Wageningen University Rural Sociology Group ‘Group Initiatives and Individual Winegrowers in The Netherlands’ March 2007 Marianna Markantoni MAKS 20 Dr. Ir. Hielke van der Meulen Master thesis March, 2007 Group Initiatives and Individual Winegrowers in The Netherlands A Rational Choice Approach Marianna Markantoni Study programme: MSc Management of Agro-ecological Knowledge and Social Changes, MAKS 20 Course: CIS – 80430, Thesis Communication and Innovation Supervisor: Dr. Ir. Hielke van der Meulen, Rural Sociology Group Examiner: Prof. Dr. Ir. Cees Leeuwis, Communication Science Wageningen University March 2007, Wageningen Marianna Markantoni 2 Master thesis March, 2007 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are a few persons that I would like to thank for their contribution to this Master Thesis. Firstly, my supervisor Hielke van der Meulen for his precious help and his critical points throughout all the development of my research. His suggestions helped me to give a focus on this study and to have a more critical view in my analysis. Moreover, I would like to thank Prof. Cees Leeuwis for the examination of my thesis. Also I want to thank all the people working in the Department of Rural Sociology, in Wageningen University, and especially Don Weenink for his help to find the appropriate literature. Moreover, I would like to thank Raymond Rozeman for his support, his enormous patience with me and his precious help for the translation of some Dutch papers and Saskia Rohaan who she accompanied me in some of the interviews and she was my translator. Many thanks also to Georgios Prekatsakis for his help and support during all the development of my thesis research. Finally, I am grateful to my family in Greece for their support throughout all this thesis process and their precious help to have strength during my research. This Master thesis is dedicated to my parents Helen and George who although they are far away they supported me and had faith in me. Marianna Markantoni 3 Master thesis March, 2007 TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1.................................................................................................................6 INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................6 1.1 PURPOSE OF THIS RESEARCH ..........................................................................6 A. Research objective ................................................................................................6 B. Main research question..........................................................................................6 C. Specific research questions ...................................................................................7 1.3 OUTLINE ................................................................................................................7 CHAPTER 2.................................................................................................................8 OLD AND NEW WINE HISTORY IN THE NETHERLANDS.............................8 2.1 ROMAN AGES .......................................................................................................8 2.2 MEDIEVAL TIMES – MAASTRICHT REGION..................................................8 2.3 THE DECLINE OF VITICULTURE IN THE NETHERLANDS..........................9 2.4 THE DESTRUCTION BY PHYLLOXERA IN EUROPE.....................................9 2.5 THE REVIVAL OF DUTCH VITICULTURE IN 1967 ......................................10 2.6 THE GROWTH OF DUTCH VITICULTURE.....................................................10 2.6.1 THE FUTURE OF THE DUTCH WINE SECTOR...........................................13 2.7 THE NEW GRAPE VARIETIES..........................................................................15 2.7.1 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NEW GRAPE VARIETIES ...........................15 2.7.1.1 Description of Regent..............................................................................15 2.7.1.2 Description of Solaris and Johanniter......................................................16 CHAPTER 3...............................................................................................................17 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK...........................................................................17 3.1 RATIONAL CHOICE THEORY..........................................................................17 3.2 BOUNDED RATIONALITY................................................................................18 3.3 STRESSING THE FOCUS OF RATIONAL CHOICE THEORY.......................18 3.4 SOCIAL EXCHANGE ..........................................................................................19 3.4.1 SOCIAL INTERACTION AND SOCIAL EXCHANGE ..................................19 3.4.2 THE PROBLEM OF COLLECTIVE ACTION.................................................20 3.5 BEHAVIORAL APPROACH TO RATIONAL CHOICE THEORY ..................20 3.6 WHAT IS WRONG WITH RATIONAL CHOICE THEORY.............................21 3.7 CONCEPTUALIZING ..........................................................................................22 Distinguishing hobbyists, semi-professionals and professionals winegrowers.......22 3.7.1 DEFINING THE WINEGROWERS CATEGORIES........................................22 CHAPTER 4...............................................................................................................24 METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................................24 4.1 RESEARCH FOR THE THESIS PROPOSAL .....................................................24 4.2 SELECTION OF THE INTERVIEWEES.............................................................24 4.3 FIELDWORK........................................................................................................26 4.3.1 QUALITATIVE IN-DEPTH INTERVIEWS (Data collection method)............27 4.4 LIMITATIONS AND CONSTRAINTS................................................................28 CHAPTER 5...............................................................................................................30 DESCRIPTION OF THE CASES............................................................................30 5.1 A. GROUP INITIATIVES OF WINEGROWERS ...............................................30 A.1 Achterhoek Cooperative ...................................................................................30 A.2 Groesbeek Foundation -Stichting Wijnbouw Centrum Nederland...................37 A.3 Noord Holland group ........................................................................................40 A.4 Mergelland group..............................................................................................44 5.1 B. THE FOUR INDIVIDUAL CASES .................................................................47 Marianna Markantoni 4 Master thesis March, 2007 B.1 Wijngaard Aghthuizen - Fred Lorsheid ............................................................47 B.2 Wijngaard Wagenigse Berg - Jan Oude Voshaar..............................................49 B.3 Wijngaard De Santspuy - Gilbert Sweep ..........................................................50 B.4 Domein Hof te Dieren - Youp Cretier...............................................................51 5.2 COMMUNICATION AND NETWORKS OF WINEGROWERS.......................52 CHAPTER 6...............................................................................................................55 ANALYSIS .................................................................................................................55 6.1 THE ANALYSIS...................................................................................................57 6.1.1 A. ANALYSIS OF THE FOUR GROUP CASES .............................................57 6.1.1.1 ACHTERHOEK COOPERATIVE..............................................................57 6.1.1.2. GROESBEEK GROUP ..............................................................................62 6.1.1.3. NOORD HOLLAND GROUP ...................................................................65 6.1.1.4. MERGELLAND GROUP ..........................................................................67 6.1.2 B. ANALYSIS OF THE FOUR INDIVIDUAL CASES ...................................70 6.1.2.1 WIJNGAARD AGHTHUIZEN - Fred Lorsheid.........................................70 6.1.2.2 WIJNGAARD WAGENIGSEBERG - Jan Oude Voshaar..........................72 6.1.2.3. WIJNGAARD DE SANTSPUY - Gilbert Sweep ......................................74 6.1.2.4. DOMEIN HOF TE DIEREN - Youp Cretier..............................................77 CHAPTER 7...............................................................................................................80 CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS.................................................................80 7.1 CONCLUSIONS....................................................................................................80 7. 2 SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH .................................................83 REFERENCES...........................................................................................................84 APPENDIX A..............................................................................................................86 APPENDIX B ..............................................................................................................90 Marianna Markantoni 5 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION The decision to study the wine sector in The Netherlands was taken because