Mozas-Mo al, Ado ación; Be nal-Ju ado, En ique; Puen es-Poya os, Raquel
A icle
Online epu a ion assessmen in inno a i e wine
companies
Jou nal o Inno a ion & Knowledge (JIK)
P o ided in Coope a ion wi h:
Else ie
Sugges ed Ci a ion: Mozas-Mo al, Ado ación; Be nal-Ju ado, En ique; Puen es-Poya os, Raquel
(2024) : Online epu a ion assessmen in inno a i e wine companies, Jou nal o Inno a ion &
Knowledge (JIK), ISSN 2444-569X, Else ie , Ams e dam, Vol. 9, Iss. 4, pp. 1-12,
h ps://doi.o g/10.1016/j.jik.2024.100559
This Ve sion is a ailable a :
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Online epu a ion assessmen in inno a i e wine companies
Ado aci
on Mozas-Mo al
a
, En ique Be nal-Ju ado
b
, Raquel Puen es-Poya os
c,
*
a
Doc o o Economics and Business, Uni e si y o Jaen, Depa men o Business O ganiza ion, Ma ke ing and Sociology, Campus Las Lagunillas s/n, Building D3,
o fice 146, 23071, Ja
en, Spain
b
Doc o o Economics, Uni e si y o Ja
en, Depa men Applied Economics, Campus Las Lagunillas s/n, Building D3, o fice 266, 23071, Ja
en, Spain
c
Doc o o Economics and Business, Uni e si y o Jaen, Depa men o Business O ganiza ion, Ma ke ing and Sociology, Campus Las Lagunillas s/n, Building D3,
o fice 132, 23071, Ja
en, Spain
ARTICLE INFO
A icle His o y:
Recei ed 23 Feb ua y 2024
Accep ed 28 Augus 2024
A ailable online 25 Sep embe 2024
ABSTRACT
In an inc easingly compe i i e business wo ld he abili y o a company o build a a o able epu a ion is an
essen ial ac o o i s success o ailu e, especially in digi al en i onmen s. The objec i e o his s udy is o
analyze wha ac o s a ec he online epu a ion o companies in he ag i- ood sec o , aking he Spanish
wine sec o as a case s udy. The me hodology used o achie e his objec i e was Quali a i e Compa a i e
Analysis (QCA), in i s uzzy se s a ian ( sQCA). The esul s show ha hose companies mo e o ien ed
owa ds he digi al ma ke and wi h a highe le el o communica ion o hei Co po a e Social Responsibili y
p ac ices ha e a highe epu a ion among s akeholde s. This ad an age is inc eased i in addi ion hey a e
la ge companies o ha e a la ge Go e ning Boa d.
© 2024 The Au ho (s). Published by Else ie España, S.L.U. on behal o Jou nal o Inno a ion & Knowledge.
This is an open access a icle unde he CC BY license (h p://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/4.0/)
Keywo ds:
Online epu a ion
Wine
CSR
Websi e
Social ne wo ks
sQCA
JEL classifica ion:
L14
L66
M15
O13
P13
In oduc ion
In ma ke s wi h impe ec o asymme ic in o ma ion, a com-
pany’s abili y o communica e wi h i s s akeholde s and de elop a
posi i e epu a ion is a key elemen o business success (Esa, Moha-
mad, Wan-Zaka ia & Ilias, 2022). I is e en mo e impo an in he
online en i onmen , whe e in o ma ion asymme ies inc ease in he
con en di ec ed o consume s and wi h his hei unce ain y when
assessing he quali y o he o e (Wells, Valacich & Hess, 2011). Sig-
naling Theo y (Spence, 1973) p o ides a amewo k o sol ing he
in o ma ion asymme y p oblem. The heo y sugges s ha fi ms will
gene a e signals o help cus ome s make in e ences abou he alue
and quali y o b and o e ings (Ahmed, S eimikien_
e, Alam, S eimikis
& Hanafi, 2023), posi i ely a ec ing hei epu a ion (Taj, 2016).
Among he a ious ac ics employed o con ey signals a e he
de elopmen o a s ong co po a e epu a ion and b and image, Co -
po a e Social Responsibili y (he eina e CSR) ac ions and loyal y p o-
g ams (Ahmed e al., 2023).
In ecen decades many esea che s ha e posi i ely ela ed co po-
a e epu a ion o gaining compe i i e ad an age (Fomb un & Van
Riel, 1997;Lee & Roh, 2012) and achie ing be e financial esul s
(Lee & Roh, 2012;Cocis, Ba ancea & Tulai, 2021). The alue o epu a-
ion has g own in impo ance, in line wi h he sp ead o ICT use in
business and he ans o ma ion o socie y owa ds a mo e ac i e and
c i ical s uc u e (Wiedmann, 2017). A highe epu a ion simplifies
he consume buying p ocess by educing he cos s o sea ching and
p ocessing in o ma ion, due o he assu ance i o e s (Swai & E dem,
2007). Tha is why online epu a ion o e- epu a ion, unde s ood as
he pe cep ion o a company’s s akeholde s in he digi al en i on-
men . (Paque o , Que elec, Sueu & Bio -Paque o , 2011;Fa aoni,
Luque-Ma ínez, & Do~
na-Toledo, 2024), can be conside ed one o he
g ea es in angible asse s o companies oday (Casado-Molina,
Ramos, Rojas-de-G acia & Pel
aez-S
anchez, 2020).
In some p oduc s, whose a ibu es a e di ficul o obse e p io o
pu chase, he quali y o uni s sold in he pas by he company can be
* Co esponding au ho a : Uni e si y o Jaen, Depa men o Business O ganiza ion,
Ma ke ing and Sociology, Campus Las Lagunillas s/n, Building D3, o fice 132, 23071,
Ja
en, Spain.
E-mail add esses: [email p o ec ed] (A. Mozas-Mo al), [email p o ec ed]
(E. Be nal-Ju ado), [email p o ec ed] (R. Puen es-Poya os).
h ps://doi.o g/10.1016/j.jik.2024.100559
2444-569X/© 2024 The Au ho (s). Published by Else ie España, S.L.U. on behal o Jou nal o Inno a ion & Knowledge. This is an open access a icle unde he CC BY license
(h p://c ea i ecommons.o g/licenses/by/4.0/)
Jou nal o Inno a ion & Knowledge 9 (2024) 100559
Jou nal o Inno a ion
&Knowledge
h ps://www.jou nals.else ie .com/jou nal-o -inno a ion-and-knowledge
used as an indica o o i s p esen and u u e quali y (P ice & Dawa ,
2002). Wine, like o he expe ien ial p oduc s, has a ibu es ha can
only be assessed a e pu chase (Nelson, 1970). This lack o comple e
in o ma ion p io o pu chase is exace ba ed in he online en i on-
men , due o he impossibili y o ansmi ing in insic senso y a ib-
u es o he p oduc h ough he digi al en i onmen (Liebe mann &
S ashe sky, 2009); he lack o knowledge in many cases o he selle s
and o he us hey gene a e (King, Sen & Xia, 2004); he isk o no
ecei ing he p oduc expec ed o no ecei ing i a all (Biswas & Bis-
was, 2004); and he isk o misusing he in o ma ion ansmi ed o
comple e he online ansac ion (Biswas & Biswas, 2004). The e o e,
in his ype o p oduc he e is a p oblem o ad e se selec ion, in en-
sified in online en i onmen s, which can only be mi iga ed by he
use o quali y signals, such as epu a ion, ha educe in o ma ion
asymme ies and he e o e acili a e he pu chase p ocess.
