IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/mpifgd/123.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Quality classifications in competition: Price formation in the German wine market

Author

Listed:
  • Rössel, Jörg
  • Beckert, Jens

Abstract

How do judgment devices influence price formation? We investigate this question through a study of the German wine market. The German wine market is characterized by the simultaneous existence of two classification systems: the official classification system referring to the quality in the glass, and the concept of terroir, introduced by a private association of quality winemakers, the Verband deutscher Prädikatsweingüter. We used a data set comprising 1,890 wines from 248 different wineries in the German wine-growing regions of Rheingau and Rheinhessen. Our results show that the two classification systems function as mutually exclusive strategic options for winemakers. We also show that the non-official classification of terroir is much more powerful in explaining price formation within the market.

Suggested Citation

  • Rössel, Jörg & Beckert, Jens, 2012. "Quality classifications in competition: Price formation in the German wine market," MPIfG Discussion Paper 12/3, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:mpifgd:123
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/60240/1/719018935.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michael B. Beverland, 2005. "Crafting Brand Authenticity: The Case of Luxury Wines," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(5), pages 1003-1029, July.
    2. Goldstein, Robin & Almenberg, Johan & Dreber, Anna & Emerson, John W. & Herschkowitsch, Alexis & Katz, Jacob, 2008. "Do More Expensive Wines Taste Better? Evidence from a Large Sample of Blind Tastings," Journal of Wine Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 3(1), pages 1-9, April.
    3. Lucien Karpik, 2010. "Valuing the Unique: The Economics of Singularities," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 9215.
    4. Beckert, Jens, 2000. "Economic sociology in Germany," economic sociology. perspectives and conversations, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, vol. 1(2), pages 2-7.
    5. Almenberg, Johan & Dreber, Anna, 2011. "When Does the Price Affect the Taste? Results from a Wine Experiment," Journal of Wine Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 6(1), pages 111-121, January.
    6. Richard Arnott & Joseph Stiglitz, 1986. "The Welfare Economics of Moral Hazard," Working Paper 635, Economics Department, Queen's University.
    7. Bernd Frick, 2004. "Does Ownership Matter? Empirical Evidence from the German Wine Industry," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(3), pages 357-386, August.
    8. Weil, Roman L., 2007. "Debunking Critics' Wine Words: Can Amateurs Distinguish the Smell of Asphalt from the Taste of Cherries?," Journal of Wine Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 2(2), pages 136-144, October.
    9. Schamel, Guenter, 2003. "A Hedonic Pricing Model for German Wine," German Journal of Agricultural Economics, Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin, Department for Agricultural Economics, vol. 52(05), pages 1-8.
    10. Cicchetti, Domenic V., 2007. "Assessing the Reliability of Blind Wine Tasting: Differentiating Levels of Clinical and Statistical Meaningfulness," Journal of Wine Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 2(2), pages 196-202, October.
    11. Pierre Combris & Sebastien Lecocq & Michael Visser, 2000. "Estimation of a hedonic price equation for Burgundy wine," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(8), pages 961-967.
    12. Jean-Marie Cardebat & Jean-Marc Figuet, 2004. "What explains Bordeaux wine prices?," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(5), pages 293-296.
    13. Landon, Stuart & Smith, Constance, 1997. "The Use of Quality and Reputation Indicators by Consumers: The Case of Bordeaux Wine," MPRA Paper 9283, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. George A. Akerlof, 1970. "The Market for "Lemons": Quality Uncertainty and the Market Mechanism," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 84(3), pages 488-500.
    15. Hodgson, Robert T., 2008. "An Examination of Judge Reliability at a major U.S. Wine Competition," Journal of Wine Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 3(2), pages 105-113, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Beckert, Jens & Rössel, Jörg & Schenk, Patrick, 2014. "Wine as a cultural product: Symbolic capital and price formation in the wine field," MPIfG Discussion Paper 14/2, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    2. Carter, Elizabeth, 2015. "Constructing quality: Producer power, market organization, and the politics of high value-added markets," MPIfG Discussion Paper 15/9, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    3. Brunke, Henrich & Lapsley, James T. & Mueller, Rolf A.E. & Tauscher, Ludwig, 2016. ""Tested Quality In The Glass": Wine Quality Certification In Germany," Working Papers 234641, American Association of Wine Economists.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Beckert, Jens & Rössel, Jörg & Schenk, Patrick, 2014. "Wine as a cultural product: Symbolic capital and price formation in the wine field," MPIfG Discussion Paper 14/2, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    2. Caracciolo, Francesco & D’Amico, Mario & Di Vita, Giuseppe & Pomarici, Eugenio & Dal Bianco, Andrea & Cembalo, Luigi, 2016. "Private vs. Collective Wine Reputation," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 19(3), pages 1-20, August.
