Center for International Marketing & Sales Communication (CIMASC)

The Center for International Marketing & Sales Communication (CIMASC) conducts basic and applied research aimed at interpreting changes in global markets and identifying new integrated marketing and sales communication approaches to manage them.

Director: Daniela Corsaro, Professor of Marketing and Sales at IULM University, Rector's delegate for university-business relations, Director of the Master in International Marketing & Sales Communication

The background

Today's markets are undergoing a process of radical transformation, due to changes in the purchasing behaviour of consumers and businesses, growing digitalisation, the spread of service and 'value-in-use' logics, as well as sectorial convergence that is blurring the boundaries between different competitive areas.

These changes are not only 'local' phenomena but are increasingly taking place within global contexts, characterised by growing political instability and continuous variations in trade agreements between countries. This, in turn, leads to partly conflicting phenomena: on the one hand, the rethinking of global supply chains by multinational companies, and on the other, the growing internationalisation of SMEs, especially thanks to digital platforms. 

The Covid-19 pandemic has only accelerated the change already underway, breaking some of the equilibria that are leading to a redefinition of global market arrangements.

In the light of the changes described above, the traditionally defined marketing and sales approaches are beginning to reveal their weakness. Particular attention is given to sales communication, which has become even more important in the light of the greater centrality of relationships, the need to be close to the customer and to contextualise a series of 'superior' messages coming from corporate communication.

This implies the need to carry out basic research in order to identify new theoretical models that explain the changes taking place and at the same time offer managerial guidelines to companies in order to deal with the current transition in the best possible way.

Objectives of the research centre

  • to develop models capable of explaining the transformation of marketing and sales communication approaches, with a particular focus on global markets;
  • to study the internationalization processes of Italian companies abroad and the new skills required;
  • to understand cultural adjustments in marketing and sales approaches, especially in the light of digital technologies;
  • to identify new relational approaches to foreign markets that are able to integrate marketing, communication and sales;
  • to offer insight into the global performance of specific sectors and identify future development trends;
  • to study innovative business models in response to changes in global markets;
  • to collect cases of successful Italian start-ups abroad;
  • to understand the logic of transformation in international trade marketing.

Areas of expertise

  • SMES;
  • Multinational and Global companies;
  • Entrepreneurship & Start-up;
  • Innovative ecosystem business models;
  • Service Innovation
  • Integrated Marketing, Sales & Communication approaches;
  • Sales Transformation for international markets (Human-Digital-Integration-Acceleration model);
  • Agile and Anti-fragile working methods.

Methods and tools

The research center will use innovative research methodologies, characterized by scientific rigor and such as to allow the publication of research findings in prestigious international scientific journals. The activation of collaborations with foreign universities may also offer important contributions in terms of new research methodologies.

Within the Research Center, activities will be organized according to the principles of 'antifragile' planning, aimed at ensuring continuous improvement and rapid adaptation to changing contexts through: continuous experimentation, management of a dynamic range of opportunities and enhancement of the relational ecosystem inside and outside the University