P ope online epu a ion managemen is especially impo an in
he Spanish wine sec o (Dua e, Kok & B essan, 2020), because he
de elopmen o his sec o depends o a la ge ex en on i s abili y o
sell o he end consume and hus app op ia e he added alue gene -
a ed in he packaging and ma ke ing s ages. Thach, Lease and Ba on
(2016) indica e ha online epu a ion has a significan impac on
wine consume s’pu chasing decisions; online e iews and a ings
can influence he pe cei ed quali y and alue o wine, which in u n
a ec s sales. Acco ding o he In e na ional O ganiza ion o Vine and
Wine (OIV, 2023), in 2022, 258.26 million hec oli e s o wine we e
p oduced in he wo ld, placing Spain in hi d place in he anking o
p oducing coun ies. Despi e his si ua ion o leade ship in p oduc-
ion, he Spanish wine sec o is bu dened wi h a se ious comme cial
p oblem ha ansla es in o losses o added alue o p oduce s. The
high sale o bulk p oduc (59% o p oduc ion), he excessi e a omiza-
ion o supply (4078 companies) compa ed o he high concen a ion
in he dis ibu ion sec o , and he lack o p o essionaliza ion and
aining o i s human capi al a e some o i s main p oblems (In e p o-
essional o Wine in Spain, 2023). All his occu s in a s a egic eco-
nomic sec o , which accoun s o 2% o employmen in Spain and is
key in he figh agains depopula ion in u al a eas (In e p o essional
o Wine in Spain, 2023). In his con ex , a a o able online epu a ion
o wine companies no only d i es di ec sales h ough e-comme ce
pla o ms, bu also influences sales o he end consume in physical
s o es, as consume s o en esea ch online be o e making a pu chase
in he adi ional s o e (Dua e e al., 2020;Singh & Basu, 2023).
Online epu a ion is a ecen field o s udy and o g owing in e es
(Ma inez-Polo & Na a o-Bel
a, 2020) and ocused p ima ily on he
se ice sec o (Veh, G€
obel & Vogel, 2019), lea ing a gap in he s udy
o o he sec o s wi h angible p oduc s, as is he case o ag i- ood.
The ew exis ing s udies on online epu a ion in he ag i- ood sec o
ha e ocused on di e en a eas. Thus, he pape s o Mol (2015),Sha-
hid e al. (2020) and Bissinge and He mann (2021) s udy how he
anspa ency o in o ma ion p o ided by aceabili y in he supply
chain o ood p oduc s impac s public pe cep ion and imp o es con-
sume confidence. I has also been s udied how sus ainable ac ions
unde aken by he company and hei communica ion a ec he c ea-
ion o co po a e online epu a ion (Puma-Flo es & Rosa-Díaz, 2023).
O he s udies ha e ocused on he impac o online communica ion
o aspec s ela ed o ood sa e y o nu i ional aspec s on online epu-
a ion (Peng & Jingwen, 2019;Vlas elica, Nikoli
c & K s i
c, 2023). In
u n, se e al s udies ha e ocused hei in e es on in es iga ing he
e ec o online epu a ion on consume s’pu chase in en ions and
a i udes (Sunhee, Kawon & Vie a-Annisa, 2020;Hanchuko a, Veli-
ko a & Mo uzenko, 2023) o on he le el o u no e o ag i- ood
companies (Be nal-Ju ado, Fe n
andez-Ucl
es, Mozas-Mo al, &
Puen es-Poya os, 2023). Finally, and in line wi h his esea ch, he e
is a single pape , by Fe n
andez-Ucl
es, Mozas-Mo al, Be nal-Ju ado
and Puen es-Poya os (2023), which analyzes which o ganiza ional
ac o s a e di ec ly ela ed o online epu a ion in he case o oli e oil
companies o e ing o ganic p oduc s.
This esea ch a emp s o fill his gap in he li e a u e. Thus, ely-
ing on he Signaling Theo y (Spence, 1973), he objec i e o his s udy
is on he one hand o analyze he le el o online epu a ion o wine
companies h ough he in o ma ion gene a ed on di e en digi al
pla o ms, and on he o he o iden i y which ac o s ha e a posi i e
impac on i . To achie e hese objec i es he pape has been s uc-
u ed as ollows: a e his in oduc ion, he con ex ual amewo k
de ailing he p oposi ions o he s udy is p esen ed, ollowed by he
echnical cha ac e is ics o he esea ch in he me hodology sec ion
hen an explana ion o he esul s and finally, he discussion, conclu-
sions and bibliog aphical e e ences a e p esen ed.
Theo e ical amewo k
Online epu a ion
I is no easy o achie e a single concep ualiza ion o he “Repu a-
ion”cons uc because, among o he ac o s, i s na u e is complex
and in angible, i s app oach has come om di e en disciplines, i s
concep ualiza ion o e laps wi h o he e ms conside ed ela ed such
as Image o Iden i y, and i s cha ac e is mul idimensional. I is wha
some au ho s ha e called he “Towe o Babel”(Ha ch & Schul z,
2000), in e e ence o he lack o consensus in he academic li e a u e
on he con en o his concep . As Be gh, Ke chen, Boyd and Be gh
(2010) poin ou , nume ous heo ies (Signaling Theo y, T ansac ion
Cos Theo y, Resou ce and Capabili y Theo y, among o he s) con ib-
u e o he unde s anding o his mul idimensional cons uc called
“Repu a ion”. Among hese heo ies, one o he mos widely used is
he Signaling Theo y. Se e al au ho s concep ualize co po a e epu-
a ion as cons uc ed om signals coming om he ma ke (Fomb un
& Shanley, 1990;Basdeo, Smi h, G imm, Rindo a & De us, 2006). As
P abhu and S ewa d (2001) w o e: “... ecipien s’in e p e a ions o
signals a e in e ences abou he in en ions and abili ies o he sende
ha lead o belie s abou he sende ’s ela i ely endu ing cha ac e is-
ics.”These belie s, pe cep ions o alue judgmen s abou he sende
a e he basis o he sende ’s epu a ion among s akeholde s.
Acco ding o Fomb un, Ga dbe g and Se e (2000), epu a ion is
composed o wo componen s: an emo ional (a ec i e) and a a ional
(cogni i e) one. The expe ience wi h he b and, p oduc o company
can explain bo h componen s and can be in es iga ed by conside ing
he “consume expe ience”(Lemon & Ve hoe , 2016). In his sense,
La kin (2003), poin s ou ha epu a ion, “...is based on pe cep ions
o an o ganiza ion’s cha ac e is ics, pe o mance, and beha io .
Essen ially, epu a ion is he good o bad eflec ion ha s akeholde s
see in a b and. I in ol es a alue judgmen abou he o ganiza ion’s
a ibu es and is gene ally es ablished o e ime.”Indeed, he con en
o mos exis ing defini ions has a i s co e his subjec i e elemen o
“pe cep ion”o “ alue judgmen ” ha s akeholde s ha e buil “o e
ime”abou a gi en o ganiza ion.
Limi ing he con en o he concep o he online en i onmen , i
can be conside ed ha epu a ion is buil om he accumula ion o
judgmen s made by s akeholde s be o e, a e and du ing he pu -
chase p ocess h ough he mul iple esou ces o e ed by he digi al
en i onmen (wikis, o ums, blogs o social ne wo ks) (He big &
Milewicz, 1993). In he online en i onmen epu a ion is a ec ed by
ne wo k e ec s, whe e he opinions and pe cep ions o a g oup o
s akeholde s can influence hose o o he g oups (F eeman, Ha ison
& Wicks, 2007), inc easing isibili y and educing he pe iod o ime
o e which i is buil (Po , 2015). In addi ion, he online en i onmen
has changed he sou ce om which hese signals eme ge. Companies
ha e los some o he con ol o e epu a ion building, mo ing om
a cen alized model —whe e a company con ols i s epu a ion
h ough op-down communica ion and ma ke ing s a egies— o a
mo e dis ibu ed model whe e a ious s akeholde s, including
employees, cus ome s, and he public, play significan oles (Iglesias
& Ind, 2020). Thus, epu a ion is o med om he in e ac ion be ween
A. Mozas-Mo al, E. Be nal-Ju ado and R. Puen es-Poya os Jou nal o Inno a ion & Knowledge 9 (2024) 100559
2
in e nal ac o s (such as co po a e cul u e and managemen policies)
and ex e nal ac o s (such as he egula o y en i onmen and social
expec a ions), which do no ope a e in isola ion bu a e in e con-
nec ed in complex ways, and changes in one can igge eac ions in
o he s (Ba ne , Je mie & La e y, 2006).
