Alessandro De Nisco

Obiettivi . Lo studio analizza il ruolo del cultural heritage nella formazione dell’immagine Paese, proponendo una prima categorizzazione delle dimensioni costitutive della “cultural heritage image”.  Metodologia . La ricerca si basa su uno studio qualitativo realizzato attraverso una content analysis sulla documentazione istituzionale web di 10 Paesi considerati best-in-class dal Country Brand Index in relazione al valore del patrimonio culturale nazionale.  Risultati . L’analisi statistico-lessicale ha consentito di individuare 3 categorie concettuali principali, declinate in 11 subcategorie, costitutive dell’immagine del patrimonio culturale dei Paesi considerati.  Limiti della ricerca . Il principale limite dello studio e legato all’ampiezza e alla varieta della documentazione analizzata.  Implicazioni pratiche . L’individuazione degli elementi costitutivi della cultural heritage image puo offrire indicazioni preziose per la realizzazione di strategie di marketing internazionale in grado di valorizzare il ruolo del patrimonio culturale da parte di sistemi territoriali e imprese. Originalita del lavoro . Si tratta della prima ricerca che accoglie la tematica del cultural heritage all’interno della prospettiva di marketing internazionale incentrata sulla country image, e di uno dei primi studi che perviene all’identificazione analitica di una struttura di categorie concettuali idonee a rappresentare il sistema di immagini evocate dal patrimonio culturale di un Paese.

In this paper we use the Importance-Performance Analysis (IPA) scheme in order to analyze tourist satisfaction in a holiday destination. Arising from service and tourism marketing literatures, the study selects a set of components of the tourism experience that are willing to affect satisfaction. The IPA scheme is applied though a survey conducted on a sample of 1.936 national and international tourists intercepted at the end of their journey in the region of Campania (Italy). Although the IPA scheme has been used in past research in the tourism field, only a few studies have applied this tool from a destination perspective. Based on the results, the paper concludes with discussion of implications for both practitioners and academics.

Globalization has increased opportunities for businesses to transfer goods and services across the world. At the same time, consumers can choose among a great variety of suppliers in every product category. When markets become more extensive consumers probably rely on the country-of-origin to face an information overload, never before experienced, and to guide them in consumption choices. At the same time, consumers have different attitudes towards their home country (Kosterman and Feshbach, 1989), foreign countries in general (Shimp and Sharma, 1987; Suh and Kwon, 2002) and specific foreign nations (Jaffe and Nebenzahl, 2006). This condition has determined a growing interest in investigating beliefs towards domestic and foreign products and services as well as their influence on consumers’ purchasing behavior (Riefler and Diamantopoulos, 2009). In this context, a very large number of studies and articles has been focused on either examining domestic product biases, or consumer’ unwillingness to buy foreign products by analysing the effect of constructs such as consumer ethnocentrism (Shimp and Sharma, 1987), consumer nationalism (Rawwas et al., 1996) and consumer animosity (Klein et al., 1998). However, despite the plentiful scientific production, current research seems to be still quite weak in explaining the “behavior of consumers of one country toward other countries, their firms and their products” (Crawford and Lamb, 1982: p. 859). At present, countless conflicts are taking place across the world and economic and political tensions are determining an increasing hostility towards stronger economies. For example, recent developments in the economic and financial crisis, at European level, are threatening the strength of the relationships between "weak" and economically "strong" nations, generating a renewed sense of nationalism and influencing the feelings of ethnocentrism and animosity of consumers. Consumer ethnocentrism is a good predictor of a preference for domestic products, but it cannot adequately clarify foreign product buying behavior. Furthermore, consumer animosity, defined as “remnants of antipathy related to previous or ongoing military, political, or economic events” (Klein et al., 1998), measures a consumer’s feelings of hatred toward a specific country, but it cannot explain the general pattern of foreign product preferences and consumption across countries. Finally, research on the potential interactions between consumer ethnocentrism, consumer animosity, and the overarching construct of country image, is virtually nonexistent.

