Doing Business in Italy

Even the smallest of US businesses competes in a shrinking global village, where understanding subtle cultural contexts can make or break sales and marketing efforts. This excerpt from the book Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands: How to Do Business in Sixty Countries, offers insight into doing business in Italy.

Language

• Italian is the official language. There are many diverse dialects. English is spoken by many business people.

Appointments

• Write first for an appointment, in Italian if you want an immediate reply. Follow up your letter by telex, fax, or telephone call. Be very aware of summer vacation periods, as most firms close in August. Be on time, especially in the industrial north, where business is conducted with "American-style" pressure and efficiency.

Negotiating

• Corporations here often have a horizontal chain of authority. Italians call it a cordata (which actually means a team of mountain climbers on the same rope). The cordata concept is very difficult to explain fully to outsiders. But it exists and, to facilitate business, one should have a reliable contact who has full knowledge of a company's inside structure.
• Do not exchange business cards at social occasions; but it is normal at business functions - especially since an Italian would feel it impolite to ask a foreigner to spell out her or his name. Italian cards are often plain white with black print. Usually, the more important the person, the less information is on the card.
• Avoid talking about religion, politics, and World War II. It is considered gauche, even insulting, to ask someone you have just met at a social gathering about his or her profession.

Business Entertaining

• Italian hospitality plays an important role in business life, and most often means dining in a restaurant. No matter how you feel, refusing an invitation will offend. When dining, use your knife (not your fingers) to pick up cheese, and don't eat any fruit except grapes or cherries with your hand. Italians consider wine as a food to be sipped, and to drink too much is considered very offensive.
• Dining is a serious business, and real prestige can be gained or lost at the table. Paying may equate to prestige, and Italians may even slip the waiter a generous tip before dinner to make sure you do not get the bill. The check will not be brought until you ask for it. Get a waiter's attention by saying senta, an idiom meaning "hear me" or "come here."

Protocol

• As a guest, you will be introduced first. The most senior or eldest person present should always be given special deference. Handshakes may include grasping the arm with the other hand.

Gifts

• If you are invited to someone's home, bring gift-wrapped chocolates, pastries, or flowers. Never give an even number of flowers. Do not give chrysanthemums; they are used for funerals. Do not give a brooch, handkerchiefs, or knives, all of which connote sadness. If you give wine, be certain it is of excellent vintage - many Italians are wine connoisseurs.

Dress

• In the business world, good clothes are a badge of success. Women dress in quiet, expensive elegance; men's ties and suits should also be fashionable and well-cut. Keep in mind Italy is a major center of European fashion. Even casual clothes are smart and chic.