Consequen ly, online epu a ion esul s om non-linea and com-
plex ela ionships ha equi e measu emen beyond adi ional
p ac ices. In his sense, Cioppi, Cu ina, Fo lani and Penca elli (2019)
indica e ha he e a e wo main ypes o measu es ega ding online
epu a ion: on he one hand, gene al eedback a ings o consume /
use a ings, such as a ings o online o social media e iews and
commen s (bo h quan i a i e and quali a i e), and on he o he hand,
composi e indices whe e i is measu ed as a cons uc beyond sen i-
men analysis. Recen esea ch in his a ea has ocused mainly on
ha fi s al e na i e and o a lesse ex en on he de elopmen o
composi e indices (Puma-Flo es & Rosa-Díaz, 2023).
In he same ein, in he academic li e a u e on epu a ion he e
a e mul iple s udies ha ha e in es iga ed he main a iables ha
explain he alua ion o consume s o o he s akeholde s as a whole,
finding ha he e a e mul iple dimensions o a ibu es ha make up
his expe ience: p oduc , e hics, managemen , wo k en i onmen ,
co po a e social esponsibili y, b and p ofi abili y, inno a ion, social
media p esence, online isibili y, websi e quali y, in o ma ion qual-
i y, o e s and p omo ions, p i acy and secu i y, among o he s (Fom-
b un e al., 2000;Reube & Fische , 2009;Ponzi, Fomb un &
Ga dbe g, 2011;Du o & Cas ellano, 2015;Gup a, Ponnu u, Kuma &
T i edi, 2017;Rod íguez-Díaz, Rod íguez-Díaz & Espino-Rod íguez,
2018;Ran anen, Salminen, Gin e & Jansen, 2020;Puma-Flo es &
Rosa-Díaz, 2023). The e o e, his mul idimensionali y implies ha
s akeholde s’pe cep ions a e shaped by a complex ne wo k o influ-
ences and expe iences (Fomb un & Van Riel, 2004) and whose o ma-
ion depends on a combina ion o causes. Despi e his complexi y,
scien ific s udies ha e mainly ocused on analyzing in isola ion he
di ec e ec o hese ac o s on epu a ion (Wang, Yu, & Chiang,
2016). S udies ha look o causal configu a ions in he o m o ela-
ionships be ween ac o s in o de o analyze online epu a ion a e
sca ce and ecen : Agee a, Melewa , Fo oudi, Dennis and Jin (2018)
ocus hei s udy on he financial sec o and in es iga e how de e mi-
nan s o co po a e websi e a o abili y influence image and epu a-
ion; meanwhile, Wang, Wang, Wang and Zhao (2022) analyze he
epu a ion o influence s and how he cha ac e is ics o he in o ma-
ion sou ce influence wo d-o -mou h epu a ion; finally, Fe n
andez-
Ucl
es e al. (2023) ocus hei s udy on ag i- ood companies and how
o ganiza ional ac o s such as he legal o m o he sale o o ganic
p oduc s influence he pe cep ion o online epu a ion.
In iew o he o egoing, and gi en he non-linea and complex
na u e o online epu a ion, i is necessa y o iden i y which o ganiza-
ional cha ac e is ics o combina ions o hem can ha e a posi i e
impac on i . Following he exis ing li e a u e, he a iables analyzed
in his s udy a e p esen ed below.
In o ma ion secu i y and web quali y
In he online en i onmen , he websi e is he place whe e many
po en ial cus ome s will con ac he company o he fi s ime and,
he e o e, i will become hei fi s e e ence when i comes o c ea -
ing an image o he company (Chen & Mac edie, 2005). The consum-
e ’s pu chase decision may depend on he abili y o he websi e o
posi i ely influence his image (Van De Heijden, Ve hagen &
C eeme s, 2003), since i is condi ioned by he po en ial o he in o -
ma ion p o ided in o de o compensa e o he absence o pe sonal
con ac be ween agen s and o gene a e su ficien us be ween
hem (Mckinney, Yoon & Zahedi, 2002). Lan anchi, Gianne o and
Dimi o a (2019) indica e, emphasizing he impo ance o in o ma-
ion p o ided on wine y websi es o pu chase decision-making. This
s udy emphasizes ha consume s highly alue well-designed
websi es filled wi h use ul in o ma ion, posi i ely impac ing hei
pu chasing decisions and loyal y.
Di e en au ho s (Song & Zahedi, 2007) ha e conside ed he qual-
i y o he websi e as a quali y signal ha a ec s he us owa ds he
company and he isk pe cei ed by he consume and, he e o e, his/
he pu chase in en ion. Thus, he exis ence o su ficien and quali y
in o ma ion ha clea ly desc ibes he p oduc /se ice is in e p e ed
by he consume as an e ec i e quali y signal ha manages o educe
he unce ain y associa ed wi h he pu chase p ocess (Dimoka, Hong
& Pa lou, 2012). In u n, o he websi e ea u es such as ease o na i-
ga ion o he con enience o he digi al en i onmen o examining
p oduc s/se ices a o posi i e online shopping a i udes on he
pa o consume s (Childe s, Ca , Peck & Ca son, 2001). All his poin s
o he ac ha us owa ds a websi e esponds o he p ope ies o
he websi e (Yoon, 2002).
Al hough he e is no unanimi y when i comes o de e mining
which cha ac e is ics a websi e mus ha e in o de o be posi i ely
alued, he e is a ce ain consensus when i comes o accep ing ha
he p esence o a high le el o in o ma ion, in e ac i i y and se ices
is posi i ely ela ed o he deg ee o use sa is ac ion (Heinze & Hu,
2006). Many s udies ha e a emp ed o iden i y he mos app op ia e
me ics o assessing he e ec i eness o a websi e as a co po a e
in o ma ion sys em (Heinze & Hu, 2006), and mos o hese ha e
been amed unde he Technology Accep ance Model (Lee, Koza &
La sen, 2003).
Howe e , he e is a clea ecogni ion o secu i y as an a ibu e
ha posi i ely a ec s he le el o use and he pe cep ion and epu a-
ion o he company in he i ual en i onmen (Da ida i
cien_
e,
Raudeliunien_
e, T a ona i
cien_
e & Kau
sinis, 2019;Klju
cniko , Mu a &
Sklen
a , 2019). In his sense, he p esence o us seals on he co po-
a e websi e plays an impo an ole in he secu i y pe cei ed by i s
use s, as hey a e quali y signals (Wang, Bea y & Foxx, 2004) ha
gene a e us in he online consume and, he e o e, a e conduci e
o pu chasing (Kime y & McCo d, 2002). These a e ex e nal signals
p o ided by a us ed ce i ying company. Buye s a ach g ea e c ed-
ibili y o hese ypes o ex e nal signals han o in e nal ones (Ma la-
no a, Benbunan-Fich & Lang, 2016). Among he di e en ypes o
us seals a e in o ma ion secu i y seals (Zhang, 2005), such as
TRUSTe and Ve isign, which assu e consume s ha he use o hei
pe sonal in o ma ion, especially financial in o ma ion, will be p o-
ec ed by he websi e agains unau ho ized use be o e and/o a e
an online ansac ion (G ewal, Iye & Le y, 2004). Along hese lines,
Albe , G
omez and N
a~
nez (2024) highligh he impo ance o digi al
secu i y measu es in he p o ec ion o pe sonal and financial da a,
emphasizing ha he implemen a ion o obus secu i y s anda ds,
such as quali y ce ifica es, is c ucial o main aining consume confi-
dence in online ansac ions.
