Collective networks and communities of practice: The transformation of the Priorat wine region

One of the most interesting stories of the late 20th century winemaking was the rebirth of the Priorat region. Located in the north-eastern of Spain, Priorat has been completely transformed from a forgotten land into a top quality wine production district, becoming the second Spanish region, after Rioja, to be awarded Denomination de Origen Calificada (DOCa) status. Previous studies about the Priorat have pointed out geographical and environmental reasons to explain regional success. Other works have remarked marketing and internationalization aspects in justifying the extraordinary gained results. However, our empirical data, obtained through different interviews with the main characters and through observation show evidence of other reasons. The aim of this paper is to better understand the evolution of the Priorat over time and to inquire about the key success factors that have fostered its results, affecting also regional social and economic ground. Preliminary data show evidence that although there are many aspects which collide and contribute to this success, knowledge sharing and the development of a cluster or collective network play a crucial role. According to the above considerations, we have been able to identify those aspects that have fostered the rising of a local network, giving particular attention to knowledge sharing processes. First, our findings show that practice is the underlying key aspect which sustains the possibility of knowledge sharing. Second, there have been three mechanisms which have facilitated knowledge sharing within the network: the existence of boundary objects, the performance of a brokering role and finally, storytelling.