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.

7

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

8

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

4. Bibliography

Aaker, D. (1996). Measuring brand equity across products and markets. California

Management Review, 28(3), 102 – 120.

Atkins, E. (2015, March 23). The imitation game: Italy targets Canadian-made ‘Italian’ food.

The Globe and Mail. Retrieved from http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-

business/international-business/european-business/the-imitation-game-made-in-canada-

italian-products-cheating-consumers/article23588276/

Balabanis, G., & Diamantopoulos, A. (2011). Gains and losses from the misperception of

brand origin: The Role of brand strength and country-of-origin image. Journal of

International Marketing, 19(2), 95 – 116.

Baldauf, A., Cravens, K. S., Diamantopoulos, A., & Zeugner-Roth, K. P. (2009). The impact

of product-country image and marketing efforts on retailer-perceived brand equity: An

empirical analysis. Journal of Retailing, 85(4), 437 – 452.

Baloglu, S., & Mangaloglu, M. (2001). Tourism destination images of Turkey, Egypt,

Greece, and Italy as perceived by US-based tour operators and travel agents. Tourism

Management, 22(1), 1 – 9.

Castellanos, E., & Bergstresser, S. M. (2006). Food fights at the EU table: The gastronomic

assertion of Italian distinctiveness. In T. M. Wilson (Ed.) (2006), European studies. An

interdisciplinary series in European culture, history and politics. (pp. 179 – 202).

Amsterdam, NY: Rodopi.

Cembalo, L., Cicia, G., Del Giudice, T., Scarpa, R., & Tagliaferro, C. (2008). Beyond

agropiracy: The case of Italian pasta in the United States Retail Market. Agribusiness,

24(3), 403 – 413.

Censis. (2003). L’arte del cum vivere: Comportamenti, attese, valori condivisi degli italiano

a tavola. Roma, IT.

Censis. (2004). Lo stile alimentare italiano: Un’eccellenza competitiva. Roma, IT.

Chattlas, M., Kramer, T., & Takada, H. (2008). The impact of national stereotypes on the

country of origin effect A conceptual framework. International marketing Review,

25(1), 54 – 74.

Curzi, D., & Olper, A. (2012). Export behavior of Italian food firms: Does product quality

matter? Food Policy, 37(5), 493 – 503.

25

Direzione Generale Lotta alla Contraffazione – UIBM (n.d.). Contrasto all’Italian Sounding.

Retrieved from http://www.uibm.gov.it/index.php/la-proprieta-industriale/utilita-

pi/servizi-prop-ind/contrasto-all-italian-sounding (September, 2 2015).

Eder, N. C. (2012). The Country of Origin Effect in modern-day Marketing Communication

(Unpublished master dissertation). Norges Handelshøyskole, Norway.

Girardelli, D. (2004). Commodified identities: The myth of Italian food in the United States.

Journal of Communication Inquiry, 38(4), 307 – 324.

Herz, M. F., & Diamantopoulos, A. (2013). Activation of country stereotypes: automaticity,

consonance, and impact. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 41(4), 400 –

417.

Laroche, M., Kim, C., & Tomiuk, M. A. (1998). Italian ethnic identity and its relative impact

on the consumption of convenience and traditional foods. Journal of Consumer

Marketing, 15(2), 125 – 151.

Leclerc, F., Schmitt, B. H., & Dubé, L. (1994). Foreign branding and ist effects of product

perceptions and attitudes. Journal of Marketing Research, 31(2), 263 – 270.

Magagnoli, S. (2013). Made in Eataly: Identità e falsificazione. In C. M. Belfanti (Ed.)

(2013), Contraffazione e cambiamento economico Marche, imprese, consumatori (pp.

71 – 97). Milano, MI: Egea.

Mascarello, G., Pinto, A., Parise, N., Crovato, S., & Ravarotto, L. (2015). The perception of

food quality. Profiling Italian consumers. Appetite, 89(1), 175 – 182.

Ministero dello Sviluppo Economico (2014). La lotta alla contraffazione in Italian nel settore

agroalimentare 2009 – 2014, edited by Riccio, P., Felici, G., Alisi, G., & Caira, E.

Direzione Generale per la lotta alla contraffazione – UIBM: Italy.

La contraffazione alimentare (2012). La contraffazione alimentare. Vademecum per il

consumatore. Conoscere il problema per affrontarlo meglio. Ministero dello Sviluppo

Economico: Roma, IT. Retrieved from

http://www.uibm.gov.it/attachments/disp_alimentari.pdf

Möhring, M. (2008). Transnational food migration and the internalization of food

consumption: ethnic cuisine in West Germany. In A. Nützenadel, & F. Trentmann

(Eds.) (2008), Food and globalization: Consumption, markets and politics in the

modern world (pp. 129 – 150). New York, NY: Berg.

O’Neill, M. (1994, October 5). Quel shock! The italianization of French cuisine. The New

York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/05/arts/quel-shock-the-

italianization-of-french-cuisine.html

26

Oberecker,E. M., & Diamantopoulos, A. (2011). Consumers‘ emotional bonds with foreign

countries: Does consumer affinity affect behavioural Intentions? Journal of

International Marketing, 19(2), 45 – 72.

Paasovaara, R., Luomala, H. T., Pohjanheimo, T., & Sandell, M. (2012). Understanding

consumers’ brand-induced food taste perception: A comparison of ‘brand familiarity’ –

and ‘consumer value-brand symbolism (in)congruity – accounts. Journal of Consumer

Behaviour, 11(1), 11 – 20.

Paciolla, R., & Mai, L. (2011). The impact of Italianate on UK consumers’ brand perceptions

of luxury brands. European Advances in Consumer Research, 9, 360 – 366.

Santos, C. R., Ganassali, S., Casarin, F., Laaksonen, P., & Kaufmann, H. R. (2013).

Consumption culture in Europe: Insight into the beverage industry. Hershey, PA:

Business Science Reference.

Semeraro, A. M. (2011). Frodi alimentari: aspetti tecnici e giuridici (Unpublished

specialization course dissertation). Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy.

Thoms, U. (2011). From migrant food to lifestyle cooking: The career of Italian cuisine in

Europe. Retrieved from http://ieg-ego.eu/en/threads/europe-on-the-road/economic-

migration/ulrike-thoms-from-migrant-food-to-lifestyle-cooking-the-career-of-italian-

cuisine-in-europe

Vranesevic, T., & Stancec R. (2003). The effect of brand equity on perceived quality of food

products. British Food Journal, 106(11), 811 – 825.

Yasin, N. M., Noor, M. N., & Mohamad, O. (2007). Does image of country-of-origin matter

to brand equity? Journal of Product & Brand Management, 16(1), 38 – 48.

Zeugner-Roth, K. P., Diamantopoulos, A., & Montesino, M. A. (2008). Home country image,

country brand equity and consumers‘ product preferences: An empirical study.

Management International Review, 48(5), 577 – 602.