Based on he o egoing, he ollowing wo p oposi ions a e es ab-
lished:
P oposi ion 1. The quali y o he websi e posi i ely influences he com-
pany’s online epu a ion.
P oposi ion 2. The p esence o in o ma ion secu i y us seals posi-
i ely influences he company’s online epu a ion.
Co po a e social esponsibili y
The equi emen s and challenges o he 21s cen u y, such as
he Co id-19 pandemic, ha e influenced an o ien a ion owa ds
CSR and he SDGs by companies (He & Ha is, 2020), which dis-
close hem in o de o imp o e he public pe cep ion o hei
business pe o mance (Agga wal & Singh, 2019) o o legi imize
hei powe in he ma ke (Reid, Ringel & Pendle on, 2024). Some
s udies ha e ound e idence ha CSR has a posi i e influence on
consume s (Lee, Zhang & Abi bol, 2019;Kim, 2019)ando he
s akeholde s (F eeman, 2006). Highe quali y is a ibu ed o he
A. Mozas-Mo al, E. Be nal-Ju ado and R. Puen es-Poya os Jou nal o Inno a ion & Knowledge 9 (2024) 100559
3
p oduc s o socially esponsible companies, imp o ing hei pe -
cei ed image (Cui,Jo&Na,2018) and cus ome loyal y (Sang,
2022) and posi i ely influencing hei epu a ion (Fa mawa i &
Fauzan, 2021).
F om he poin o iew o company ypology, companies wi h he
legal o m o a coope a i e socie y, he objec o his esea ch, a e in a
be e posi ion han adi ional capi alis companies o ob ain a com-
pe i i e ad an age h ough CSR. Fo A cas and B iones (2009), he
g ea simila i y, and e en coincidence, be ween coope a i e alues
and p inciples and hose o CSR make coope a i es socially esponsi-
ble by na u e and place hem in a good posi ion o alue his di e en-
ial cha ac e is ic. Howe e , se e al s udies ha e shown ha hese
companies a e lagging behind in communica ing CSR h ough ICT
(Fe n
andez, Be nal, Medina & Mo al, 2016;Jo ge, Chi i e & Salinas,
2019).
On he o he hand, many esea ch s udies ha e ound e idence o
he posi i e ela ionship be ween CSR and co po a e epu a ion (Liu
& Lu, 2019;Ri e a, Bigne & Cu as-P
e ez, 2019;Islam e al., 2021).
Acco ding o Liu, Liu, Mo, Zhao and Zhu (2019) CSR ac i i ies os e a
posi i e a i ude o cus ome s and gene a e a posi i e pe cep ion o
co po a e epu a ion in hei minds. Simila ly, Smi h (2006) poin s
ou he exis ence o a posi i e ela ionship be ween CSR and inno a-
ion, o ien ed owa ds he manu ac u e o mo e sus ainable p oduc s
and se ices (Adams, Jean enaud, Bessan , Denye & O e y, 2016),
which will ha e an impac on a be e epu a ion.
Unde he Signaling Theo y he disclosu e o sus ainable p ac ices
emi s signals o he ma ke , gene a ing ma ke esponses (Ha jo o e
al., 2024). I hus allows you o communica e wi h you s akeholde s,
which influences s akeholde pe cep ions, c ea es a compe i i e
ad an age and posi i ely impac s you co po a e image (Mo a is,
2016). In his con ex , CSR communica ion plays a c ucial ole by
educing in o ma ional dispa i y du ing he communica i e p ocess,
acili a ing compe i i e ad an age and epu a ion (Belas, ¸Ce a,
D o sk
y&
Cepel, 2021).
CSR communica ion s a egies a y acco ding o cul u al and
na ional con ex s (Lu & Wang, 2021), al hough se e al s udies show
how la ge companies communica e hei CSR by employing s and-
a ds, CSR epo s and esponsible b anding campaigns (F andsen,
Johansen & Pang, 2013;Mo sing & Spence, 2019), and using he web
as he medium o b oadcas CSR signals. Repo ing o CSR issuance is
ca ching on a he co po a e le el, al hough in he coope a i e sec o
i is no widesp ead (Bollas & Seguí, 2022), and his will also be
highligh ed in his documen . In his sense, Mus een, Da a and Kem-
me e (2010) indica e ha , o he ex en ha epu a ion can be in e -
p e ed as he p oduc o a signaling p ocess, CSR epo s can be
pe cei ed by s akeholde s as signals o build company epu a ion.
Mo eo e , he g ea e he unde s anding o he epo s he g ea e
he signals o au hen ici y o he epo s and he mo e us hey
ha e in he companies (Ha jo o e al., 2024), wi h his CSR p ac ice
ha ing an impac on hei epu a ion.
In he communica ion p ocess, co po a e websi es and social ne -
wo ks ha e become di ec and essen ial channels o in o ming
s akeholde s abou CSR p ac ices (Du, Bha acha ya & Sen, 2010),
eaching mo e use s (Gill, Dickinson & Scha l, 2008) and a a lowe
cos (Cap io i & Mo eno, 2007). Online communica ion o CSR has
become an essen ial ool used o os e anspa ency and us among
s akeholde s (Schlegelmilch & Pollach, 2005). Thus, disclosing CSR
p ac ices in an open and accessible manne inc eases he isibili y o
companies’CSR ini ia i es, imp o es he pe cep ion o co po a e
social esponsibili y among consume s (Yang & Basile, 2021) and
s eng hens hei epu a ion (Wang & Be ens, 2015;Fe n
andez, Ha -
mann & Apaolaza, 2021).
Following he abo e a gumen , he hi d p oposi ion is as ollows:
P oposi ion 3. Online communica ion o CSR p ac ices posi i ely influ-
ences he company’s online epu a ion.
Composi ion o he go e ning boa d
In ecen yea s co po a e go e nance has gained ele ance as an
indica o o good managemen and epu a ion, which has led o he
publica ion o se e al codes o good go e nance a na ional and in e -
na ional le el (Aguile a & Cue o-Cazu a, 2009). This ele ance has
in ensified in ecen decades due o he financial scandals ha ha e
occu ed (Esa e al., 2022), which ha e b ough in o ques ion he
e ec i eness o co po a e go e nance and, specifically, o he Boa d
o Di ec o s in adi ional capi alis companies o he Go e ning
Boa d (he eina e Boa d) in coope a i e socie ies. As Radbou ne
(2003) indica es, he e m co po a e go e nance can be used in wo
ways: one ha e e s o he company’s ela ionship wi h he ex e nal
en i onmen and ela es o i s epo ing, business pe o mance and
demons a ion o accoun abili y, which a e measu es o epu a ion;
he o he is go e nance in e ms o co po a e managemen and con-
ol mechanisms and ela es o he in e nal pe o mance o he
Boa d.
Despi e i s g owing impo ance, esea ch s udying boa d in ol e-
men in co po a e epu a ion is s ill sca ce (Kim, Mauldin & Pa o,
2014;O ozco, Va gas & Galindo-Do ado, 2018), a si ua ion ha wo -
sens o he legal o mula o coope a i e socie ies.The main esea ch
has examined how boa d cha ac e is ics (size, gene a ional gende
di e si y o esou ce di e si y, among o he s) can influence co po a e
epu a ion as well as socially esponsible decision making (Mus een
e al., 2010;Lu, Abeyseke a & Co ese, 2015;Ga cía-Meca & Palacio,
2018;Bake , Pandey, Kuma & Halda , 2020;Esa e al., 2022;Abin-
zano, Ma inez & Pole i-Hughes, 2023). Mo e ecen ly, i s link o he
issuance o CSR epo s o in eg a ed epo s has also begun o be
s udied (Sun, Xu, Li & Cao, 2022).
