Elena Cedrola

Loyalty marketing and loyalty cards: a study of the Italian market

Purpose – Loyalty programmes are an important tool with which retail companies manage relationships. While the last 15 years have seen a broad dissemination of loyalty programmes in new sectors and new countries, since the early 2000s, both in the academic and managerial world, the power of loyalty programmes to stimulate retention and support loyalty, has been brought into question. The purpose of this paper is to focus on these elements, analyzing data collected on a sample of loyalty cardholders.Design/methodology/approach – The paper presents the results of an exploratory study focused on a sample of loyalty cardholders by means of telephone interviews.Findings – The empirical data demonstrate that loyalty is not created and supported by a loyalty programme and prove how weak and limited such programmes are, especially point collection programmes. Programme effectiveness can however be achieved if there is a continuous search for differentiation and through reduced loss (discounts) and extra gain (pri...

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

The paper aims to verify if country-of-origin effect matters in industrial sectors (BTB), particularly in business relations between firms belonging to markets with high cultural distance. The study was carried out on a sample of 338 firms in the quantitative phase and on 14 firms in the subsequent qualitative phase. 意大利以设计，时尚，地中海美食以及其他意大利制造的产品而闻名于世界。这些产品往往知名度和品牌相关，尤其是在奢侈品行业，但在国际市场上，许多不太知名的意大利公司在技术行业，如机械或电子行业，有着举足轻重的地位。这些传统制造在意大利行业类别以及专门的产品部门，建立所谓的 “4 FS” 意大利卓越。 原产地（COO）的文献主要集中在消费领域（BTC）。工业部门主体（BTB）的研究尚浅，而理论家的理论研究主要可以分为两个流派。有些学者认为 COO 在消费市场上具有相同的重要性，而另有学者断言，工业客户在一个更明智的经营方式下是不太可能受到它的影响。 针对此讨论，本文研究目的如下： BTB 企业的国际化和营销战略的关键要素是什么？尤其是针对于具有较大地域 和文化的差距的市场？ 原产地效应是否在 BTB 产业链中起到直接的重要作用？抑或通过行业属性，市场成熟度，信任和稳定的业务关系的调节作用？ 公司的声誉和品牌标识的重要程度比重如何？ 产品的“制造”渠道或原产地的重要程度如何？ 本研究所采用的方法论，除了文献回顾 BTB 中的背景下对 COO 的文献回顾，还开发了三个阶段的样本，针对 338 家公司进行定量分析，随后选定 14 个进行定性分析。通过实验表明： COO 效果在 BTB 市场的重要性可见一斑，虽然在市场成熟度，行业属性的影响程度有所不同。 原产地效应，无论它是否为公司所用，都赋予公司产品国际公认的 “意大利制造”，如质量，工艺，创新，设计和创意。富通（2005）确定的以行业属性为特征的意大利企业在国外的认可度，COO效应是十分显著的，至少在一开始就构成声誉差。这也证实了COO 在进入一个市场时，特别是针对没有经验的产品或部门起到至关重要的作用。 关于对企业十分重要的声誉和品牌标识，产品/行业经验对购买决策有影响，并可以增加该公司的声誉或品牌的价值。 从国家声誉（COO）过度到企业信誉似乎顺理成章。中国没有那么多的制作或创造的能力，所以建立长期的业务关系，关系和信任是至关重要的，企业的信誉呼吁人们关注到国家的声誉，而就关系的能力而言，这是典型的意大利人所具有的 “文化特征“。 至于COO关系的应用，企业使用不同的方法。有些公司使用 “意大利制造”，有些使用 “欧洲制造” 作为引导以促进谈判。强调产品原产地对不同客户类型影响程度不同。特别是，制成品的目的地取决于它是否仍然在中国或导出它的边界之外。 最后的分析结果证实了在中国的各个渠道之间的关系和合作的重要性，它是沿着价值链上的许多活动的成功关键作用。要在中国经营，尖端技术和高品质的产品或强势品牌往往是一个必要但不充分的条件，尤其是针对随着时间的推移持续发展的企业。采访后发现，企业若要立足中国市场，寻求长远发展，需要敏锐的战略眼光。

Internet for Franchising: Current Use and Areas of Improvement—Results of an Empirical Research

ABSTRACT 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 article 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 multisector and multinational sample of 305 franchisor Web sites, illustrating the content and features available online. 1 A further aim of the study is to evaluate the customer orientation adopted by franchisors in their Web sites and to compare online behaviors with other economic sectors analyzed, using the same methodology. The results of the study ...

Louis Vuitton’s Art-based Strategy to Communicate Exclusivity and Prestige

The recent global luxury industry has transformed from a constellation of small and medium-sized enterprises to a few large luxury conglomerates. This new structure, along with growing foreign markets such as Asia, has caused an increase in sales volumes, resulting in production that is more industrial than handcrafted. These changes decrease exclusiveness for luxury brands, which may lead to commoditization of the luxury brands in consumers’ eyes.

