From Foody to Arcimboldo: Culture Creates Leadership
OPINION |

From Foody to Arcimboldo: Culture Creates Leadership

EXPO2015 SHOULD NOT SIMPLY BE AN EXCEPTIONAL SHOWCASE ON THE WORLD, BUT ALSO AN OPPORTUNITY TO REAFFIRM ITALIAN MANAGEMENT KNOWLEDGE IN THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR. WHY ITALY HAS MORE THAN JUST EXCELLENT PRODUCTS

by Massimiliano Bruni, head of the Food Beverage Knowledge Center at the SDA Bocconi School of Management
Translated by Jenna Walker


Many have stressed how the Expo is an excellent opportunity for Italy and for Italian food and beverage companies. For six months, we will have a large showcase for what Italy can rightly be proud of: variety and excellence in our food products, a wealth of traditions and local cultures, beauty in our bio-diversity.
 
I believe, however, that the Expo is and should be something even more important and special. It should be perceived, and therefore managed, as an opportunity – perhaps a one-time opportunity – to begin a strategy, and therefore a structured and continuous itinerary, to affirm – and in some cases reappropriate – a true cultural leadership. This leadership goes beyond market shares and a superior product and – at least in some sectors where we can boast unique and internationally recognized traditions and experiences – it can generate real cultural points of reference for consumers and economic professionals from all over the world.
 
One good example: espresso coffee. It is a division where we have experience and successful and excellent companies. At least in the eyes of global consumers, the cultural leadership of these companies has been stolen by foreign companies that, though in different ways, have become points of reference, benchmarks that we must measure up against: Nespresso on one hand and Starbucks on the other.
 
A similar objective, or perhaps one with a better outlook for analysis, requires a healthy dose of ambition and pride. Facing such a challenge would also mean erecting a large barrier and defense with regard to the phenomenon of Italian sounding, which is estimated to be worth at least €60b, almost twice the national exports in the sector.
 
On closer inspection, it is more of a cultural issue an economic issue, but a fundamental reason for being is also found within the positive economic returns that can be derived from it. This is why, along with the cultural aspect, a new management culture and a strategic approach that is different from the past should be developed.
 
Italian companies in the world of food and beverage in a broad sense – therefore including all operators in the food production chain – are facing several important strategic challenges that require new paradigms and business and management models to be defined, as well as new resources and skills.
 
First of all, there is a need to design and build a supply chain that is able to combine the right levels of operational efficiency and effectiveness with the increasingly pressing need to ensure adequate standards of food-security and sustainability. (Food-security is the capacity for food production to be able to guarantee food access to everyone, while respecting and correctly using natural resources, especially water and land.) These are not only two particularly important economic and strategic challenges, but it would be truly wonderful if Italy were able to promote an original model for taking on such a delicate issue.
 
Secondly, there is a need for the ability to build strategies in branding, communication and consumer relations that are able to intercept both old and new segments of clientele, in Italy and abroad. They should also be able to promote true Italian excellency around the world, generating consumer engagement and virtuous customer loyalty mechanisms. From this point of view, technology and digital channels offer new and very interesting opportunities for small and medium enterprises as well, which, however, also require resources and skills that companies are not yet equipped with.
 
Lastly, there is a need to support the excellence of Italian products with management models and tools that allow our country's companies to change from an export mindset to a mindset of market penetration and long-term control of foreign markets, regardless of company size. We need managers who are able to combine our extraordinary and unique product culture with innovative and structured approaches. From this point of view as well, the Expo can be an interesting opportunity as an occasion for contact with young people who, attracted by the cultural wealth that Italian companies have and have expressed, can contribute with new and different energy and outlooks, which can open us up to the world.

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