running head: do you sound italian? exposé do you sound ... · investigate if making references to...
TRANSCRIPT
Running head: Do you sound Italian?
Exposé
Do you sound Italian?
Assessing the effectiveness of Italian Sounding as a marketing strategy
Elena La Rocca
European Master in Business Studies
University of Kassel
a.y. 2015/2016
2
Abstract
Italian Sounding is a phenomenon that consists of giving products names, slogans,
pictures and color that are typically associated to the peninsula. This negatively impacts the
Italian economy and its exports as it sells goods as ‘made in Italy’, in spite of their non-
authenticity.
This exposé is meant to provide an overview of the subsequent thesis that will discuss
Italian Sounding. As an introduction to the topic, the problem will be stated more clearly in
order to explain the purpose of the study. A review of literature will then illustrate
contributions that are relevant to the topic as to contextualize Italian Sounding as a marketing
strategy. The methodology pursued to empirically explore the phenomenon will consists of a
research questionnaire distributed in Germany, France and the U.S.
The ultimate scope is to assess the effectiveness of Italian Sounding as a marketing
strategy by investigating the motivators that induce consumers to purchase Italian sounding
goods.
3
Table of Contents
Abstract
Table of Contents
List of Abbreviations
1. Introduction
1.1. Problem Statement
1.2. Purpose
2. Outline of the Thesis
2.1. Overview of Chapters
2.2. Literature Review
2.2.1. Food fraud and Italian Sounding
2.2.2. Italian food: quality, identity and influences
2.2.3. Perceptions of Italy and country stereotypes
2.2.4. Country of Origin
2.2.5. Brand Equity
2.3. Research Question and Hypotheses
2.4. Methodology
2.4.1. Research Design
2.4.2. The Questionnaire
3. Work Plan
4. Bibliography
4
List of Abbreviations
COO – Country Of Origin
CBO – Country of Brand Origin
DOC – Denominazione d’ Origine Controllata
DOP – Denominazione d’ Origine Protetta
IGP – Indicazione Geografica Protetta
STG – Specialità Tradizionale Garantita
UIBM – Ufficio Italiano Brevetti e Marchi (IPTO – Italian Patent and Trademark Office)
5
1. Introduction
In recent years, attention has increasingly been drawn on Italian food counterfeit. From
a legal point of view, there are two types of food frauds: on the one hand sanitary, on the
other hand commercial ones. The former can be particularly dangerous for consumers’ health
and includes the alteration, adulteration and sophistication of the product. The latter type is
defined as falsification or counterfeit (Semeraro, 2011). Italian Sounding can be described as
a way of counterfeiting food products in that it consists of giving an Italian features to food
products that are not truly Italian (Cembalo, Cicia, Del Giudice, Scarpa & Tagliaferro, 2008).
More precisely, this is done by choosing brand names, pictures and colors that are
typically associated with the peninsula. In addition to that, sometimes trademark and quality
certification logos are printed on the package, even if the product itself does not correspond
to that quality standard. Common raped cheese, for example, is sold as Grana Padano DOP
(Platania & Privitera, 2007). According to the Direzione Generale per la lotta alla
contraffazione – UIBM (2014), the current economic value of counterfeited food products is
estimated more than double that of Italian food exports. Worldwide, Italian Sounding in year
2010 was valued € 54 billion.
Italian Sounding is a tangled issue, especially by considering that nowadays global
sourcing is a common practice. Supply chains are sometimes spread across countries, thus, it
might be hard to determine the true Country of Origin (COO) of a product. As a matter of
fact, precisely defining and delimiting the phenomenon of Italian Sounding can be more
difficult than it might seem. Interestingly, some authors precisely suggest that companies
located in countries that do not benefit from a positive country image, can take advantage of
the positive perception associated to another nation (Zeugner-Roth, Diamantopoulos, &
Montesino, 2008). This would, indeed, speak for foreign branding; a suggestion that
mandates a more in depth analysis of the Italian Sounding issue.