    3. Catherine Haeck & Giulia Meloni & Johan Swinnen, 2019. "The Value of Terroir: A Historical Analysis of the Bordeaux and Champagne Geographical Indications," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 41(4), pages 598-619, December.
    4. Pecchioli, Bruno & Moroz, David, 2023. "Do geographical appellations provide useful quality signals? The case of Scotch single malt whiskies," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    5. Luigi Benfratello & Massimiliano Piacenza & Stefano Sacchetto, 2004. "-What Drives Market Prices in the Wine Industry ? Estimation of a Hedonic Model for Italian Premium Wines," CERIS Working Paper 200411, CNR-IRCrES Research Institute on Sustainable Economic Growth - Torino (TO) ITALY - former Institute for Economic Research on Firms and Growth - Moncalieri (TO) ITALY.
    6. Clarissa Laura Maria Spiess Bru, 2023. "Does the Tasting Note Matter? Language Categories and Their Impact on Professional Ratings and Prices," Working Papers Dissertations 105, Paderborn University, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics.
    7. Carlo Altomonte & Italo Colantone & Enrico Pennings, 2016. "Heterogeneous Firms and Asymmetric Product Differentiation," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 64(4), pages 835-874, December.
    8. Peter Gal & Attila Jambor, 2020. "Geographical Indications as Factors of Market Value: Price Premiums and Their Drivers in the Hungarian Off-Trade Wine Market," AGRIS on-line Papers in Economics and Informatics, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Economics and Management, vol. 12(2), June.
    9. Menival, David & Charters, Steve, 2014. "The impact of geographic reputation on the value created in Champagne," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 58(2), April.
    10. Vincent Hoang & Takao Iida & Shigeru Matsumoto & Natsuki Watanabe & Clevo Wilson, 2016. "Consumer’s comparison between local and imported organic products: a hedonic analysis of the Japanese table wine market," Eurasian Business Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 6(3), pages 405-415, December.
    11. Mahenc, Philippe & Meunier, Valérie, 2006. "Early Sales of Bordeaux grands crus," Journal of Wine Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 1(1), pages 57-74, April.
    12. Möllering, Guido, 2009. "Market constitution analysis: A new framework applied to solar power technology markets," MPIfG Working Paper 09/7, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    13. Richard Carew & Wojciech J. Florkowski, 2010. "The Importance of Geographic Wine Appellations: Hedonic Pricing of Burgundy Wines in the British Columbia Wine Market," Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics/Revue canadienne d'agroeconomie, Canadian Agricultural Economics Society/Societe canadienne d'agroeconomie, vol. 58(1), pages 93-108, March.
    14. Zander, K. & Janssen, M., 2013. "Präferenzen deutscher Öko-Konsumenten für Wein," Proceedings “Schriften der Gesellschaft für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften des Landbaues e.V.”, German Association of Agricultural Economists (GEWISOLA), vol. 48, March.
    15. Teuber, Ramona, 2008. "Geographical Indications and the Value of Reputation - Empirical Evidence for Cafe de Marcala," 2008 International Congress, August 26-29, 2008, Ghent, Belgium 43835, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    16. Costanigro, Marco & McCluskey, Jill J. & Mittelhammer, Ronald C., 2006. "Identifying submarket in the wine industry: a multivariate approach to hedonic regression," 2006 Annual meeting, July 23-26, Long Beach, CA 21370, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    17. Victor Ginsburgh, 2016. "On Judging Art and Wine," Working Papers ECARES ECARES 2016-21, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    18. Nicolas G鲡rd Vaillant & François-Charles Wolff, 2013. "Understanding how experts rate cigars: a ‘havanometric’ analysis," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(1), pages 99-109, January.
    19. Schamel, Günter, 2005. "German Wine: Measurement and Evaluation of Product Quality," Proceedings “Schriften der Gesellschaft für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften des Landbaues e.V.”, German Association of Agricultural Economists (GEWISOLA), vol. 40, March.
    20. Buhr, Helena & Funk, Russell J. & Owen-Smith, Jason, 2021. "The authenticity premium: Balancing conformity and innovation in high technology industries," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(1).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:zbw:mpifgd:123. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/mpigfde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.