The Dining-Out Experience: an Analysis of German Consumers' Perceptions of Italian Restaurants in Germany

Many studies focused on the importance of considering both COO effect and culture on consumer’s buying behavior analysis. Even when an individual goes to the restaurant, the perception of value is affected by contextual factors which determine how cues and symbols are interpreted. Whenever people decide to eat-out, the actual performance ends in a positive or negative feeling based on both the prior expectations built before the experience and perceptions shaped during it. But, what happens when an ethnic restaurant tries to approach local people? The aim of this research is to understand how German consumers perceive the value delivered by Italian restaurants in Germany during the Dining-Out Experience. Even though Italy and Germany have always been so closed, they are characterized by a different cultural background which differentiate their ways of communicating. Italy is a High-Context (HC) Culture characterized by close interpersonal relationships and traditions, while Germany is a Low-Context (LC) Culture based on well-defined rules and standards, which make information clear and available for almost everyone. Data collected through interviews to Italian restaurateurs in Germany and surveys spread among German consumers will be used to assess the match between Germans’ perceptions and the value delivered by the Italian restaurant. The Italian Country Image will also be questioned to detect the existence of an association with the image conveyed by its own products.