1.1. Problem Statement
As stated above, Italian Sounding leads to a loss of sales of authentic Italian products,
since it appropriates market that could, in principle, be acquired by Italian exports (Atkins,
2015). Italy is trying to identify the measures that need to be implemented to counteract this
phenomenon. At the same time, however, there is little research about the efficacy of a
marketing strategy based on Italian Sounding. Studying the reasons underlying the popularity
6
of Italian sounding products among consumers could shed some more light on possible ways
of counteracting this phenomenon.
1.2. Purpose
The aim of this paper is to analyze Italian Sounding as marketing strategy. An
evaluation of its effectiveness will be pursued with the scope of understanding whether and
why consumers are motivated to buy Italian sounding food products. The attempt is to
investigate if making references to Italy when marketing a product – in spite of its non-
authenticity – induces consumers to prefer that good over a similar one that does not
explicitly display Italian features.
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2. Outline of the Thesis
Introduction - This chapter introduces the topic by defining the Italian Sounding
phenomenon. Moreover, current data about its economic impact on the Italian agro-economy
will be provided, which will highlight the relevance of the topic. Additionally, the purpose of
this research will be explained.
Literature Review –This chapter will initially define the different types of food
counterfeit and then summarize previous researches conducted on the subject. Contributions
in literature that are relevant to the topic will be summarized. The major topics reviewed will
concern Italian Sounding, Country of Origin, Brand Equity, stereotypes and consumer
behavior.
Methodology – In this chapter the hypotheses underlying the analysis will be presented.
Research design will be outlined as well as its implementation through a questionnaire. Data
collection methods will be explained and validity and reliability will be also discussed.
Analysis of data – This chapter will report and analyze the data collected. Results
obtained from both, the desk and field research will be reviewed.
Conclusion – This chapter will conclude with a summary of the work. Implications
arising from the study will be discussed with the scope of providing an answer to the research
question. An overview of the main findings, final remarks and limitations will be presented,
too.
2.1. Overview of Chapters
Chapter 1 – Introduction
1.1. The Economic Impact of Italian Sounding
1.2. Scope
Chapter 2 – Literature Review
2.1. Food Fraud and Counterfeit – Definitions
2.1.1. Sanitary food frauds
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2.2.2. Commercial food frauds
2.2. Italian Sounding
2.2.1. Legal Framework
2.3. Italian Food: Identity, Quality and Influences
2.3.1. Italian Ethnic Identity
2.3.2. The Quality of Italian Food
2.3.3. The Influence of Italian Cuisine across Europe and in the US
2.4. Perceptions of Italy and Stereotypes
2.5. Country of Origin Effect
2.6. Brand Equity
Chapter 3 – Methodology
3.1. Hypotheses
3.2. Research Question and Design
3.2. Country Selection
3.2.1. Germany
3.2.2. France
3.2.3. The United States
3.3. Italian Sounding Products Selection
3.4. The Questionnaire
Chapter 4 – Distribution and Data Collection
Chapter 5 – Analysis of Empirical Findings
5.1. Analysis of Quantitative Research Findings
5.2. Analysis of Qualitative Research Findings
5.3. Discussion and Interpretation
Chapter 6 – Conclusions
6.1. Summary of work
6.2. Conclusions
6.3. Implications and Final Remarks
6.4. Limitations and Future Research
Chapter 7 – Bibliography
Chapter 8 – Appendices
9
2.2. Literature Review
The ultimate purpose of this thesis is to assess the effectiveness of Italian Sounding as a
marketing strategy. In order to do so, it is first necessary to understand why consumers might
opt for an Italian sounding food brand. The motivational drivers of consumption choices can
be multiple: perceptions of quality, stereotypical associations, affinity to a country and brand
equity are just some examples of possible reasons underlying purchase decisions. An
extensive literature review will, therefore, discuss the various factors that possibly influence
consumers’ perceptions and choices. The analysis of different motivators is preparatory to the
empirical verification of these by means of the questionnaire.
An overview of the most relevant academic articles that ground this study follows; a
more comprehensive review of literature will be included in the subsequent thesis work.
2.2.1. Food fraud and Italian Sounding.
Topic Title Author Source Relevant Contribution
Food
Fraud
La lotta alla
contraffazione
in Italia nel
settore
agroalimentare
2009 – 2014.