Relazioni di business Italia.Cina: quali opportunità per le piccole e medie imprese italiane

L’affermarsi di mercati quali la Cina apre nuove opportunita nel processo di internazionalizzazione. Per le piccole medie imprese il contesto internazionale rappresenta una sfida da affrontare mobilitando e condividendo risorse e conoscenze di altri attori. Cio e subordinato all’instaurazione di relazioni strategiche sul mercato sia interno, sia estero, che incidano sull’intera supply chain aziendale. La tematica e stata indagata mediante una ricerca su un campione di imprese operanti su o per il mercato cinese. Il lavoro fornisce implicazioni manageriali basate su un modello evolutivo proposto per la lettura dei comportamenti delle imprese sui mercati internazionali.

Internet per le piccole e medie imprese: potenzialità e stato dell'arte in Italia e in Europa

Small and medium enterprises: state of the art an perspectives in Italy and Europe - The article focuses on the role attributed to the Internet by small and medium enterprises. In 2004, 2006, and 2007 the author investigated a sample of companies belonging to the main economic sectors. Regarding 2007, the watching also covered a sample of European companies in order to identify similarities and differences. The empirical evidence lead to a scenario studded with lights and shadows. The lights concerns the improvements achieved, and are mainly related to the structure of web sites, relationship, and the presentation of products. The shadows relate to some elements of the Internet marketing mix (distribution, communication and pricing), and are also connected to the strategic guidelines of the enterprises. Keywords: Internet, Internet marketing mix, small and medium enterprises, Italy, Europe, empirical research.

Ermenegildo Zegna: When Family Values Guide Global Expansion in the Luxury Industry

Ermenegildo Zegna is one of the most prominent examples of an Italian family business becoming a world leader in the luxury fashion industry. Four generations of Zegna family entrepreneurs turned the company from a small woollen mill in northern Italy into an international supplier of premium fabrics and luxury apparel. The company makes more than €1.20 billion in annual revenues, operates 555 international store locations and owns production facilities all over the world. Despite delocalization of production, the company demonstrates how strong brand reputation and company values together with cohesive vertical integration choices can sustain business growth both locally and globally. This case shows how a successful global expansion strategy in the luxury industry can be based on the logic of family values, such as a commitment to excellence, innovation, employees’ wellbeing, community welfare and respect for the environment.

Overview of fashion brand internationalization: theories and trends

Fashion is one of retailing’s most actively internationalizing sectors. Relatively little is known about the diverse aspects of fashion brand internationalization, despite unprecedented levels of activity in this area for the past two decades. This introductory chapter reviews the characteristics of the fashion industry, the main differences between manufacturing internationalization and retailing internationalization, and traditional approaches to internationalization. Major trends in fashion brand internationalization are also introduced, including: the increased internationalization of Asian apparel brands; the increase in international outshopping both online and offline; the acquisition of leading global fashion brands by companies in developing countries; and Chinese influences on fashion brand development. The opportunities and challenges for global apparel brand companies created by this changing environment are discussed.

Country Reputation, Brand Reputation and Company Reputation: Their Importance in Business-to-Business Industries

Literature and research studies on country of origin (COO) have mainly focused on its effect in business to consumer (B2C) markets. Among the few scholars who have analysed industrial sectors (B2B), some believe that COO has similar importance and the same function in B2B markets as in B2C markets. In contrast, others argue that industrial customers are less influenced by this phenomenon. To contribute to this debate, we selected a group of Italian companies in different industries operating in at least one foreign market. We administered electronic questionnaires, collecting data and information on the internationalization of these enterprises, the COO effect and its relevance, namely, the elements that most influence the COO effect. The data also enabled us to examine the importance of company and brand reputation in the internationalization of B2B industries.

Marketing & Sales oltre la crisi: i cambiamenti in atto nelle medie imprese

La crisi economica internazionale ha modificato struttura e tendenze di molti mercati. Pochi sono gli studi finora condotti sulle conseguenze per le funzioni di marketing e di vendita. Questo articolo presenta i risultati di un’indagine svolta presso un campione di medie imprese, rivolta a comprendere i cambiamenti in atto nelle strategie di mercato e nel ruolo e nell’importanza attribuita a queste funzioni. I risultati evidenziano il progressivo affermarsi in queste imprese di un piu deciso orientamento al mercato, a cui si associa una maggiore valorizzazione di queste funzioni. La funzione di vendita viene a svolgere un ruolo importante anche per l’analisi dei clienti e dei mercati, in una quadro di crescente collaborazione con la funzione di marketing. Permane, tuttavia, un significativo gap tra le finalita che si vorrebbe perseguire e le risorse destinate a queste attivita.