How difficult is it be a searcher in Italy as a non-italian citizen?
April 02, 2023
by a searcher from IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain
I am currently evaluating options to initiate a search in the Italian market (targeting the regions around Lombardia and Piedmonte). I have a strong connection to the country due to my academic roots as well as professional experiences, but have limited exposure to gauge if the region is welcoming for non-italian personnel. Kindly share pros and cons of doing a search in italy
from INSEAD in Turin, Metropolitan City of Turin, Italy
During the search: Most of the owners are "old-school" entrepreneurs, and you need to establish rapport with them before they even have a proper business conversation. If they think you are too "different", they might not be too open to have a sales transaction with you. Moreover, most entrepreneurs I spoke don't even speak English well. If you don't know the culture and language, it will be extremely hard.
As the operator: Generally Italian population is not hostile to foreigners, especially if you bring value to country. However, in SMEs in Italy, especially in small towns - even more in South, there are mostly family-like dynamics and it is not common to be a foreigner business owner. Moreover, not all the workforce speaks English fluently. As a foreigner, you will have extra pressure on you to build rapport with your people, I am afraid if it will be extremely, extremely difficult to run an SME in Italy if you don't know the Italian culture and language very well.
from Universitat Internacional de Catalunya in Province of Lucca, Italy