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This study aims to analyze the territory as a distinctive factor through which the concept and practice of “Made in Italy” operates. Specifically, the study considers the role of local and sub-national entrepreneurial collaborations that preserve and enhance factors such as history, style and talent as the essence of Italian “quality” and as the pillar of Italian territorial capitalism.

The research examines this Italian phenomenon by investigating small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that successfully compete abroad (and also in the domestic market) with a “glocal” approach, adopting the entrepreneurial formula of industrial districts.

The results indicate that international expansion is becoming increasingly more complex (as is every growth/development strategy) but that “glocalism” could represent a potential driver for the success of internationalization strategies. Specifically, for SMEs operating in industrial districts, territorial capitalism could emerge as a unique competitive factor, because it is a component of local structural capital and global reputational capital, as in the case of “Made in Italy.”

In an increasingly globalized market environment, many companies look to foreign markets to maintain and expand competitive advantage and business performance. Once the companies embark on this endeavor, organizations are involved in governing and managing these networks of finance, production and communication and the distribution-related relationships that constitute globalization. The push to engage in international development is currently imperative for SMEs, which need to extend their business engagement beyond conventional local markets and identify and exploit their distinctive competitive advantage to be able to succeed. One possible way of achieving this is the close interaction with the local territories in which these enterprises reside.

Consumers′ perceptions of quality for apparel products from five countries of origin are studied from the perspective of congruity theory. Utilising random digit dialling, telephone interviews were obtained from households throughout the United States. Findings suggest that different countries of origin have various effects on consumers′ quality perceptions, with the magnitude of such an effect tending to reflect the country of origin′s level of industrial development. The least industrialised country, Costa Rica, had the most negative impact on perceived quality. Conversely, with the USA and Italy being more industrialised countries, association with apparel made in the USA usually had a positive influence on the quality image, while Italy′s influence was more neutral. Therefore, this study provides retailers with an additional perspective when sourcing their apparel products through the examination of the relationship between consumer perception of apparel quality and a country of origin′s level of industrial development.

This paper aims to provide a snapshot of various countries’ contributions to value produced along global value chains (GVCs). It focusses on manufacturing activities and their evolution over time, in the context of GVC regionalisation.

The Trade in Value Added (TiVA) and World Integrated Trade Solution databases for the period of 2005-2015 were used to explore the case of Italy and its industries’ specialisations (Made in Italy): fashion, furniture, automotive and machinery traditionally organised into clusters. Various analyses were used to show the dynamics of gross import–export and imported–exported value-added. Moreover, the revealed comparative advantage index was computed to test whether the Made in Italy sector remains a source of competitive advantage for Italy within GVCs.

The results highlight how the geography of value-added is changing over time, with growing importance placed on the countries close to Italy and with a different pace according to each considered GVC.

The paper applied new methods to compare trade and analyse value-added dynamics through a recent database released by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development within the TiVA initiative that is useful for scholars and policymakers.

The purpose of the current research is to determine if status and non‐status seeking Australian teenagers differ in their attitudes toward buying domestic and foreign (i.e. Italy, Japan, China) luxury brand apparel.

A total of 365 teenagers participated in this study through a self‐completed questionnaire. Fishbein's Multi‐Attribute Attitude Model was used to measure and compare attitudes toward buying domestic and foreign made apparel. Repeated measure ANOVA and t‐tests were utilized to examine whether the groups differed with regards to their attitudes toward buying luxury brand apparel, using a comparison of apparels “Made in Australia” with those “Made in Italy”, “Made in Japan” and “Made in China”.

The research findings indicate that status‐seeking teenagers have overall, a more positive attitude toward foreign luxury brand apparel as compared to Australian luxury brands, with the exception of Chinese brands. On the other hand, non‐status seeking teenagers reported that they have more positive attitude towards Australian brands than foreign brands, and consider Australian luxury brands superior to all three foreign brands with regards to ease of care and comfort.

The findings is only limited to Australian teenagers and cannot be generalized to other nationalities or age cohorts.

The study suggests that the Australian apparel industry should concentrate its marketing strategy on enhancing the attributes of “fashionable” and “brand name” of Australian apparel that both status and non‐status seeking teenagers prefer in foreign apparel.

The paper fills a gap in the literature by validating the study in Australia and focusing on the attitudes of status (and non status) seeking teenagers.

The purpose of this paper is to enrich country of origin (COO) effect in international marketing theory by adding the understanding of temporal dynamism into COO research.

Utilizing a qualitative and interdisciplinary phenomenological approach, this paper analyses historical and contemporary sources triangulated with contemporary primary interview data. The example of how perceptions of Italians about the values typical of the British Sixties varied over time periods is presented.

COO perceptions are both malleable and in evolution. Results show that values from earlier peak periods of appeal can be combined and recombined differently over time due to the varying historical and contemporary resonances of COO values.

This study focuses on COO applied to two product areas, fashion and music, over a limited time period, in a two-country study and so the findings are not fully generalizable, but rather are transferable to similar contexts.

The fact that COO is neither static nor atemporal facilitates a segmented approach for international marketing managers to review and renew international brands. This enriched COO theory provides a rich and variable resource for developing and revitalizing brands.

The major contribution of this paper is that temporal dynamism, never before discussed in international marketing theory, renders COO theory more timeless; this addresses some critiques recently made about its relevance and practicality. The second contribution is the original research design that models interdisciplinary scholarship, enabling a thorough historical look at international marketing.

The purpose of this paper is to examine country of origin (COO) effects among Georgian consumers towards selected European Union (EU) member country products. Within this general framework, the present paper aims to determine Georgian consumers' perception of products sourced from Germany as the largest EU exporter to Georgia, Italy as the source of some well‐known product classes, and Poland as a new member of the EU.

