Firm Creation, Firm Evolution and Clusters in Chile’s Dynamic Wine Sector: Evidence from the Colchagua and Casablanca Regions

global consumers. This product evolution and adaptability has differentiated the
Chilean wine sector from those in other countries (Gwynne, 2008).

As a result this survey of wine companies will not only interview the lead entrepreneurs
but also some of those who have been involved in the process of innovation in
winemaking and estate management. The argument is that it has been the success in
combining these knowledges which has differentiated the dynamic export-oriented wine
firm from those which have found it difficult to expand into export markets. The research
further argues that the Colchagua Valley has a large number of these dynamic, export-
oriented firms and that for this reason it could be seen as an interesting example of a
wine-producing industrial district, similar to the more famous industrial districts built on
high technology sectors.

Punch (2000) believes interviews are ‘a powerful research tool ... capable of producing
rich and valuable data’ and Valentine (1997) further asserts interviews as a method of
research appropriate where depth is required and when the investigation attempts to
explicate complex relationships. Critics of this method of data collection commonly raise
issues of researcher bias, subjectivity, reliability, and validity. However, this approach
was warranted as the research hypothesis involved gathering rich and multi-layered
information allowing pre-prepared questions to form the skeleton of the interview whilst
allowing auxiliary questions to be asked to aid further insight and deeper analysis
(Hoggart et al, 2002). On the following page there is a list of the pre-prepared questions
as a separate table

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