CEOChai man duali y, i.e., i he oles o CEO and Chai man o
he Boa d a e held by he same pe son, has been nega i ely ela ed o
epu a ion (Lu e al., 2015). Boa d e ec i eness may be comp omised
due o he concen a ion o decision-making powe and con ol in
one indi idual (Hani a & Cooke, 2002). Mazzola, Ra asi and Gabbio-
ne a (2006) ound e idence ha companies wi h sepa a ion o unc-
ions ha e a highe epu a ion o hei s akeholde s. Rega ding
gende di e si y, some s udies (Ha si & Tu gu , 2013;Bake e al.,
2020) conclude ha he p esence o women on he boa d a ec s he
implemen a ion o CSR p ac ices, hus influencing epu a ion.
Rega ding boa d size, scien ific e idence has been ound ha
la ge boa d size posi i ely impac s he epu a ion o companies and
hei sus ainabili y o CSR (Mus een e al., 2010;Lu e al., 2015). I
could be unde s ood ha a la ge Boa d could ha e di e en
app oaches in e ms o go e nance, s a egic decisions o skills, expe-
ience, educa ion and esou ces, among o he s (Yan, Hui & Xin, 2021).
Size has also been posi i ely ela ed o g ea e disclosu e o epu a-
ional in o ma ion, such as CSR epo s o in eg a ed epo s (Esa e
al., 2022;Mahmoudian & Je mias, 2022). In his sense, Sun e al.
(2022) finds a posi i e co ela ion be ween he size o he Boa d and
p esen ing a highe le el o CSR disclosu e, h ough in eg a ed
epo s. Howe e , i should be no ed ha he e a e also s udies ha
each opposi e o inconclusi e esul s ega ding he posi i e e ec s
o la ge boa d size (Chizema, 2008;Tibile i, Ma chini, Fu lo i &
Medioli, 2021;Fa iha, Hossain & Ghosh, 2022).
Based on he abo e, he ou h p oposal is o s udy how he com-
posi ion o he Boa d influences he epu a ion o companies:
P oposi ion 4. The composi ion (size) o he Boa d posi i ely influences
he company’s online epu a ion.
Company size
Mul iple s udies ha e included among he main a iables influ-
encing he "co po a e epu a ion" cons uc o a company i s inno a-
i e capaci y, i s abili y o ha e ample esou ces o he absence o
A. Mozas-Mo al, E. Be nal-Ju ado and R. Puen es-Poya os Jou nal o Inno a ion & Knowledge 9 (2024) 100559
4
weakness in he ma ke (Fomb un & Ga dbe g, 2000;Ponzi e al.,
2011), all a iables di ec ly ela ed o company size.
Thus, he size o he o ganiza ion a o s he p esence o he com-
pany on he In e ne , since i allows i o ha e mo e esou ces o allo-
ca e o he de elopmen o he ac i i y in his medium (Louw &
Nieuwenhuizen, 2019). Wamba and Ca e (2014) conclude ha he
size o he o ganiza ion is an explana o y ac o o inno a ion and
echnological adop ion. Along he same lines, Jo ge-V
azquez, Chi i e-
Cebolla and Salinas-Ramos (2021) indica e ha in Eu opean ag i-
ood coope a i e socie ies business size posi i ely influences he le el
o digi iza ion. And he s udy by Somme , Klink, Senkl and Ha mann
(2015) sugges s ha company size has a posi i e e ec on he le el o
CSR disclosu e by Ge man companies in he ood and be e age sec-
o .
On he o he hand, p ofi abili y, as a measu e o business success,
has equen ly been linked o size. Al hough he e a e no conclusi e
esul s on he di ec ion o his ela ionship, he e a e mul iple s udies
ha de end he posi i e ela ionship be ween bo h a iables (God-
da d & Wilson, 1996;Fu, Ke & Huang, 2002). This ela ionship
be ween compe i i e ad an age and size has ound i s basis in di e -
en heo e ical app oaches (Be gh e al., 2010) such as he Theo y o
he Fi m, classical Indus ial Economics app oach a S a egy Theo y,
among o he s. In he wine sec o , he ocus o his s udy, one o he
mos ecu en ecommenda ions in he li e a u e in iew o he
widesp ead a omiza ion i su e s has been he need o concen a e
and inc ease he size o a ms (CAE, 2023). Howe e , i should be
no ed ha he e a e also s udies ha ha e shown inconclusi e
esul s, in which size may influence only in ce ain con ex s o indus-
ies (Cheah, Leong & Fe nando, 2023).
In addi ion, i should be aken in o accoun ha in o ma ion sys-
ems a e used mo e equen ly wi hin he o ganiza ion han owa ds
he ma ke , so ha a company wi h a g ea e numbe o membe s
will ha e a highe numbe o isi s o i s websi e (Bo ges, Hoppen &
Luce, 2009). Mo eo e , due o he ne wo k e ec g ea e social capi-
al, unde s ood as he in e connec ed ne wo k o indi iduals in e ac -
ing wi h he o ganiza ion, will inc ease he use ulness o hese
pla o ms (Ka oui, Dudeze & Leidne , 2015) and he e o e he a fic
i ecei es. Following his line, i should be no ed ha he popula i y
o he co po a e websi e is an indica ion o he good epu a ion o he
company (Kanani & Gla ee-Geo, 2021).
Based on he o egoing, he fi h p oposi ion is es ablished:
P oposi ion 5. Business size posi i ely influences a company’s online
epu a ion.
In conclusion, and ollowing Pappas, Giannakos, Jacche i and
Sampson (2017),Fig. 1 p esen s he Venn diag am ha summa izes
he esea ch model, as a se o fi e in e ela ed a iables (condi ion-
independen a iables) ha define he ou come: online epu a ion
(ou come-dependen a iable).
Popula ion and me hod
Popula ion
The popula ion unde s udy a e he wine coope a i es in Spain
wi h hei own websi e. The census was p o ided by he “Socioeco-
nomic Obse a o y o Spanish Ag i-Food Coope a i ism”, a epo
ca ied ou by he “Ag i ood Coope a i es O ganiza ion o Spain
(CAE)”and financed by he Minis y o Ag icul u e, Fishe ies and
Food. The a ailabili y o a websi e o each o hese o ganiza ions was
hen checked using he Google sea ch engine. O he 445 wine com-
panies in he egis y, 243 (54.6%) had a websi e. The da a we e col-
lec ed be ween Sep embe and Oc obe 2022. Da a on websi e
cha ac e is ics and online ac i i y we e ex ac ed om he In e ne ,
bo h di ec ly om he co po a e websi e and hei social ne wo k
accoun s, and h ough specialized web ools (Social Sea che ). The
es o he da a (size and composi ion o he Go e ning Council) we e
ob ained om he Socioeconomic Obse a o y o Spanish Ag i-Food
Coope a i ism.
Me hod
The Quali a i e Compa a i e Analysis (QCA) echnique, in i s uzzy
se s ( sQCA) a ian , was used o iden i y he explana o y a iables o
he le el o online epu a ion. Unlike classical eg ession app oaches,
which seek o de e mine he di ec e ec o ac o s on he dependen
Fig. 1. Concep ual configu al modeling.Sou ce: Adap ed om Pappas e al. (2017).
A. Mozas-Mo al, E. Be nal-Ju ado and R. Puen es-Poya os Jou nal o Inno a ion & Knowledge 9 (2024) 100559
5
a iable, he QCA echnique allows he s udy o causal pa e ns in he
o m o necessi y and su ficiency ela ionships be ween a se o an e-
ceden s o de e minan s and a specific ou come (Schneide & Wage-
mann, 2012). As s eng hs, his echnique assumes ha he
ela ionship be ween he a iables o in e es is no symme ic
(asymme y), ha se e al solu ions can lead o he same ou come
(equifinali y) and/o yield di e en causali y esul s (causal complex-
i y) (Ellio , 2013). The use o his echnique will p o ide as a esul
one o mo e an eceden combina ions o ob aining a pa icula ou -
come, such as: X1*»X2*X3, su ficien o ou come (Y). Being: * he
union and » he absence o nega ion, in his case he opposi e alue
o X2 (1- X2).
