Il Relationship Marketing Internazionale B2B nei Paesi Emergenti: Analisi nel settore cucine in India

This thesis has the aim of understand the characteristics and complexity of all the relationships that an Italian company, and in particular the industrial kitchen production, creates with different stakeholders in their process of internationalization especially in the emerging markets. Following the relational model purposed by Morgan & Hunt (1994) within the framework of Relationship Marketing, some subjects emerged as the more important for the companies in their activities of selecting and entering in an Indian market. The Authors, moreover, created the Commitment-Trust Theory, saying that a successful relationship is based on two fundamental variables: commitment and trust. One of the aims of the present research is to verify these aspects also in an international context, integrating them with four other variables: relationship quality, performance, environment and culture. In order to verify these aspects a qualitative approach has been chosen; using the case studies approach, 8 companies and some stakeholders have been involved, with 20 interviews conducted totally. The results emerged permitted to fill the gap in literature regarding the few studies focused on the relationships in the emerging markets; verify the use of the Morgan & Hunt model in the selection and classification of the B2B relationships involved in the internationalization process in the emerging markets; verify the validity of the Commitment-Trust Theory in a new context, not validating at all this theory, because in an initial phase especially trust is not a key driver in the selection of a partner; extend the International Relationship Marketing framework with new variables. Further studies necessitate in other industries and in other emerging markets.