Direzione
Generale per la
lotta alla
contraffazione
– UIBM
(2014)
The IPERICO report on behalf
of the General Direction for
the fight against counterfeit
gives an overview of the food
counterfeit context and of the
related legal norms. Moreover,
it summarizes data about food
fraud between 2009 – 2014
and reviews police
interventions.
Food
Fraud;
Italian
Sounding
Made in Eataly:
identità e
falsificazione
Magagnoli, S.
(2013)
Contraffazione e
cambiamento
economico
Marche,
imprese,
consumatori, 71
The author summarizes recent
data related to Italian
Sounding, describes food
fraud, reports the historic
background of food counterfeit
and discusses the various
aspects of the phenomenon.
10
– 93.
Food
Fraud;
Italian
Sounding
Frodi alimentari:
aspetti tecnici e
giuridici
(Unpublished
specialization
course
dissertation)
Semeraro, A.
M. (2011).
Università degli
Studi di Milano,
Italy
This paper provides an
overview of the legislation
concerning food counterfeit.
Historic developments in the
market for food counterfeits,
information about the types of
food fraud are also presented.
Italian
Sounding
Possibilities and
purposes of
internet usage:
authentic and
fake Italian food
products
Platania, M.,
& Privitera, D.
(2007)
Department of
Agroforestal and
Environmental
Sciences and
Technologies -
“Mediterranea”
University of
Reggio Calabria
The paper investigates the
level of Italian Sounding of
food sold via e-commerce and
lists the main counterfeited
product categories as well as
the elements used to fake
Italian origins
Italian
Sounding
Beyond
agropiracy: the
case of Italian
pasta in the
United States
retail market
Cembalo, L.,
Cicia, G., Del
GIudice, T.,
Scarpa, R., &
Tagliafierro,
C. (2008)
Agribusiness
24(3), 403 – 413
A survey based on the U.S.
market showed that most
consumers prefer pasta that
has been adapted to local
preferences. Italian sounding
products are considered as
substitutes of authentic Italian
ones and Americans do not
seem to attribute much
importance to the phenomenon
of agropiracy.
Italian
Sounding
La crescita della
contraffazione Censis (2009)
43° Rapporto
annuale sulla
The market of food
11
alimentare in
“sicurezza e
cittadinanza”
situazione
sociale del
Paese, 607 - 668
counterfeits is ever increasing;
its value in 2007 equaled € 159
millions. More precisely, the
market of Italian sounding
products was estimated to be
around € 60 billions.
2.2.2. Italian food: quality, identity and influence.
Topic Title Author Source Relevant Contribution
Italian
Food;
Europe
From migrant
food to
lifestyle
cooking: the
career of
Italian cuisine
in Europe
Thoms, U.
(2011)
Retrieved
online
September,
10 2015,
from
http://ieg-
ego.eu/
This paper analyses the
development of eating habits in
Europe due to the influence of
Italian cuisine. Italian food spread
across EU countries – as well as the
United States – as a consequence of
migration and foreign trade. The
popularity of Italian restaurants is
also attributable to Italian cuisine
seen as being traditional, healthy
and tasty.
Italian
Food;
France
Quel shock!
the
italianization
of French
cuisine.
O’Neill, M.
(1994,
October 5)
Retrieved
online
September, 5
2015, from
http://www.n
ytimes.com
This article describes how Italian
cuisine was introduced in France
and reviews its effects on French
cuisine.
Italian
Food;
Italian
Ethnic
Food fights at
the EU table:
the
gastronomic
Castellanos,
E., &
Bergstresser
, S. M.
European
Studies 22,
179 – 202.
The authors claimed that national
cuisine is what unifies Italians, an
otherwise rather heterogeneous and
12
Identity assertion of
Italian
distinctiveness
(2006) divided population. Italian food –
pasta in particular – is seen as a
statement of national identity, and
Italians themselves think this is
what the whole population has in
common.
Italian
Food;
Quality
Export
behavior of
Italian food
firms: Does
product quality
matter?
Curzi, D.,
& Olper, A.
