Heurigen 2.0: Succession Processes of Family-Owned Wine Taverns in Northern Burgenland

Introduction

The tradition of Austrian wine taverns that are run by local winemakers dates to the end of the 8^th century. Carl the Great allowed the vintners to offer their products on their own premises for three months of a year, signaling opening hours by a small shrub above the entry. This marks the beginning of the Buschenschank tradition. The word “Heurigen” refers to the fresh wine of the current year on the one hand, and the tavern or restaurant run by the wine producers on the other. Those institutions do not only offer their wine, but also a range of small dishes (Trenker, 2010).

Due to the long history of these taverns, most winemaking families pertain to the traditional business model and refuse to adapt to modern ways of presenting and selling their produce or running a business in general. However, when the successors take over the business, they often feel the urge to modernize the concept their parents, grandparents etc. introduced long ago when taking over the businesses (Letmathe and Hill, 2006). At different stages of the succession and on various levels of producing and selling, the members of the new generation try to implement innovative elements in order to satisfy the demand of present-day customers. Succession processes consist of two parts: the formal and legal act of handing over the business to the successor (ownership succession) and the operational part of the incumbent to transfer the management of the business (leadership succession) (Efendioglu and Muscat, 2009). The latter contains various intricacies in itself (Gbadegeshin, 2013). Adding to the uncertainty of modern business strategies, several factors can lead to disharmonies in family life, where the incumbent might act as a barrier to ideas of the successor (Bigliardi and Dormio, 2009; Letmathe and Hill, 2006).

While young companies acting in a contemporary field are aware of this, other, long-established sectors might not have enough knowledge or the willingness to adapt. It is a debatable point whether the low level of understanding is due to simple unawareness of the high relevance of this topic, or, on a psychological level, the feeling of a threat to their business (Getz et al., 2004), being inextricably connected with their personal raison d’être (Letmathe and Hill, 2006). This raises the question of how the two generations view the succession process and, if there is a clash of opinions, whether the introduction of new sales strategies constitutes risk taking or rather risk anticipation. However, research has found that modernization in some cases is the reason for succession (Letmathe and Hill, 2006) and that in the case of wineries, adding new business areas has led to greater prosperity of the family business (Getz et al., 2004).

Therefore, the research question of this chapter is the following:

The main topics of this chapter are succession processes in general, including sentiments in family enterprises and new ways of running a business, implemented by the successor generation. However, a detailed description of the strategies is not part of the goal. Another aim is the elucidation of the successors’ rationale behind the decision to modernize a well-established business, respectively the thoughts of the generation handing over. If applicable, interview partners will also be surveyed about the process of them taking over the business from their parents, in order to find out what they themselves think was helpful for successfully handing over the business. As stated, some think of modernization and innovation as anticipation of external threats and risks, whereas others might perceive it as risk taking. The exploration of reasons for both points of view will also be part of the research.

Findings of this research can help in understanding current issues of family owned Heurigen businesses and offer theoretically and empirically reasoned guidance for the sector. Success factors detected in the study can help other family businesses to prepare for the new era of management. Small family businesses in rural areas are seen as accelerators of economic activity in the region, as the interaction with enterprises in the area creates strong synergetic effects (Garstenauer et al., 2012; Germanovich et al., 2020). Thus, the research at hand can have an impact on the development of the Austrian countryside, both for visitors as well as inhabitants and local companies.