Globalization has increased opportunities for businesses to transfer goods and services across the world. At the same time, consumers can choose among a great variety of suppliers in every product category. When markets become more extensive consumers probably rely on the country-of-origin to face an information overload, never before experienced, and to guide them in consumption choices. At the same time, consumers have different attitudes towards their home country (Kosterman and Feshbach, 1989), foreign countries in general (Shimp and Sharma, 1987; Suh and Kwon, 2002) and specific foreign nations (Jaffe and Nebenzahl, 2006). This condition has determined a growing interest in investigating beliefs towards domestic and foreign products and services as well as their influence on consumers’ purchasing behavior (Riefler and Diamantopoulos, 2009). In this context, a very large number of studies and articles has been focused on either examining domestic product biases, or consumer’ unw...

Abstract Originally conceptualised as an innovative strategy for environmental conservation, ecotourism is now considered as one of the fastest growing segments of tourism. Although many definitions of ecotourism have been provided over the years, the application of the concept is still inconsistent, shifting its focus from purely nature-based towards more sustainable and conservative activities. Research on ecotourism reveals that ecotourism marketing initiatives are mainly driven by the supply-side or government/environmentalist organisations’ perspective, without taking into account the demand side, i.e., individuals’ motivations for ecotourism. This chapter will provide recognition of the different definitions of the ecotourism concept in order to distinguish it from other similar forms of tourism, e.g., nature-based tourism, and will review the research to build an understanding of the various motivations pushing individuals to choose ecotourism offerings. It will also function as the basis for the development of an appropriate protocol to investigate a sample of ecotourism providers and the congruency of their marketing initiatives with established consumer motivations.

In spite of the substantial number of studies on country image, there is still a lack of a holistic understanding of the phenomenon. The aim of this paper is to examine the different aspects of macro and micro country image and their effects on behavioural outcomes towards Italian products and tourist destinations in the emerging market context. The study also deepens comprehension of the rather unexplored role of cultural heritage image. Data gathered from a sample of 3,928 respondents from seven emerging countries (Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Russia, South Africa, and Turkey) were analysed with hierarchical cluster analysis, non-hierarchical k-means clustering algorithm, and multiple moderated mediation analysis. Results confirm the halo effect of country image in affecting consumers\u2019 behavioural responses and show that cultural heritage image has a strong evocative power to communicate the identity of a country and the quality and appeal of its products or destinations

The actual and future perspectives of the Made in Italy are currently the object of a significant debate. The terrific effects of the Euro crisis on the internal demand for products and services, along with the structural lack of competitiveness of the Italian economy and the radical changes in the global political and economic assets have risen a significant concern on the ability of the Italian economy – which is characterized by the preminent role of small and medium firms – to gain a significant position in the global scenario of the third millennium. According to the predominant view, the worldwide economic growth will be driven by the increasing spending power of consumers living in the emerging markets, supported by long term trends such as the urbanization of new and existing areas, the progressive removal of trade barriers and the spread of market oriented economic policies. According to the estimates provided by McKinsey, by 2025 annual consumption in emerging markets will...

With the growing realization by governments of the beneficial effects of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), barriers to FDI have been dropping but competition among countries for the limited pool of global capital, often through promotion and country branding, has intensified dramatically. The literature on FDI location choice is voluminous, but empirical findings are often contradictory and the factors studied are limited to tangible country characteristics without accounting for perceptual considerations. This study uses OLS regression to investigate the role of country branding in tandem with traditional country characteristics in the MENA region. The results show that the influence of country branding is significant and relevant implications are discussed.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to extend international marketing theory by examining country image effects simultaneously from the perspectives of Product-Country Image (PCI), Tourism Destination Image (TDI), and General Country Image (GCI), and by using tourism satisfaction as the central construct in a comprehensive model that investigates post-visit effects in both the product and tourism domains. Design/methodology/approach International tourists from multiple countries were intercepted at the end of a tourism trip and interviewed in-person using a structured questionnaire, resulting in 498 usable responses for data analysis. The model comprised seven constructs measured with 28 variables and was tested with structural equation modelling. Findings The study uncovers a number of cross-effects between a country as destination and as producer, and establishes tourism satisfaction as a core construct that is relevant to both the tourism and product facets of place image. Pract...

