WEB-SITES QUALITY AND BUSINESS PERFORMANCE: AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION IN THE SICILIAN WINERIES

In recent years, several enterprises in different sectors have adopted e- business models exploiting the potential offered by ICT and particularly by the internet. As many authors have highlighted, web presence offers enterprises important opportunities which are linked to overcoming spatiotemporal and cost limits which characterize traditional means of communication. This study aimed to analyze how the web marketing is used in Sicilian wineries, and the relationship between the quality of content and features of websites to their business revenue. results show a different approach to web marketing by wineries which use the net as a mere tool to promote their image, to increase their visibility on this virtual space, bringing down communication costs but neglecting other possibilities that the web may offer. Simple modifications that contribute to the improvement of browsing and usability of the site are frequently neglected, as well as tools for interaction with web users. Most of the sites consulted have limited web features regarding search modes and interactivity with consumers. Knowing how wineries use websites, which features are given more consideration, and what relationship there is between website quality and business performance, can provide useful indications both to enterprises which are appearing for the first time in the virtual world, and to those already existing which, by replanning web marketing strategies, could improve their economic performance.