Putting the Italians on bicycles: marketing at Bianchi, 1885-1955. (16th February 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jonathan Morris, Prof.; Mari, Carlo
• Is Part Of: Journal of historical research in marketing. Volume 7:Number 1(2015)
• Page Start: 133
• Page End: 158
• Publication Date: 2015-02-16
• Subjects: Marketing -- History -- Periodicals; Marketing -- Philosophy -- Periodicals; 658.8005
• DOI: 10.1108/JHRM-07-2013-0049
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1755-750X

Abstract

<abstract> <title> <x content-type="archive" xml:space="preserve">Abstract</x> </title> <sec> <title content-type="abstract-heading">Purpose</title> <p> – The aim of this paper is to examine marketing practices within the bicycle industry. </p> </sec> <sec> <title content-type="abstract-heading">Design/methodology/approach</title> <p> – The paper utilizes both primary and secondary sources to provide a retrospective analysis of marketing strategy at the largest Italian bicycle company. </p> </sec> <sec> <title content-type="abstract-heading">Findings</title> <p> – The paper explains how marketing works at the Bianchi company and provides a detailed analysis of how it built its brand identity over time. </p> </sec> <sec> <title content-type="abstract-heading">Research limitations/implications</title> <p> – Very few primary sources were available. There was neither a company archive nor other archives. For the most part, the paper is based on secondary sources. </p> </sec> <sec> <title content-type="abstract-heading">Originality/value</title> <p> – The paper tries to fill the gap in current marketing literature that usually neglects the bicycle as a relevant topic, despite bicycle companies being a predecessor to the automobile industry. Moreover, the paper demonstrates that bicycle companies developed a rather sophisticated approach to marketing that is still in use.</p> </sec> </abstract>