Internationalization of Italian Pasta Producer MMEs Exporting to China: Pastificio Di Martino Case Study

The thesis project aims to identify and examine how Italian pasta producer medium-sized multinational enterprises (MMEs) enter the Chinese non acquainted market throughout their internationalization process, mainly focusing on the entry mode and timing they generally opt for, along with the advantages, costs, risks, and political and cultural distance they must deal with in the meantime. Both direct and indirect export operations will be deeply analyzed as the most common way for MMEs to enter a new market. Theoretical part will be supported and strengthened by a specific case study represented by Pastificio Di Martino, generally recognized as the pasta export leader in Campania (Italy). Its history and success both in national and in international contexts will be traced as an anticipation to its current export activities in China, whose dynamics are meant to be broadly clarified through the support of the Di Martino Commercial Export Office in terms of interviews and questionnaires.