This conference track explores the complex relationship between digitalization and experiential value in wine tourism, challenging the widespread assumption that more technology automatically leads to better experiences. Rooted in concepts such as sensory immersion, storytelling, ritual, authenticity, and memory, wine tourism offers a unique context for examining when digital tools truly enhance human experiences and when they may unintentionally disrupt or over-structure them. The track invites scholars to critically reflect on the boundaries of digitalization and to investigate situations in which actors deliberately limit, negotiate, or selectively adopt technology to preserve emotional depth, authenticity, and meaningful engagement.
Building around the featured concept of “Contented Optionality,” the track encourages conceptual, empirical, and case-based contributions from areas such as tourism, gastronomy, fashion, cultural heritage, and other experiential industries. Particular attention is given to questions surrounding selective digital adoption, strategic restraint, and the idea that “doing less” digitally may itself become a source of value and differentiation. Rather than focusing exclusively on how organizations can digitize more, the track seeks to understand what should remain untouched, how technology reshapes experience and memory, and who ultimately decides where the boundaries of digital mediation should be drawn.
Track Chairs: Prof. Dr. Ralf Wagner, University of Kassel, Germany & Asst. Prof. Dr. Agnieszka Kabalska, AGH University of Krakow, Poland
E-mail: kabalska@agh.edu.pl, rwagner@wirtschaft.uni-kassel.de