Questo studio analizza la relazione esistente tra animosita economica, etnocentrismo del consumatore ed effetto country-of-origin. Sulla base di un’analisi critica della letteratura gli autori sviluppano e propongono un modello di analisi che viene testato su un campione di 203 studenti italiani con riferimento alla percezione dell’immagine Paese della Germania durante la crisi dell’Euro. I risultati mostrano che l’animosita economica verso una nazione percepita come "ostile" esercita un effetto negativo sulla propensione all’acquisto dei prodotti ad essa associati ed un effetto positivo sulla preferenza per i prodotti nazionali. Come previsto, invece, l’animosita economica non produce alcun effetto negativo sulla valutazione dell’immagine generale del Paese e sul giudizio relativo ai prodotti made in. L’etnocentrismo, d’altra parte, influenza negativamente sia la propensione all’acquisto dei prodotti esteri che (in parte) la valutazione degli stessi. La ricerca inoltre dimostra l’esistenza di una relazione gerarchica tra immagine generale di un Paese, immagine dei suoi prodotti e propensione all’acquisto. A partire dai risultati, gli autori discutono la collocazione e l’originalita dello studio nella letteratura di riferimento ed i suoi limiti, evidenziando le relative implicazioni manageriali e di ricerca.

The study analyzes the relationship between tourism satisfaction, cognitive and affective country image, destination image, and post-visit intentions. The proposed research model is tested with a survey on a sample of 542 international tourists intercepted in two Italian airports at the end of their journey. Results suggest that general country and destination images are able to mediate the effect of tourism satisfaction on post-visit behavioral intentions. Moreover, empirical findings show that a high-quality tourism experience is able to not only affect intention to return and willingness to recommend the country as a tourism destination but also induce more positive intentions toward the products made in the sojourn country. On the basis of results, the study concludes with discussion of managerial and research implications.

The article first reviews the title field, by tracing its evolution from the original notion of "made-in images" of the 1960s to the broader "product-place associations" of the 1990s and today’s "place branding", and then, based on studies by the authors and their associates, examines key findings that summarize the area’s current state of knowledge and future challenges. This includes the use of place cues in advertising, the content of place images and their role in foreign direct investment, cross-cultural variations and the animosity construct, and models of product and tourism image effects. A summary note highlights some of the key problems facing the practice of place branding today and the nearly limitless opportunities for future research in this field.

The main purpose of the paper is to analyse the influence of international tourism experience on general country image (GCI) and tourism destination image (TDI) and to assess how each of these constructs - and the interaction between them - affect post-visit attitudes toward products “made-in” the tourism destination. In many contexts the relationship between the image of products, linked to a specific country-of-origin, and the image of the same place, as a tourist destination, has become an effective marketing tool with significant implications for the strategies adopted by businesses and local governments. The objective of the research is to propose an interpretative model aimed to verify the relationship between tourism experience and country-of-origin effect (Coe), particularly in how the travel experience in the country is able to influence attitudes and intentions of foreign consumer demand for local products

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide some insights for the evaluation of town centre management (TCM) effectiveness, by proposing the importance‐performance analysis (IPA) as a valuable tool to ensure a multi‐perspective evaluation. The need for more empirical methods of measuring town centre effectiveness is related to the risk of commonly used evaluation methodologies reflecting only the success criteria of dominant stakeholders.Design/methodology/approachBy reviewing the service management literature, a definition of the “town centre product” is proposed, and how IPA can be used to analyse the city users' quality perceptions is emphasized. The theoretical framework is enriched by an empirical case study: the city centre of Benevento.FindingsThe results provide a clear guidance for the implementation of a TCM scheme in the historical centre of Benevento, by identifying the main area of intervention.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper addresses a gap in the aca...

