Chinese Entreprenuers in Florence

Chinese Entreprenuers in Florence & how easy is it to do business in Italy?

According to the latest Caritas Dossier as reported in the The Florentine 14 Jan 2010 an English local newspaper), there are 310,000 non Italian residents in Tuscany and this represent 8.4 percent of the regional population. It was reported that Chinese entrepreneurs are the region’s most numerous ( 8,842) . 6.2 percent of all foreign owned businesses in Italy are concentrated in Florence and Prato. Why am I not surprised with these statistics about the Chinese in Florence? A discussion with Mario Cenna, a Florentino, the textile industry in Prato is dominated by Chinese.

As I roam the streets of Florence I recall that in 1974 during my first trip to Florence, I did not see many Chinese faces in the streets. But now there are Chinese businesses at nearly every corner of Florence. I see a Chinese grocer shop that sells anything from toothpicks, instant noodles to face creams and condoms. Of course, the Chinese restaurant with red lanterns hanging outside to advertise its fried rice and noodles (which is spaghetti) is definitely a telling sign that the Chinese are here in this ancient city. These are tangible evidence of the Chinese presence in Florence and in Rome. However it is the invisible presence which interests me greatly. What I cannot see with the naked eye is more significant for it speaks of Chinese entrepreneurialism.

For the Chinese to do business in Italy, they have to rely on a seamless web of connections - the famous or infamous guanxi . I just feel it everywhere in every cell of my body. I know it is there. I feel it. The Chinese in me just knows this! How easy it is to start a business here I say to myself. As a member of the Chinese diaspora, my conscious and unconscious cultural psyche is already an advantage. And the Italians although coming from a European cultural tradition actually share many similarities with the Chinese. Underlying our apparent visible conscious cultures, our unconscious cultures are the same. Both Chinese and Italians are bearers of a collectivistic culture. I can infer from that the Italians are other- directed and family/group centred. When the crunch comes, that is, when they are faced with a cultural dilemma, like the Chinese, they will opt for the group or collective rather than the individual solution. This is the making of guanxi – the interconnectedness of other-directed people and the emphasis they put on the collective, the cultivation and maintenance of this for social and business enterprises.

So is it easy to do business in Italy ? Yes and no. Yes, if you abide by the universal rules of doing business anywhere: begin with an excellent product and/or service, know your business, etc. and add to it a great and talented guanxi. And yes, then you may succeed. No, if you are in a rush. Italians take a while to get to know even if you have the language. Combine Chinklish and Italish and you do not come out with Euro or USA dollars!