(2012)
Food Policy
37(5), 493 –
503
This study demonstrates the
importance of quality for
companies exporting Italian food.
Higher export performance is
related to the use of higher- quality
inputs, thus, to goods that have a
higher quality and price.
Italian
Food;
Quality
The perception
of food
quality.
Profiling
Italian
consumers.
Mascarello,
G., Pinto,
A., Parise,
N., Crovato,
S., &
Ravarotto,
L. (2015).
Appetite
89(1), 175 –
182.
This research shows that the
perceived quality of a product
influences consumers’ buying and
consumption decisions. Product
quality is interfered, first, through
the organoleptic characteristics (e.g.
freshness, taste), second, according
to methods of production and
location and, third, through the
price of the good and its brand.
Italian
Food;
Perceptions
of Italy
L’arte del cum
vivere :
comportamenti
, attese, valori
condivisi
degli italiani a
tavola
Censis
(2003)
L’arte del
cum vivere :
comportame
nti, attese,
valori
condivisi
degli italiani
a tavola, 13 -
This paper reports the perception of
foreigners of the Italian cuisine and
food culture. A sample of foreign
journalists was chosen as
representative of their compatriots
and interviewed to understand other
countries’ perceptions of Italian
13
cuisine, eating habits and food
products.
Italian
Food;
Perceptions
of Italy
The impact of
italianate on
UK
consumers’
brand
perceptions of
luxury brands
Paciolla, R.,
& Mai, L.
(2011)
European
Advances in
Consumer
Research 9(),
360 – 366
This paper reports the perceptions
of consumers in London with
respect to Italian food products. To
summarize, “Made in Italy” is a
sign for quality; Italian cuisine is
considered to be tasty and of high
quality. Moreover, it is generally
associated with pizza, pasta,
Parmiggiano and mozzarella
cheese. Respondents to the survey
also claimed they would not buy
Italian sounding products as these
do not correspond to the quality
associated with authentic ones.
2.2.3. Perceptions of Italy and country stereotypes.
Topic Title Author Source Relevant Contribution
Consumer
Affinity
Consumers’
emotional
bonds with
foreign
countries:
Does
consumer
affinity affect
behavioral
intentions?
Oberecker,
E. M., &
Diamantopou
los, A.
(2011)
Journal of
International
Marketing
19(2), 45 –
72
Affinity to a foreign country
positively affects consumers’
perceptions and the willingness to
buy products from that country.
Perceptions Baloglu, S., Tourism
14
of Italy Tourism
destination
images of
Turkey,
Egypt,
Greece, and
Italy as
perceived by
US-based
tour operators
and travel
agents
&
Mangaloglu,
M. (2001)
Management
22(1), 1 – 9
The study provides insight about
the perceptions of Italy as a travel
destination. In contrast to the other
Mediterranean countries,
destination image of Italy was
mainly characterized by “food,
cuisine, pasta, wine”. Remarkably,
food associations were more
relevant for Italy than for the other
destinations.
Perceptions
of Italy;
Country
Stereotypes
Commodified
identities:
The myth of
Italian food in
the United
States
Girardelli, D.
(2004)
Journal of
Communicati
on Inquiry
28(4), 307 –
324
The study analyses how Italian food
is perceived in the United States.
The strategies used by an Italian
restaurant chain to communicate
“Italianicity”, thus, promote the
association with Italy include the
use of stereotypes. A total of seven
non-verbal strategies has been
identified such as the use of the
colors of the Italian flag, the use of
fresh vegetables and the use of
themes associated with romanticism
and family.
Country
Stereotypes;
Country of
Origin
The impact of
national
stereotypes
on the
country of
origin effect.
A conceptual
Chattalas,
M., Kramer,
T., &
Takada, H.
(2008)
International
Marketing
Review
25(1), 54 –
74
This paper explores the effect of
national stereotypes on the Country
of Origin effect as well as on
consumers’ attitudes towards
products.
15
framework
Country
Stereotypes;
Country of
Origin
Activation of
country
stereotypes:
automaticity,
consonance,
and impact
Herz, M. F.
&
Diamantopou
los, A.
