Abstract
Considering the rapid changes in Chinese food habits, in both quantity and quality, the study aims to outline the market potentiality of the made-in-Italy food and focus on some emerging issues concerning Italian specialities that are characterised by higher competitiveness. Starting from the definition of made-in-Italy food, the paper addresses the topic of food safety, analysing policies and legislation. Following an approach from macro to micro aspects, market trends are highlighted, and a ranking analysis is carried out, emphasising the positioning of made in Italy. Concerns related to transaction costs, information asymmetry, and adverse selection are discussed and the Italian sounding phenomenon is addressed. Growing practices of unfair competition, such as food piracy, result in several forms of market failure, damaging the segmentation strategies of Italian companies. Findings propose an estimate of unfair business and offer special indexes of evaluation. Finally, policy and business implications are addressed, and attractive and multiple fields for future researches are suggested.
Highlights
Chinese food habits have experienced rapid changes in both quantity and quality of the diet due to the increased buying power of consumers and their new lifestyle (Zhou et al 2014)
The present study aims to outline the potentialities of the Chinese food markets, which enjoy higher appeal for made in Italy, but are suffering from growing concerns about food security, intended as a guarantee of food in both quantity and safety
We focus on some issues concerning the positioning of foodstuffs in Chinese markets, such as the Italian food specialities, which enjoy higher competitiveness as they represent the excellence of Italy
Summary
Chinese food habits have experienced rapid changes in both quantity and quality of the diet due to the increased buying power of consumers and their new lifestyle (Zhou et al 2014). The growth in food demand gives a major boost to imports, an essential opportunity for Italian businesses In this light, the present study aims to outline the potentialities of the Chinese food markets, which enjoy higher appeal for made in Italy, but are suffering from growing concerns about food security, intended as a guarantee of food in both quantity and safety. Considering that original products require higher production costs, affecting its market positioning, company strategies are heavily influenced by imitation activity In this context, in terms of economic legitimacy and market transparency required for development, two very substantial issues affect the Chinese market: on the one hand, the increasingly pressing prerequisite to achieve an adequate food safety standard, and, on the other hand, the opportunity to put a break to the increasing phenomena of product falsification and counterfeiting, which undermine the credibility of the entire Chinese economic system from a global perspective (Cuffaro, Di Giacinto 2015). The result is the inducement of moral hazard behaviours – due to high transaction costs and manifest information asymmetries – translating into specific kinds of market failure
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