Fashion #MadeinItaly: What do you mean?

Abstract

Purpose. This paper aims to define the overall Made in Italy perception within the on-line and off-line contexts. Particularly, authors attempt to consider three main aspects; the first one regards the key product categories linked to the Made in Italy production; the second aspect concerns the key characteristics linked to the Italy Country Image and the overall sentiment related to it. Finally, the research aims at identifying whether Italian brands enhance their Country of Origin (COO) image or not. Methodology. With the purpose to achieve the goals of the paper, authors carried out a content analysis on social media posts related to #MadeinItaly and expected to confirm these preliminary results with a survey on a sample of 112 Made in Italy consumers in the specific context of the Brazilian market. Findings. As expected, the survey confirms the content analysis outputs. Particularly, Fashion results as the first product category associated to the Made in Italy imaginary, strictly related to the design and prestige of the production. The overall sentiment toward the Italy County Image is positive. Moreover, the most renowned Italian brands belong to the fashion sector and enhance their Country of Origin (COO) image. Practical implications. The analysis of social media confirms user-generated contents as important contributes for the Country Image construction. Indeed, the keys elements describing the Italy Country Image emerged from the web analysis as well as from the survey, allowing managers and practitioners to use it in their communication strategies.