Italian country image: the impact on business models and relations in Chinese business-to-business markets

Italy is renowned around the world for its design, fashion, Mediterranean cuisine and other Made in Italy products. These products are often associated with known and famous brands, especially in the luxury sector, but many less well-known Italian firms operating in more technical industries, such as in the mechanical or electronic sectors, have a major presence in international markets. These traditional Made in Italy sectors as well as the specialized product sectors create the so-called \u20184Fs\u2019 of Italian excellence. The first group together traditional consumer goods linked to the person and the home. Specialized product sectors include the automation-\u2013mechanical-\u2013rubber-\u2013plastics sector. Despite offering excellent quality products in these sectors, Italy has a lower perceived image than other countries such as Germany. Country of oOrigin (COO) literature is mainly focused on consumer sectors. The abundance of literature on the subject in the industrial sector is lower, and among theorists, two main research streams can be identified. Some believe that COO has the same importance in the consumer market, while others assert that industrial customers operating in a more informed way are less likely to be influenced by it. This present contributionchapter falls within this debate, with the aim of verifying if the COO effect really matters in business-to-business (BTB) relations, particularly in business relations between firms that belong to markets with high cultural distance. We selected China with reference to this investigation. A second objective is to identify the elements that come into play in the evaluation of Italian offers and whether there are differences of perception according to the business sector considered. The methodology used foresees a study developed over three stages (the first stage is quantitative, the second and third stages are qualitative) on a sample of 338 firms in the first quantitative phase and 14 in the subsequent qualitative phases

The Italian SMEs in the International context. A model to succeed in the global arena

� This paper explores the internationalization process of the Italian SMEs, and aims to investigate their behaviour in the international contexts to ultimately outline general models able to optimize their peculiarities. The empirical study firstly examines 546 SMEs along their internationalization. The internationalization process is examined through its phases: decisions, marketing strategy, achievements and future perspectives. A second aim is to define sustainable paths for SMEs willing to expand successfully over the Country borders. It also proposes important issues and management implications to be considered in the international development of Italian SMEs.

Country-of-origin effect and firm reputation influence in business-to-business markets with high cultural distance

Italy is renowned around the world for its design, fashion, Mediterranean cuisine and other \u201cMade in Italy\u201d-styled products. These products are often associated with known and famous brands especially in the luxury sector, but many less well-known Italian firms operating in more technical industries, such as in the mechanical or electronic sectors, have a major presence in international markets (Bertoli & Resciniti, 2012; Fortis, 2005). Country-of-Origin (COO) literature is mainly focused on consumer sectors. The amount of literature on the subject in the industrial sector is lower and among theorists, two main research streams can be identified. Some believe that COO has the same importance as the consumer market, while others assert that industrial customers, operating in a more informed way, are less likely to be influenced by it. This present contribution falls within the realm of this debate. While focusing on the importance of COOfor companies operating in BTB sectors, itwas considered appropriate to contextualize this strategic element within marketing and internationalization strategies developed by companies operating in geographically and culturally distant markets. For this reason, we chose a group of Italian companies operating in the Chinese market for the empirical study. In the discussion of findings, particular emphasis will be given to typical elements of marketing mix in BTB, such as the relational aspect and trust. The paper covers the following steps: first, a brief analysis of the literature on COO is provided, with a focus on BTB; then the research methodology is described; after this, findings concerning the marketing and internationalization strategies adopted by firms operating in markets with high geographical and cultural distance are set out and there is discussion of the importance of COO, firm reputation and brand image in the internationalization process; and finally we offer managerial implications, limitations and suggestions for future research

Internet for franchising: current use and areas of improvement. Results of an empirical research

The internet provides numerous business opportunities to brands approaching the market with vertical marketing systems. In franchising networks, the internet offers the affiliating enterprise (franchisor) the possibility to approach the end user and the 'community' of franchisees by providing services to both - information, relationships and the possibility of online purchasing to the former, and information, training, sales and procurement support to the latter. This paper explores the impact of the internet on franchising with the objective of discovering how franchisors use their web sites. Results are presented from a preliminary study on a multi-sector and multi-national sample of 305 franchisor websites, illustrating the content and features available online . A further aim of the study is to evaluate the customer orientation adopted by franchisors in their websites and to compare online behaviors with other economic sectors analyzed, using the same methodology. The results of the study should help to significantly inform debate on this subject and serve as a starting point for future research on the impact of the internet on franchising growth strategies

Is the Artification process perceived by final consumers of luxury products? Results from an experiment based on the application of the Customer-based Brand Equity Model

Many companies in the fashion industry are increasingly weaving close relationships with the art world, to appropriate art values and meanings to be associated with their own products and brands. The fashion luxury sector has been especially prone to using such strategies to transform their products into true artworks to address the issue of commodification resulting from high production volumes. This research aims to observe if a strategy based on the visual arts is recognized and accepted by final consumers. For this purpose, we use the Customer-based Brand Equity tool to test the artification effect on brand equity from a consumer perspective. The brand of reference is Louis Vuitton, the top brand worldwide as stated by 2016 Interbrand. They have embraced an art-based strategy for a long time. The methodology used is that of the questionnaire built on the measurement of scales of values. The questionnaire was created and distributed via Qualtrics Survey Software in collaboration with the Insead-Sorbonne Behavioural Lab Research Center. In brief, the experiment shows that Louis Vuitton strategy has been to act as an art institution that displays art collections to the widest public art status and bestows art status and global recognition to collaborating artists. This strategy relies on LV ability to raise consumers\u2019 awareness of the arts. While the art-oriented public recognizes artistic collaborations, the larger public does not and is still very much aware of new designs

Le imprese europee appartenenti al settore delle energie rinnovabili: come operare per avere successo in Cina?

