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"Institutions are fundamental aspects in driving tourism and hospitality globally. They are the socio-economic 'rules of the game' that serve to shape and constrain human and organisational interactions. This book is the first of its kind to provide a comprehensive overview of institutional theory in a tourism and hospitality context. The complexity and multiple scaled nature of the institutional environment plays a crucial role in the development and formation of tourism destinations, attractions, organisations, and businesses, as well as influencing the activities of individuals. Institutional theory therefore provides a means to understand the complexity and processes of change at different scales of analysis and provides insights into the organisational and political basis of tourism policy development and implementation. Chapters introduce and expand on institutional analysis in tourism and hospitality, institutional theory in the social sciences, methodological issues, and future directions in institutional analysis in tourism and hospitality, making use of case studies throughout. This book will appeal to students of Tourism, Hospitality, Leisure and Events, as well as other social science disciplines. Providing a comprehensive overview of and guide to the application of institutional theory, this book will serve as a comprehensive reference to institutional theory in a tourism and hospitality setting for years to come"--

Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of network relationships and institutional environment on premium winegrowers' internationalization process.


Design/methodology/approach
This study uses a case study approach to examine two premium wine producers engaged in internationalization. The data sources consist of semi-structured interviews, observations at three major events and secondary data sourced from industry reports and materials that are available online.


Findings
Findings illustrate that both personal and inter-firm networks help wineries to internationalize. Inter-firm networks play a significant role in gaining international legitimacy. Personal networks were found to be more important in establishing brand authenticity that facilitates wineries in their internationalization process. Gaining international legitimacy and establishing brand authenticity are crucial in the successful internationalization of premium wineries.


Research limitations/implications
This study provides an explanation of how networks can be put into institutional context. Future studies could map out the formal and informal institutions within the wine industry and investigate the closer dynamics among the different actors in the whole network. A whole network is formally structured and governed, yet still built on the relationships among members, making it a very complex phenomenon. This would allow the evaluation of multilateral ties that link firms and actors within the network and how this affects the internationalization process.


Practical implications
This paper provides managers with insights on how they can capitalize on their inter-firm and personal networks to help them deal with domestic and international institutional environments when embarking on internationalization activities.


Originality/value
This paper adds to the existing literature on networks relationships and provides an important link between networks, institutions and internationalization.