As o he a iables used in his esea ch, as shown in Table 1 he
le el o online epu a ion (he eina e e-R) was used as he ou come
a iable, and he ollowing we e used as condi ion a iables: websi e
wi h a us seal in in o ma ion secu i y and websi e quali y in e ms
o le el o de elopmen , online communica ion o he CSR, composi-
ion o he Boa d and company size.
Fo he calcula ion o he ou come a iable, e-Repu a ion (e-R),
gi en ha he e is no consensus on he dimensions ha can configu e
i (Veh e al., 2019) he wo k o Fe n
andez-Ucl
es e al. (2023) and
Puma-Flo es & Rosa-Díaz (2023) has been ollowed, adap ing i o he
uniqueness o he companies s udied. This a iable has been mea-
su ed h ough h ee indica o s and is configu ed as: e-R = (GR+SS
+FO)/3. The fi s indica o (GR) e e s o he numbe o commen s and
he a e age a ing o he o ganiza ion on he Google My Business
pla o m. The second (SS) measu es he sen imen ex ac ed om
Social Sea che . And he hi d (FO) collec s he numbe o ollowe s
on he main social ne wo ks Facebook, Twi e (now X) and Ins a-
g am. Each o hese indica o s has been ans o med so ha hey
ha e he same weigh in he p epa a ion o he a iable.
The condi ion a iables we e calcula ed as ollows: The websi e
quali y a iable was ob ained based on he indica o s es ablished in
he Ex ended Model o In e ne Comme ce Adop ion (eMICA) (Bu -
gess & Coope , 2000). Thi y-fi e i ems ha e been checked ha de e -
mine he deg ee o de elopmen o a websi e, conside ing h ee
dimensions: p omo ion phase (in o ma ion); p o ision o in e ac i -
i y phase (dynamic in o ma ion); and p ocessing phase, ela ed o
he deg ee and quali y o ansac ions. Resea ch such as ha o C is-
obal-F ansi, Mon egu -Salla, Fe e -Rosell and Da ies (2020) and
Fe n
andez-Ucl
es, Be nal-Ju ado, Mozas-Mo al and Medina-Vi uel
(2020) collec s he i ems ha ha e been used o measu e he le el o
websi e quali y.
Fo he CSR a iable, since he e is no s anda d indica o and he
academic s udies ha ha e ied o measu e i show wide di e gen-
ces (Mon iel & Delgado, 2014;Be g, Koelbel & Rigobon, 2022), an
index consis ing o 27 i ems has been de eloped. Each o he i ems
has been alued be ween 0 and 1, depending on whe he i is
epo ed o no . I was g ouped in o he h ee dimensions o CSR: he
"social dimension", comp ising 11 indica o s; he "en i onmen al
dimension", comp ising 8 indica o s; and he "economic-go e nance
dimension", comp ising 8 indica o s. This index has been weigh ed
ou o 10 in o de o ob ain a simple measu e be ween 0 and 10 (Gan-
día & And
es, 2005;Mozas, Puen es & Be nal, 2010). Wi h espec o
he Go e ning Boa d and Size a iables, hey ake he co esponding
quan i a i e alue. Finally, he Secu i y a iable was alued be ween
0 o 1, aking he alue 1 i he websi e had some ype o in o ma ion
secu i y ce ifica ion and 0 o he wise.
Resul s and discussion
In his sec ion, he esul s ob ained by applying desc ip i e s a is-
ics me hods and he sQCA echnique will be p esen ed. Fi s , he
cha ac e is ics o he companies wi h espec o he a iables s udied
will be analyzed. Then, he esul s o he sQCA echnique o he
model o be analyzed will be shown:
eR¼ secu;quali;ecs ;boa dc;sizeðÞ
Desc ip i e s a is ics
As a fi s app oxima ion o he si ua ion o he o ganiza ions ana-
lyzed, Table 2 shows he a e age alues o he a iables unde s udy.
Table 1
Va iables analyzed.
Ou come Desc ip ion
e-Repu a ion (e-R) Measu es he sen imen , on di e en In e ne
pla o ms, owa ds he company on he
pa o s akeholde s, as well as i s popula -
i y on hese pla o ms
Condi ion Desc ip ion
Secu i y (secu) Has a websi e wi h a us seal (in o ma ion
secu i y)
Quali y Web (quali) Has a quali y web si e
Co po a e Social Responsibili y
(e-cs )
Communica es in o ma ion on i s CSR on i s
websi e
Boa d Composi ion (boa dc) Numbe o membe s on he Go e ning Boa d
Size (size) Size o he company based on he o al num-
be o employees
Sou ce: Own elabo a ion.
Table 2
Desc ip i e s a is ics.
Condi ion De ails
Secu i y (secu) 78% ha e a us ma k websi e
Quali y Web (quali) 4% o he o ganiza ions ha e a op-quali y websi e ( each phase 6 o he EMICA model)
Co po a e Social Responsibili y (e-cs ) 4% e e o hei in ol emen in he SDGs
6% ha e a link o access in o ma ion on CSR
4% ha e he CSR epo a ailable
Boa d Composi ion (boa dc) The a e age numbe o di ec o s on he Go e ning Boa d is nine
43% o Boa ds ha e emale ep esen a ion
Size (size) 92.18% o o ganiza ions ha e ewe han 50 employees
Condi ion N Cases Mean Max Min. S d. De . Median
Secu i y (secu) 243 0.786 1 0 0.410 1
Quali y Web (quali) 243 2.983 6 0 1.512 4
Co po a e Social Responsibili y (e-
cs )
243 1.061 9.261 0 1.108 0.727
Boa d Composi ion (boa dc) 243 9.189 23 3 2.734 9
Size (size) 243 25.415 751 1 60.723 15
Sou ce: Own compila ion.
A. Mozas-Mo al, E. Be nal-Ju ado and R. Puen es-Poya os Jou nal o Inno a ion & Knowledge 9 (2024) 100559
6
The abo e desc ip i e alues show a deficien le el o use o he
di e en ools o e ed on he In e ne by he companies analyzed. As
p e iously indica ed, only 54.6% ha e hei own websi e and 78% a e
p esen on a leas one social ne wo k (Facebook, Twi e -now X-
and Ins ag am). An almos i ele an pe cen age o websi es, 4%,
ha e a op quali y websi e in e ms o websi e de elopmen . In ha
sense, only 63% ha e an online s o e, 46% ha e hei websi e a ailable
in mo e han one language, 25% ha e a blog, o um o cha , 8% gi e
he possibili y o collec ing online commen s om cus ome s and
only 5% ha e equen ly asked ques ions (FAQ). Howe e , i has been
obse ed ha 78% o e a websi e wi h a secu i y ce ifica e, an a i-
bu e ha di ec ly a ec s consume confidence and posi i e pe cep-
ion o he company.
Wi h ega d o hei Go e ning Boa ds, 9% p o ide da a on hei
co po a e go e nance on hei websi es. In his ega d he a e age
Boa d o Di ec o s o he companies has an a e age o nine di ec o s,
and only 43% o he Boa ds ha e emale ep esen a ion (79 compa-
nies), wi h he posi ion o P esiden occupying he posi ion o P esi-
den in 2% o he Boa ds (fi e companies). By size, 92.18% o he
companies a e small companies, wi h a o al numbe o wo ke s o
less han 50, wi h g ea e gende di e si y being obse ed as he size
o he company inc eases. In his sense, 27% o he wo ke s a e
women in small companies, 32% in medium-sized companies and
38% in la ge companies. Wi h ega d o he posi ions hey hold, 13%
a e CEOs and 50% hold middle managemen posi ions.