L\u2019articolo si propone di analizzare le imprese europee del settore delle energie rinnovabili, con particolare riferimento alla loro presenza internazionale. Le imprese europee sembrano incontrare particolare difficolt\ue0 nell\u2019approccio al mercato cinese, in rapido sviluppo grazie all\u2019impulso dato dall\u2019ultimo piano quinquennale che contiene obiettivi concernenti energia e sostenibilit\ue0 ambientale. Il numero d\u2019imprese europee che hanno investito in Cina \ue8 piuttosto basso a causa della piccola dimensione, della elevata distanza culturale a cui i manager risultano impreparati e delle inadeguate strategie di internazionalizzazione. Attraverso l\u2019analisi di due casi aziendali best practice (Asja Ambiente e Caleffi) che hanno stabilito partnership e WFOE in Cina, il lavoro identifica i principali elementi e strategie che hanno consentito alle due aziende di avere successo in Cina

How can Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) Successfully Evolve? Lessons learned from Apparel and Textile SMEs in Biella, Italy

Despite SMEs significant contribution to a nation\u27s economy in terms of the number of firm establishment and employment, only 50% of SMEs in the U.S. survive five years. Compared to SMEs in other countries, many Italian firms started as small family businesses in a district and have evolved into a global firm such as Ermenegildo Zegna. To understand how SMEs can evolve successfully, it is critical to learn from successful Italian apparel/textile firms that started as SMEs. Built on the life cycle model of new SMEs, the purpose of this study is to explore the evolution patterns of successful apparel and textile firms in Biella, Italy and analyze the characteristics of successful firms. Analyses of thirteen interviewed firms revealed that branding (3rd stage) and internationalization activities (4th stage) emerged very early. The findings collectively suggest that to successfully evolve, SMEs need to focus on branding, globalization, innovation and sustainable initiatives

Evaluating Student Performance in E-learning Systems: A Two-step Robust Bayesian Multiclass Procedure

This paper addresses a computational method to evaluate student performance through convolutional neural network. Image recognition and processing are fundamentals and current trends in deep learning systems, mainly with the outbreak in coronavirus infection. A two-step system is developed combining a first-step robust Bayesian model averaging for selecting potential candidate predictors in multiple model classes with a frequentist second-step procedure for estimating the parameters of a multinomial logistic regression. Methodologically, parametric conjugate informative priors are used to deal with model uncertainty and overfitting, and Markov Chains algorithms are designed to construct exact posterior distributions. An empirical example to the use of e-learning systems on student performance analysis describes the model's functioning and estimation performance. Potential prevention policies and strategies to address key technology factors affecting e-learning tools are also discussed

Evaluating Student Performance in E-learning Systems: A Two-step Robust Bayesian Multiclass Procedure

This paper addresses a computational method to evaluate student performance through convolutional neural network. Image recognition and processing are fundamentals and current trends in deep learning systems, mainly with the outbreak in coronavirus infection. A two-step system is developed combining a first-step robust Bayesian model averaging for selecting potential candidate predictors in multiple model classes with a frequentist second-step procedure for estimating the parameters of a multinomial logistic regression. Methodologically, parametric conjugate informative priors are used to deal with model uncertainty and overfitting, and Markov Chains algorithms are designed to construct exact posterior distributions. An empirical example to the use of e-learning systems on student performance analysis describes the model's functioning and estimation performance. Potential prevention policies and strategies to address key technology factors affecting e-learning tools are also discussed

Le aziende del lusso a sostegno dell\u2019arte: una visione strategica della relazione arte e impresa

Recenti ricerche hanno evidenziato come molte imprese del settore moda stiano intessendo relazioni sempre pi\uf9 strette con il mondo dell\u2019arte, per appropriarsi di valori e significati da associare ai propri prodotti e alle proprie marche. In particolare, le imprese della moda del comparto del lusso starebbero mettendo in atto strategie atte a trasformare i prodotti in vere e proprie opere d\u2019arte, fronteggiando cos\uec il problema della commodificazione derivante dall\u2019aumento dei volumi produttivi. Il presente lavoro si compone di due parti: la prima \ue8 dedicata alla revisione della letteratura in ambito arte e impresa e alla individuazione e descrizione dei principali metodi di sostegno all\u2019arte dalle aziende private. La seconda parte approfondisce il concetto di artificazione, giungendo alla definizione di un processo applicabile alle imprese della moda di lusso. Tale processo viene poi esaminato con riferimento all\u2019impresa Louis Vuitton, marca di lusso francese, che sembra essere la pi\uf9 attiva nella costruzione del rapporto arte e impresa