(2013)
Journal of
the Academy
of Marketing
Science
41(4), 400 –
417
This study discusses how country
stereotypes affect brand evaluation
by consumers, regardless of
conscious intentions. The authors
distinguish between functional and
emotional country stereotypes;
whilst the former influences
cognitive brand evaluations, the
latter leads to affective perceptions
of a brand. Hence, Country of
Origin cues can spontaneously and
unconsciously trigger country
stereotypes. Their effect on
consumers’ product evaluation
depends on whether brand
communication is congruent with
the stereotype evoked.
2.2.4. Country of origin.
Topic Title Author Source Relevant Contribution
Country
of Origin
Gains and losses
from the
misperception of
brand origin: The
role of brand
strength and
country-of-origin
image
Balabanis,
G., &
Diamantopou
los, A.
(2011)
Journal of
International
Marketing
19(2), 95 -
116
The research conducted shows that
the association of a brand with an
incorrect Country of Origin is
detrimental to the brand. The same
holds true for consumers’ inability
to determine the Country of Origin
of a brand at all.
Country
The country of
Eder, N. C.
Norges
The country of origin acts as an
16
of Origin origin effect in
modern-day
marketing
communication
(Unpublished
master
dissertation)
(2012) Handelshøys
kole,
Norway.
extrinsic information cue that
allows the consumer to make
interferences about the product.
The analysis conducted shows that
companies communicate the
country of origin with the
intention to give the consumer an
indicator of quality.
Country
of
Origin;
Foreign
Brandin
g
Foreign branding
and its effects of
product
perceptions and
attitudes.
Leclerc, F.,
Schmitt, B.
H., & Dubé,
L. (1994)
Journal of
Marketing
Research
31(2), 263 –
270.
Experiments conducted in this
study show that foreign branding –
here, French branding – not only
triggers hedonic perceptions but it
is more effective than Country of
Origin information. This may be
due to different associations
resulting from hearing a foreign
sounding brand name than reading
about the good’s provenance.
Country
of
Origin;
Brand
Equity
Does image of
country-of-origin
matter to brand
equity?
Yasin, N. M.,
Noor, M. N.,
& Mohamad,
O. (2007)
Journal of
Product &
Brand
Management
16(1), 38 -
48
The study identifies the influence
of Country of Origin on brand
equity.
Country
of
Origin;
Brand
Equity
Home country
image, country
brand equity and
consumers‘
product
preferences: An
empirical study
Zeugner-
Roth, K. P.,
Diamantopou
los, A., &
Montesino,
M. A. (2008)
Management
International
Review
48(5), 577 –
602.
The findings of this study
underline that the way in which
consumers perceive quality, their
loyalty and the
associations/awareness of a
product are influenced by the
country to which the good is
associated. Furthermore, the
17
authors suggest that a possible
way to improve a company’s
Brand Equity consists in adopting
a strategy that exploits the positive
image associated to another
country by using a foreign
sounding brand name.
Country
of
Origin;
Brand
Equity
The impact of
product-country
image and
marketing efforts
on retailer-
perceived brand
equity: an
empirical
analysis.
Baldauf, A.,
Cravens, K.
S.,
Diamantopou
los, A., &
Zeugner-
Roth, K. P.
(2009)
Journal of
Retailing
85(4), 437 –
452.
This study sheds light on the
influence of Country of Origin
cues on brand equity from a
retailer perspective. Supplier
performance, price and promotions
influence the way in which
retailers perceive brand equity,
and so do Product-Country Images
(PCI). This, consequently, affects
brand performance.
2.2.5. Brand equity.
Topic Title Author Source Relevant Contribution
Brand
Equity
Measuring brand
equity across
products and
markets
Aaker, D. A.
(1996)
California
Management
Review
38(3), 102 –
120
In his paper, Aaker proposes ten
measures of brand equity according
to its four dimensions: brand
loyalty, brand image, brand
awareness/associations and
perceived quality. Measures such as
price premium, customer
satisfaction, loyalty, perceived
quality and value are included.
Brand The effect of brand Vranesevic, British Food
18
Equity equity on perceived
quality of food
products.
T., &
Stancec R.
(2003).