The nex a iable o be analyzed will be hei le el o CSR commu-
nica ion. The da a show ha on a e age he e-CSR index sco ed 1
poin ou o a maximum o 10, indica ing a e y poo le el o CSR dis-
closu e. The mos in o ma ion hey ansmi is ela ed o he Social
Dimension o CSR, specifically o hei p ac ices linked o Food Qual-
i y and Sa e y, ollowed by he En i onmen al Dimension, in he a ea
o En i onmen al Quali y o he ac i i y. Only 10% epo hei s a us
as a coope a i e company, 4% e e o hei in ol emen in SDGs and
6% ha e a link o access in o ma ion on CSR, al hough only 4% ha e
he CSR epo a ailable, which does no necessa ily imply ha hey
do no p oduce i . Howe e , 32% dissemina e in o ma ion on some
ce ifica ion ela ed o CSR o one o i s dimensions, as a sign o hei
good p ac ices in his espec . The mos widesp ead ce ifica ions a e
hose ela ed o ISO9000, Denomina ion o O igin and O ganic P o-
duc ion Ce ifica ions. Thus, 97% o he companies epo social in o -
ma ion, 86% do no p o ide any in o ma ion on he go e nance o
economic anspa ency o he company and 80% do no epo in o -
ma ion on he en i onmen al impac o hei ac i i y o p oduc s. In
his ega d, only 28% o e en i onmen ally iendly p oduc s. These
esul s coincide wi h hose ob ained in o he s udies ocused on
coope a i e socie ies (P
e ez, Es eban & Ga gallo, 2009;Mozas e al.,
2010).
Resul s, sQCA analysis
Fo he co ec execu ion o his echnique, he ollowing ecom-
mended phases a e ollowed (Schneide & Wagemann, 2012): cali-
b a ion o he a iables, necessi y analysis, and su ficiency analysis.
Acco dingly, fi s all condi ions and he ou pu we e calib a ed so
ha hei measu es on uzzy se s p esen ed alues anging be ween
0 and 1, using he sQCA so wa e (Ragin & Da ey, 2014) o his pu -
pose. Subsequen ly, as shown in Table 3, a necessi y analysis was pe -
o med o check whe he he p esence o absence o any o he
business a ibu es and cha ac e is ics conside ed (condi ions) was a
necessa y condi ion o he company o ha e a high online epu a ion
(ou come). This analysis was conduc ed o bo h he p esence and
absence o he ou come. No necessa y condi ion o he ou come o
occu was iden ified. Fo a condi ion o be conside ed necessa y, he
consis ency mus be g ea e han 0.9 (Ragin, 2008).
Finally, he esul s a e p esen ed in Table 4, which shows he
in e media e and pa simonious solu ion o he es ablished model.
Acco ding o he li e a u e, i is ecommended o p o ide bo h solu-
ions, as hey o e g ea e de ail and an agg ega ed iew o he
esul s (Fiss, 2011). The esul s show he a ious combina ions ha
lead o a highe online epu a ion o companies. Specifically, h ee
solu ions we e iden ified and a e p esen ed in o de o highes o
lowes g oss co e age.
The o e all consis ency o he model eaches a alue o 0.76,
exceeding he minimum h eshold ecommended acco ding o he
li e a u e (Fiss, 2011), which ensu es ha he configu a ions p o-
ided a e adequa e o gene a e he esul (e-Repu a ion). The esul s
indica e ha he company’s online epu a ion is di ec ly linked o he
a iables analyzed. The causal configu a ions in ol ing he in o ma-
ion secu i y us ma k, a quali y websi e, CSR communica ion, along
wi h he composi ion o he Go e ning Boa d and he size o he com-
pany, con ibu e o a highe online epu a ion. In pa icula , he
esul s poin o an o e all model co e age o 0.69, sugges ing ha a
significan p opo ion o he esul (app oxima ely 70% o he cases)
is co e ed by he fi e a iables conside ed, e idencing a high empi i-
cal ele ance (C illy, 2011;Ragin, 2008). The e o e, he esul s
ob ained suppo he p oposi ions o mula ed in his esea ch.
The fi s configu a ion (1s ) has a g oss co e age o 0.611413,
which means ha 61.14% o he cases wi h high online epu a ion a e
explained by his configu a ion, i.e. hey belong o la ge companies
wi h us seals. The co esponding consis ency e eals ha 78.08%
o he cases ha simul aneously mee hese condi ions show he
desi ed esul . The second configu a ion (2nd) indica es, acco ding o
i s consis ency, ha companies wi h an ex ensi e Boa d, us seals
and a quali y websi e communica ing hei CSR achie e a highe ep-
u a ion in 82.69% o he cases. Thei co e age indica es ha 40.71% o
Tabla 3
Necessi y analysis.
Condi ions Ou come: e-Repu a ion Ou come: »e-Repu a ion
Consis ency Co e age Consis ency Co e age
boa dc 0.710263 0.642013 boa dc 0.613621 0.685857
»boa dc 0.652462 0.577280 »boa dc 0.679717 0.743648
size 0.621169 0.652834 size 0.478899 0.620026
»size 0.702531 0.546698 »size 0.799032 0.771026
secu 0.863967 0.491466 secu 0.722962 0.508534
»secu 0.136033 0.284231 »secu 0.277037 0.715769
quali 0.812057 0.623093 quali 0.694306 0.658757
»quali 0.555270 0.594971 »quali 0.602754 0.798620
e-cs 0.636356 0.709202 e-cs 0.512691 0.706535
»e-cs 0.736678 0.550065 »e-cs 0.788984 0.728472
Sou ce: Own compila ion.
Table 4
Analysis o su ficiency esul s.
Configu a ions 1s 2nd 3 d
Secu i y (secu)
Quali y Web (quali)
Co po a e Social Responsibili y (e-cs )
Boa d Composi ion (boa dc)
Size (size)
Raw co e age 0.611413 0.407179 0.289830
Unique co e age 0.225219 0.020340 0.003837
Consis ency 0.780887 0.826915 0.850481
Model co e age 0.687989
Model consis ency 0.76159
No e: Black ci cles () indica e he p esence o a condi ion, c ossed-ou ci cles ()
indica e i s absence, and blank spaces indica e ha a condi ion is i ele an . The
dis inc ion be ween a cen al condi ion (appea s in he pa simonious and in e -
media e solu ion) and pe iphe al (only in he in e media e) is deno ed by he
use o la ge and small ci cles (Pappas & Woodside, 2021).
Sou ce: Own compila ion.
A. Mozas-Mo al, E. Be nal-Ju ado and R. Puen es-Poya os Jou nal o Inno a ion & Knowledge 9 (2024) 100559
7
companies wi h a high epu a ion ha e such a configu a ion. Finally,
he hi d configu a ion (3 d), al hough co e ing a smalle numbe o
cases wi h high epu a ion (29%), encompasses o ganiza ions ha ,
despi e no ha ing a quali y websi e o an ex ensi e boa d o di ec-
o s, achie e a highe online epu a ion hanks o ha ing a us seal
and disclosing hei CSR. The consis ency o his configu a ion indi-
ca es ha 85% o he cases wi h his combina ion o condi ions ha e a
high epu a ion.
The findings a e consis en wi h p e ious epu a ion s udies and
co obo a e he same. I can be a fi med ha hose companies mo e
o ien ed owa ds he digi al ma ke ( us seal and quali y web)
(Ma lano a e al., 2016), wi h a highe le el o communica ion o
hei CSR (Agga wal & Singh, 2019) and la ge size (bo h in numbe
o employees and Go e ning Boa d membe s) (Louw & Nieuwenhui-
zen, 2019;Mahmoudian & Je mias, 2022) a e pe cei ed wi h a highe
le el o online epu a ion by s akeholde s.
