Abstract

"Commercialization Strategies for Andalusian Olive Oil (1900–1930): SMAs and Country-of-Origin Effect"

Javier Fernandez-Roca, Universidad Pablo de Olavide (jfernandez@upo.es), Jesús D. López-Manjón, Universidad Pablo de Olavide (jdlopman@upo.es)

The article analyzes the use of social memory assets (SMAs) to reinforce the country-of-origin effect of Andalusian olive oil exports in the period 1900-1930, which has not been addressed before in the literature. The paper focuses on: i) identifying exporting Andalusian olive oil firms in a period prior to that previously studied in the literature; ii) analyzing the commercialization strategies implemented by those firms, highlighting the use of the country-of-origin effect in a subsector of the agrifood industry where this resource was not common, as well as the construction of SMAs by almost all companies in the subsector for the purpose of intensifying that effect.
The article follows Miranda's (2020) ideas when he indicates that the country of origin of a product has an influence on the consumers’ perception of the latter and, consequently, on their decision to purchase it or choose a competitor’s product instead, and Foster et al. (2011) definition of Social Memory Assets as the process by which firms’ appropriate broader social phenomena or historical events.
The research draws from multiple sources, using previous literature on exports (Hernández, 2001, 2007; Ramón, 2010, 2020; Zambrana, 1993. 2003), the Guía Oficial de Sevilla y su Provincia (Official Guide of Seville and its Province) (Gómez Zarzuela, different years from 1865 onwards) and primary sources retrieved from public archives to identify the exporting companies. The websites of the Oficina Española de Patentes y Marcas (OEPM, Spanish Office of Patents and Trademarks) and of the Boletín Oficial de la Propiedad Industrial (BOPI, Official Journal of Industrial Property) were essential to gather historical information on the olive oil trademarks registered by exporting companies and entrepreneurs, particularly on their denomination and the fonts and graphic design of their labels and containers