Il ruolo delle Camere di commercio italiane nell’Internazionalizzazione 4.0: Il caso della Camera di commercio italiana a Sydney

Abstract

The object of this thesis is to demonstrate how the Italians Chambers of commerce, industry, crafts, and agriculture have an impact on the internationalization process. The focus will be based on my experience as an internee at the Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Australia Inc. (ICCI), established in Sydney in 1922. The Australian continent is one of the most sought-after destinations for Italian migrants, and therefore it made me realize how important the role of ICCI is in helping both Italian and Australian entrepreneurs in building enduring business relationships and establishing trade agreements within “the land Down Under”. The advantage of the ICCI is that they work simultaneously on the market and for the market. They are composed organically of Italian entrepreneurs rooted in the social and cultural fabric abroad and provide support services and entrenchment of Italian business presence abroad. The principle of bilaterality is the cornerstone of each chamber activity; the commercial missions of about 70,000 companies are managed by the ICCI network, the Italian small and medium-sized enterprises are the main subjects to which the Chamber support activities are addressed. The ICCI establish through a business matching path durable and stable commercial or production agreements between Italian companies and third countries; their knowledge of the regulations governing trade and production in third countries (customs barriers, health-related technical regulations); and finally the local language of business combined with the multicultural context in which a company decides to invest, represent the strengths of the Chamber services. In the current global economic context, the osmotic link between the local market and the global market is of vital importance; ICC are identified as effective tools to support internationalized companies, as facilitators of trade relations, highly specialized "glocalmente" (globally and locally) in economic, cultural and regulatory matters. Despite the pandemic emergency, from 79 ICCI in 56 Countries, two new entities have entered the Assocamerestero network. Italian Chambers of Commerce abroad as private associations are simultaneously and intrinsically linked both to the "Country System" Italy and to the local context in which they physically reside; this dual contextualization combined with the wide range of services of chambers with bi-address national/bilateral. The promotional initiatives of the Made in Italy of the ICCI are directed towards promoting awareness, trust, and interaction throughout activities within multicultural social realities and an increased virtual interconnection. The current international epidemic emergency forced ICCI to adapt and modify its working approach to support local businesses in defeating COVID-19 with resilient and innovative initiatives. In Australia, COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on the small company especially those in the hospitality and retail sectors. Public authorities took decisive action to respond to the emerging health threat, leading the business community to reconsider the adequacy of their preparedness measures. The purpose of this thesis is to explain the evolution of the role of the Italian Chambers of Commerce abroad within the internationalization 4.0 and those that may be possible scenarios of an imminent "hyper virtual" future within an economic context in crisis. With the help of reports and surveys conducted by Doxa in collaboration with Assocamerestero 2016-2017, the Italy Report 2019-2020 published by Eurispes, the questionnaire carried out by ICCI in Sydney focusing on the effects of COVID-19 on Italian companies in Australia; together with what has been my personal and working experience at the Italian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Sydney, the research work carried out aims to depict and analyze the development and mechanism of operation of what represents 1/3 of the Italian GDP: export.