Different perception and uses of a product in different cultural contexts: the Chinese coffee market and Illy case study.

Abstract

The main goal of this thesis is the analysis of the perception of the same product across two different cultures, paying attention to how the market and the consumer behaviour are strictly related to their own cultural history and identity. If the physical distance may be overtaken, the cultural distance is the real stumbling block that several enterprises are not able to overcome when entering a foreign market, but become a challenge for those who want to create a new business and export their own culture abroad. I have chosen to analyse how coffee, which embodies the cultural identity of Italian people, is marketed in China and is perceived by Chinese consumers. The comparative analysis of these two different contexts is able to highlight how culture influences the consumer behaviour and how the perception of a same product results to be modified by the cultural, social and economic matrix of these two countries. Among the several Italian companies that have entered the Chinese market, Illycaffè S.p.a. , as a large coffee roasting company, has been able to conquer the Chinese coffee market. Focusing on the factors involved and the strategies implemented by this company, it is possible to highlight how the cross-cultural studies may be applied appropriately, how the cultural distance may be overtaken and how it is possible to integrate the world economy respecting also the value of a product and its authentic roots. In a global market that allows people, products and information to freely move across borders, a firm that exploits these modern opportunities to move its own culture abroad respecting the other's identity, is something to value and preserve.