Journal
106(11), 811
– 825.
This paper emphasizes the role of
the brand as a sign or quality.
Consumers evaluate a product not
only according to its features but
also to the brand.
Brand
Equity
Understanding
consumers’ brand-
induced food taste
perception: A
comparison of
‘brand familiarity’
– and ‘consumer
value-brand
symbolism
(in)congruity –
accounts.
Paasovaara,
R., Luomala,
H. T.,
Pohjanheimo
, T., &
Sandell, M.
(2012)
Journal of
Consumer
Behaviour
11(1), 11 –
20.
The study conducted evidences the
need of congruity between
consumers’ values and brand
symbolism, as this affects the
perceived taste of the food product.
2.3. Research Question and Hypotheses
The question guiding the research is: How effective is the marketing strategy based on Italian
Sounding?
After reviewing some contributions in literature that are relevant to the topic, the following
hypotheses have been formulated to steer the analysis:
H1 : Consumers’ affinity to Italy is positively related to consumers’ willingness to buy Italian
food products.
Hypothesis 1 assumes that consumers who experience positive feelings towards Italy are
willing to buy Italian food products. This hypothesis has been adapted from the hypothesis H2
made by Oberecker and Diamantopoulos (2011). Specifying Italy as the country of interest
derives from the results of their research: they found that when participants are asked to name
a country towards which they felt affinity, Italy was the most frequently mentioned one
19
(21%). When further investigating the effect of consumer affinity of buying decisions the
authors discovered that affinity is positively related to the willingness to purchase goods from
that country. These evidences gave rise to H1; hence, the reasons motivating consumers to
buy Italian goods may be various, for instance, because consumers once tasted Italian cuisine,
enjoyed it and try to reproduce the same pleasure feelings by acquiring Italian food. These
assumptions, along with other similar aspects, will be investigated.
H2 : The willingness to buy Italian food products is positively related to consumers’
perception of Italian brands – and Italian food – as of high quality.
The 2nd
hypothesis presumes that consumers who buy Italian food do so because they
associate it to high quality. This hypothesis presumes that quality is inferred from the brand
and that consumers perceive Italian brands to be more qualitative. The way the brand
influences consumers’ evaluation of food had already been studied by Vranesevic and
Stancec (2003), who found that branded products are preferred over non-branded ones. This
holds true even if consumers would in principle consider the physical characteristics (e.g.
taste) of the non-branded product to be better than those of the branded good. Building upon
their hypothesis that “consumers […] perceive the brand as a “sign of quality”” (p. 814), H2
assumes that consumers take Italian brand names as a indicator of high quality.
H3 : The perception of Italian brands and food as of high quality is positively related to
consumers’ willingness to pay a premium price for Italian food products.
This hypothesis assumes that the perception of Italian food as highly qualitative would
motivate consumers to pay a higher price for it – in comparison with a substitute product that
is not Italian. Hypothesis 3 is meant to assess brand equity related to Italian food products;
and it will be tested by following the methods suggested by Aaker (1996). When talking
about price premium, the author proposes two alternatives to measure it: either through the
so-called ‘dollar metric’, or through a ‘trade off’ analysis. On the one hand, consumers have
to report the difference in their willingness to pay for one brand with respect to another; on
the other hand, customers are repeatedly asked to choose between different goods at different
prices. Therefore, questions aimed at assessing brand equity in terms of price premium will
be included in the questionnaire, too. This should help assessing if consumers are motivated
to buy Italian foodstuff because they attribute a higher value to it. Price premium is
20
considered to “be the best single measure of brand equity” (Aaker, 1996, p. 107), which is
why it has been included in the analysis.
H4 : Consumers’ inability to distinguish authentic from Italian sounding food products is
positively related with consumers’ willingness to buy Italian sounding food products.
H4a: Consumers’ inability to distinguish authentic from Italian sounding food
products is positively related with consumers’ perception of Italian sounding
brands – and products – as of high quality.
H4b: Consumers’ inability to distinguish authentic from Italian sounding food
products is positively related with consumers’ willingness to pay a premium price
for Italian sounding products.
