Overcoming geographical barriers to international presence. The case of the emerging Romanian Tuscany wine cluster

This research contributes to the debate on the determining factors that support access to global value chains by companies belonging to emerging clusters in transition economies. The role of these economies is becoming increasingly relevant in a global world, where discovering new opportunities is focused on increasing market knowledge in order to offer the appropriate products. From a geographical approach, managing both the knowledge flows circulating within the cluster and those coming from external sources can have a positive effect on the companies’ international presence. To analyse these research questions, the wine industry cluster in the Muntenia-Oltenia region of Romania was studied. This wine-growing territory is also known as Romanian Tuscany due to its geographical location. In this area, the wineries have different characteristics depending whether or not they have international projection. The results suggest that local knowledge of the cluster, managed through the network of connections, is necessary for the international presence of the cluster. Moreover, there is a multiplier effect in those wineries where there is foreign ownership, due to their international entrepreneurial character. In summary, this paper contributes to a better understanding of how companies in an emerging cluster work in order to access global value chains.