The role of network relationships in Italian wine producers’ internationalization: Six cases

The paper aims to examine the role of network relationships in the internationalization of small Italian wine producers. It shows that most of the case firms did not pre-plan their foreign activities: they relied mostly on contacts created at trade fairs or by friends/relatives. Also, international tourism was one of the most important sources for creating such contacts: the case firms created relationships/networks in the tourists’ home markets and, as a result, expanded there either through selling to the tourists themselves or to the importers they recommended. Still, not all internationalization attempts succeeded