/methodology/approach - A conceptual model was created to meet the intended research objectives and then validated using partial least squares structural equation modeling with primary data obtained from a survey administered to 196 Spanish wineries, which took place between September 2022 and January 2023. Findings - The study findings indicate that the implementation of an ESG strategy has a positive and significant relationship with the sustainable performance of wineries. In addition, green product and process innovation appear to partially mediate this relationship. Research limitations/implications - The sample size (196 wineries) limits the generalizability of the findings to the population under study, which suggests caution in their interpretation. In addition, the cross-sectional design of the study prevents from observing dynamic changes over time. Originality/value - This research significantly advances the understanding of ESG strategy through a holistic view of its relationship with the sustainable performance of the wine industry. Indeed, it fills a critical gap in the academic literature, as ESG strategy has been scarcely explored in the wine industry setting, despite the specific environmental and social challenges faced by this sector. Furthermore, it pioneers the investigation of green innovation as a mediating factor in the relationship between ESG strategy and sustainable winery performance, providing new findings that can shape strategic management practices in the wine sector.

Keywords: ESG strategy; Sustainable performance; Green innovation; Wine industry; Spain (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.110 ... d&utm_campaign=repec (text/html)
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.110 ... d&utm_campaign=repec (application/pdf)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:srjpps:srj-12-2023-0682

DOI: 10.1108/SRJ-12-2023-0682

Access Statistics for this article

Social Responsibility Journal is currently edited by Prof David Crowther

More articles in Social Responsibility Journal from Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Emerald Support ().