Discussion
The esul s o his s udy show h ee causal configu a ions o ac-
o s included in he pe cep ion o he online epu a ion o wine com-
panies ha alida e he fi e p oposi ions o he s udy. The syne gy
be ween hese ac o s p o ides a basis o consume us and a posi-
i e pe cep ion o he company in he digi al en i onmen .
The p esence o in o ma ion secu i y seals (p esen in 1s , 2nd and
3 d configu a ion) and he quali y o he websi e (p esen in 2nd con-
figu a ion) a e de e mining ac o s. Companies ha in es in imp o -
ing hei websi e secu i y and main ain a high-quali y use in e ace
end o gain mo e consume us . This finding aligns wi h p e ious
esea ch highligh ing he posi i e ela ionship be ween pe cei ed
secu i y and online pu chase in en ion (Da ida i
cien_
e e al., 2019). In
addi ion, websi e quali y has been ecognized as a quali y signale
ha educes consume unce ain y (Dimoka e al., 2012).
E ec i e communica ion o CSR p ac ices (2nd and 3 d configu a-
ion) was also iden ified as a c ucial ac o . Companies ha disclose
hei CSR ini ia i es in a anspa en and accessible manne h ough
hei websi es and social ne wo ks manage o significan ly imp o e
hei public pe cep ion. This esul is suppo ed by o he s udies
showing ha CSR can posi i ely influence p oduc quali y pe cep ion
and cus ome loyal y (Lee e al., 2019;Kim, 2019). In addi ion, Mo a-
is (2016) ound ha he disclosu e o sus ainable p ac ices can send
posi i e signals o he ma ke , gene a ing a ou able esponses om
s akeholde s. This s udy also highligh ed, in line wi h o he au ho s
(Fe n
andez e al., 2016;Jo ge-V
azquez e al., 2021), ha en e p ises
in he coope a i e sec o gene ally do no make comme cial o media
use o hei websi e. Only 54.6% ha e hei own websi e, o which
78% a e p esen on a leas one social ne wo k (Facebook, Twi e
(now X) and Ins ag am). They ha e a e y poo le el o CSR disclo-
su e, ha ing ob ained 1 poin ou o a maximum o 10, and only 4%
ha e he CSR epo a ailable.
Ano he impo an a iable is he composi ion o he boa d o
di ec o s (2nd configu a ion). Companies wi h a mo e di e se boa d
o di ec o s a e pe cei ed o ha e a be e online epu a ion. This
esul is consis en wi h o he wo k, which sugges s ha boa d di e -
si y can imp o e decision making and he implemen a ion o CSR
p ac ices, which posi i ely impac s co po a e epu a ion (Ha si & Tu -
gu , 2013;Bake e al., 2020). Fi m size (1s configu a ion) was also
ound o be a significan ac o , al hough no a de e minan in all con-
figu a ions. P e ious s udies ha e shown ha la ge fi ms ha e a
g ea e abili y o adop echnological inno a ions and de elop e ec-
i e CSR s a egies, which in u n enhances hei epu a ion (Wamba
& Ca e , 2014;Jo ge-V
azquez e al., 2021).
On he o he hand, his esea ch also highligh s ha he e a e wo
condi ion a iables, ha ing an in o ma ion secu i y us ma k and
communica ing CSR p ac ices, which a e p esen ed in mo e han one
configu a ional model and on which s akeholde s ocus hei
a en ion. This esul highligh s he impo an ole ha he secu i y
pe cei ed by i s use s and he disclosu e o CSR in o ma ion play as
quali y and us signals o he ou side wo ld (Mckinney e al., 2002;
Wang e al., 2004). The join p esence o bo h condi ions eflec s he
syne gy ha is c ea ed be ween he wo o ein o ce he online epu-
a ion o wine companies. In his way, us seals p o ide angible
e idence ha he websi e is secu e and ansac ions a e p o ec ed,
di ec ly add essing consume s’secu i y conce ns. Fo i s pa , he
communica ion o CSR ac ions shows ha he company is e hical,
sus ainable and socially esponsible, add essing conce ns abou he
company’s impac and alues. The p esence o bo h condi ions p o-
ides an image o us , bo h echnically and e hically, c ea ing a com-
p ehensi e pe cep ion o eliabili y and commi men ha di ec ly
a ec s he epu a ion ha he company ob ains in he online en i-
onmen .
The ele ance o hese wo a iables is also highligh ed in he
hi d o he configu a ions, acco ding o which companies ha ha e
secu i y seals and communica e hei CSR p ac ices can be pe cei ed
as ha ing a a o able online epu a ion e en i hey do no ha e a
high-quali y websi e o an ex ensi e boa d o di ec o s. This confi ms
ha he syne gy o secu i y and commi men o social esponsibili y
can compensa e o he lack o o he elemen s, highligh ing he c i i-
cal impo ance o hese wo condi ions.
Conclusions
The main objec i e o his s udy is o iden i y which ac o s ha e a
posi i e impac on he epu a ion o wine companies. Acco ding o
he li e a u e, fi e p oposi ions we e es ablished ha ela e he ac-
o s ha ing a us seal in in o ma ion secu i y, ha ing a quali y web-
si e, communica ing CSR p ac ices, ha ing a la ge Go e ning Boa d
and company size wi h online epu a ion. The esul s confi m on he
one hand, ha he e a e h ee causal configu a ions o ac o s o a i-
ables ha lead o he same esul , g ea e online epu a ion and, on
he o he hand, ha he fi e a iables o analysis appea in some o
he h ee configu a ions, alida ing o co obo a ing he p oposi ions
o he s udy. In addi ion, he esul s show ha a single condi ion a i-
able, by i sel , does no lead o a highe online epu a ion. In all h ee
configu a ions he e a e wo o mo e a iables ha explain highe
epu a ion, hus highligh ing he complexi y o his cons uc .
This esea ch con ibu es o he academic li e a u e om a ious
fields. Wi h hese esul s, he main con ibu ion o his pape is linked
o i s con ibu ion o he exis ing li e a u e on online epu a ion,
expanding i s field o s udy o an ag i- ood sec o , he wine indus y,
and o an o ganiza ional model, coope a i e socie ies, so a wi h li -
le p esence in he li e a u e. Academic s udies o online epu a ion
ha e ocused mainly on he se ice sec o , lea ing aside o he ag i-
ood sec o s ha also o e expe ien ial p oduc s, such as wine, ex a
i gin oli e oil and o ganic p oduc s, among o he s. In addi ion,
esea ch has ocused mos ly on adi ional capi alis companies and
no so much on Social Economy companies, such as coope a i e soci-
e ies. The la e ype o companies a e he mos ep esen a i e in he
Spanish ag i- ood sec o (CAE, 2023).
Second, he use o he Fuzzy Se Quali a i e Compa a i e Analysis
( sQCA) me hod as a me hodological ool o e s a iche pe spec i e
on he causal combina ions ha can lead o di e en le els o online
epu a ion. This me hodological ad ance ollows he line o ecen
wo k ha seeks o cap u e complexi y and he e ogenei y in o ganiza-
ional esea ch (Fiss, 2011). Thi d, he s udy ex ends he applica ion
o Signaling Theo y o he ag i- ood sec o . The esul s confi m ha
quali y signals, such as sa e y seals and communica ion o CSR p ac i-
ces, play a c ucial ole in mi iga ing in o ma ion asymme y and
imp o ing consume pe cep ion, being consis en wi h p e ious
s udies (Connelly, Ce o, I eland & Reu zel, 2011). Finally, i con ib-
u es o he knowledge on boa d di e si y and CSR communica ion.
A. Mozas-Mo al, E. Be nal-Ju ado and R. Puen es-Poya os Jou nal o Inno a ion & Knowledge 9 (2024) 100559
8
