Sicilian Wine exportation to China: The Small and medium enterprises internationalization

Abstract

My thesis purpose is mainly focused on “the Sicilian Wine exportation to China” topic and on the difficulties that small wineries face in order to get in touch with the foreign markets. I want to highlight the focus on the small and medium enterprises internationalization. I am going to try to understand how a small reality such as a Sicilian company might be able to create a relationship with a reality as big as the Chinese one. Moreover, I am going to introduce the importance of building an image of authenticity and quality to have the right catch on the Chinese consumers. In order to clarify the main aspects related to this topic, I've contacted several Sicilian wineries who – willing to collaborate within my project – are going to provide me many useful information. In this way, we will get a clear framework about the difficulties that small Sicilian companies have to face to have business relations with a Country like China. In the first chapter, I would like to explain the companies’ need to extend their horizons. Consequently, I will proceed talking about the reason that drives a wine entrepreneurs to choose China as a market where to make their products known. More in depth I would like to focus on the main financial issues: concerning costs, exchange risks, production and delivery timings and the eventuality of bankruptcy. In the second chapter, we will see more in depth how a Sicilian SME trades with China, which communication channels are used and which marketing and promotional activities are carried out and how important are the social relationships and the guanxi in business Furthermore, I think it would be really interesting giving a particular attention to some aspects that must be faced: linguistic, cultural, legislative, economic and political differences that create a huge barrier that an entrepreneur has to face in China and I believe it is really interesting to understand how to approach to such a peculiar reality. In the last chapter, I will report some testimonies I will collect from Sicilian wineries’ owners. Therefore we better understand why they have chosen China as a market to explore and which are the pros and the cons of this trade from their point of view. Interviewing different companies, I will be able to make a comparison to notice similarities and differences in their way of action within the business world.