PurposeThis study aims to draw on instrumental and ethical theories to offer a quantitative review of the extant literature on the corporate social responsibility (CSR)–small-medium enterprises (SMEs) performance relationship through a meta-analysis.Design/methodology/approachEmpirical studies from 57 independent peer-reviewed articles, including 66,741 firms, were sampled and analysed. Both subgroup and meta-regression analyses (MARA) were used to test the hypotheses of the study.FindingsThe authors' results demonstrated that social-oriented, economic-oriented and environment-oriented CSR activities have a positive, significant influence on overall, financial and non-financial performance of SMEs; however, the effect of social-oriented CSR activities is the strongest. Moreover, the impact CSR dimensions have on non-financial performance is stronger than on financial performance. Additionally, findings showed that the association between CSR and SME performance is positively and...

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to analyse the influence of three selected physical components of the urban environment – physical design, space layout and functionality, and store external appearance – on consumers' perceptions of service quality and behavioural intentions (desire to stay and repatronage intentions).Design/methodology/approachThe research framework is based on the atmospherics, servicescape and service quality literatures. The proposed model is tested with a survey conducted in an inner‐city shopping street in Benevento (Italy).FindingsResults show that physical space functionality and store appearance provide cues upon which customers base their perception of service quality provided in the shopping street and that service quality inferences, in turn, are able to affect desire to stay and repatronage intentions.Practical implicationsFindings are able to provide policy makers and retailers with suggestions in developing appropriate strategies for managing t...

The paper aims to provide additional knowledge about the relationship between store environment and consumer behavior by investigating the influence of selected environmental variables (internal design and tenant-mix) on consumers' emotional states and shopping outcomes. The proposed framework is based on model proposed by Mehrabian and Russell (1974) and is tested through a survey in two shopping centres in the city of Benevento. Results show that the selected environmentalvariables play a significant role in influencing consumers' shopping outcomes and that such relationship is moderated by the different nature of emotional states. On the basis of results, authors discuss the contribution of the study to marketing literature and the implications for the management of retail and service firms.

L'articolo affronta le principali criticità connesse alla pianificazione ed erogazione di servizi reali all'internazionalizzazione (SRI) da parte degli enti pubblici nazionali e locali. Gli autori effettuano una rassegna dei contributi accademici nell'ambito dell'international business, della strategia e del marketing con l'intento di evidenziare a) il ruolo dei servizi reali alla luce delle mutate esigenze competitive connesse alla dimensione globale e b) le differenze nei fabbisogni delle imprese in relazione ai differenti stadi del processo di internazionalizzazione. Il lavoro si conclude con alcune indicazioni utili ad una corretta pianificazione e valutazione del service portfolio: in particolare, dalla review emerge la necessità di adottare un approccio bottom-up per l'analisi dei fabbisogni delle imprese,la selezione e il profiling dei segmenti più rilevanti per le azioni di supporto e la definizione di un service-mix specifico per ciascuno di essi. Parole chiave: strategie di internazionalizzazione, servizi reali, supporto pubblico The article focuses on the managerial issues related to the definition and planning of export promotion activities by national and regional governments. It provides a review of academic literature on international management, strategy and marketing in the aim of a) emphasizing the evolving role of public policies to promote firm internationalization in the contemporary globalized context and b) underlining the differences in needs for assistance by firms in different stages of the internationalization process. The article concludes with some suggestion for the definition of a more suitable portfolio of export assistance services: in particular, public institutions should adopt a bottom-up approach in order identify and analyze the most relevant needs of firms targeted for export assistance, select the most important target segments and design apersonalized service-mix for each of them.