Finally, hypothesis 4 – together with the set of sub-hypotheses - states that when consumers
believe that an Italian sounding good is authentic, they are willing to buy it because they
perceive it as being of high quality and they would also be ready to pay a premium price for
it. This set of hypotheses is based upon the same theoretical construct exposed above. As a
matter of fact, if consumers are not able to distinguish between an authentic product and a
mere imitation, they will consider the latter as being Italian; hence, it can be expected that
their perception of and willingness to pay for that good will be the same as if the product was
authentic. If the last set of hypotheses is confirmed, it means that Italian Sounding is effective
as a marketing strategy.
2.4. Methodology
2.4.1. Research design.
The hypotheses will be empirically tested by means of a questionnaire, aimed at surveying
consumers’ responses to Italian sounding marketing strategies. Particularly, the purpose is to
understand the extent to which consumers are able to distinguish authentic from ‘fake’ Italian
products. In order to do so, the value attributed to Italian food products will be measured in
terms of brand equity. Therefore, closed as well as open-ended questions will be asked in
order to obtain both, quantitative and qualitative data.
21
Some questions will adapted from Censis’ (2003) report on the consumption of Italian food.
In addition to that, the survey will be partly constructed on the basis of the questions
proposed by Aaker (1996) to measure brand equity.
The sample will include respondents in Germany, France and the US. The reasoning
underlying the choice of these 4 countries follows.
Particularly, Germany has been selected for two major reasons: first, Germans appear to have
always been particularly appreciative of Italian cuisine (Möhring, 2008). Italian restaurants
boomed between 1961 – 1990 (Thoms, 2011), which makes German consumers more
acquainted with Italian food. Second, this thesis will be written in Germany, hence, I will be
able to distribute the questionnaire personally to consumers who are shopping.
France was chosen because of missing literature with respect to the topic. During the
preliminary research no references to Italian food in France have been found, as such it
appears that the role of Italian cuisine in this country has not been analyzed yet. However, the
article by O’Neill (1994) shows some evidence as well as the implications of the
“Italianization of French Cuisine”. Consequently, investigating the perception of French
citizens with respect to the food products of the peninsula could be interesting as this field is
still unexplored.
The United States have been chosen because Italian Sounding is of particular relevance in the
North American market – that is, taking also Canada into account. Only one good out of six
is authentic (Magagnoli, 2013). Moreover, Italian restaurants are popular in the U.S. and
American consumers are appreciative of Italian cuisine, yet, they do not seem to care much
about the authenticity of Italian food products (Cembalo, Cicia, Del GIudice, Scarpa, &
Tagliafierro, 2008).
2.4.2. The questionnaire.
The questionnaire will be designed with the software Sphinx and will be composed of 5
sections. The first section should help assessing respondents’ affinity to Italy, for instance, by
asking questions related to previous travel experiences in Italy. Section two will consist of
questions regarding participants’ familiarity with Italian cuisine. In the third section
interviewees will indicate whether, why, and how often they purchase and consume Italian
food products. In section four pictures of authentic versus Italian Sounding products will be
displayed and respondents will be asked to answer questions and comment on them. The last
section will collect information about the respondents’ profile.
22
The questionnaire will be distributed through social networks such as Facebook, Linkedin
and Twitter. In addition to that, printed copies will be handed out to German consumers in
supermarkets. To gather responses from the U.S: the crowd sourcing platform amazon
mechanical turk will be used.
23
3. Work Plan
Time Phase Details
01.09.2015 – 22.09.2015 Exposé Thesis topic selection, literature review,
research question, exposé
23.09.2015 – 18.10.2015 Desk Research In-depth review of literature and Italian
sounding product selection
19.10.2015 – 08.11.2015 Methodology Design of research questionnaire and
pretest
16.11.2015 – 29.11.2015 Survey Distribution of the questionnaire
23.11.2015 – 06.12.2015 Field Research Data collection and description
07.11.2015 – 13.12.2015 Analysis Analysis of results
14.12.2015 – 22.12.2015 Conclusions Drawing of implications and conclusions
06.01.2015 – 24.01.2016 Finalization Review, corrections, preparation of final
presentation and defense
24
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