The study was conducted among 313 consumers, from Tbilisi, Batumi, Kutaisi, and Rustavi in May and June of 2005. Based on the experiences and the findings of an earlier survey, ten products available in the Georgian market were identified as relevant for the study. A five‐point Likert scale was used to gauge respondents' perceptions of quality of each product from respective countries.

Most of the products made in Germany are perceived high in quality. Italy is rated high in some major product classes like clothing and fashion products. Poland is not rated high for any product class but, its products' lower prices are appreciated by Georgian consumers. Findings support the earlier research specifying the heuristic between product evaluation and degree of economic development of the sourcing country. COO evaluations vary according to product class. The results also confirm past research indicating the differentiating effect of demographic variables on COO perceptions. COO image of Germany and Italy contributes to general “made in Europe” image, the image of Poland moderates it.

The paper's main tenet was that Georgian consumers had high regards for products coming from highly developed EU member countries. This is a static study and looked at the COO phenomenon during one period of time (static approach). Further studies are needed to determine the COO effect over a longer period of time (longitudinal studies). In addition to the study of COO effects on country's product class, the study of product form, product brand, and product brand options may produce more illuminating results.

Georgian importers and European exporters should consider the “made in” strength of each product for competitive advantage and build up their product assortments accordingly. For promotion, exporters to Georgia and resellers in Georgia may put more emphasis on COO of the products which have relatively strong product country image. Relatively, weaker products from Italy and Germany may be supported by using a general country image. The “made in Europe” label may also help to increase the appreciation of products coming from Poland.

The present paper provides empirical evidence about consumers' perception of foreign products in a less researched geography.

Looks at the first 100 years of Italian cinema examining its role in Italy’s recent history. Provides a bibliography of major film directors, Italian cinema sources, reference works, histories, themes, theory and criticism and articles in journals.

This paper aims to reconstruct the process that led to the appropriation of history – of a particular historical period, the Renaissance – as an intangible asset in the promotion of Italian fashion on the international market after the Second World War.

The paper reconstructs the process that led to the appropriation of history – of a particular historical period, the Renaissance – as an intangible asset in the promotion of Italian fashion on the international market after the Second World War.

The successful debut of Italian fashion in the fifties can be explained through an intelligent marketing campaign which placed it directly in the centre of a well-known, appreciated, not to say indisputable, tradition of “good taste”: that of the Renaissance. Connecting Italian fashion with Renaissance Italy meant in fact introducing a kind of ante litteram guarantee of provenance – a “country branding” - recognized throughout the world, which, at the same time, evoked the splendour of a period in which Italian taste was a model to follow and imitate.

The studies on the history of the Italian fashion business have accepted the association of Italian fashion with Renaissance tradition as an element to be taken for granted, without inquiring into the historical legitimacy of such a coupling (either in the way in which it was produced or why it had such an important role). This paper dismantles the consistent rhetorical sedimentation with which the subject is encrusted and provides a new insight, showing that such continuity did not exist; on the contrary, it was the product of a marketing strategy.

The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the developments which have characterized Italy’s industrial relations from post-war Fordism to neo-liberal hegemony and recent crisis, with a particular focus on the major changes occurred in the twenty-first century, especially those concerning concertative (tripartite) policy making between the government, the employers’ organizations and the trade unions.

This study is a conceptual paper which analysis of main development trends.

Italy’s industrial relations in the twenty-first century are characterized by ambivalent features which are the heritage of the past. These are summarized as follows: “collective autonomy” as a classical source of strength for trade unions and employers’ organization, on the one hand. On the other hand, a low level of legislative regulation and weak institutionalization, accompanied by little engagement in a generalized “participative-collaborative” model. Due to the instability in the socio-political setting in the twenty-first century, unions and employers encounter growing difficulties to affirm their common points of view and to build up stable institutions that could support cooperation between them. The result is a clear reversal of the assumptions that had formed the classical backdrop of the paradigm of Italy’s “political exchange.” This paradigm has long influenced the way in which the relationships between employers, trade unions and the state were conceived, especially during 1990s and, to some extent, during 2000s, that is the development of concertative (tripartite) policy making. However, since the end of 2000s, and particularly from 2010s onwards national governments have stated their intention to act independently of the choices made by the unions (and partially the employers). The outcome is the eclipse of concertation. The paper explores how the relationships among the main institutional actors such as the trade unions (and among the unions themselves), the employers, and the state and how politics have evolved, within a dynamic socio-political and economic context. These are the essential factors needed to understand Italy’s industrial relations in the twenty-first century.

It shows that understanding the relationship among the main institutional actors such as the trade unions (and among the unions themselves), the employers and the state and their politics is essential to understand the change occurred in contemporary Italy’s industrial relations.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of country of origin (COO) information as an important/salient categorical attribute on choice context effects. Specifically, this research examines whether the introduction of a unique COO in the choice set will have a differential influence on context effects depending on the relative position of the third option (the asymmetrically dominated option vs the extreme option).

Five experiments were conducted in this research. Study 1 had a 2 (set size: two-option core set vs three-option asymmetric dominance set)×2 (competitor’s COO: common vs unique) between-subjects design. Study 2 had a 2 (set size: two-option core set vs three-option extreme option set)×2 (competitor’s COO: common vs unique) between-subjects design. To address the robustness of the effects, Studies 3-5 replicated the results of Studies 1 and 2. The data were analyzed by χ² tests and logistic regression analyses.

The current research demonstrates that the attraction effect is attenuated by the introduction of a unique COO information in the competing option, whereas the tendency to prefer a middle option is not significantly affected.

The present research adds to the current understanding and the practical relevance of COO effects and context effects in marketing by examining the impact of COO as an important/salient categorical attribute on context effects.