Brazilians Working With Americans/Brasileiros que trabalham com americanos [Portuguese on title page only]: Cultural Case Studies/Estudos de casos culturais

8. Pizza World

8. Pizza World Company: PIZZA WORLD Focus: Sale of pizza Case Objective: Introducing a pizza chain to a Brazilian market Cultural Conflict: Coping with differences in expectations of the product and managerial style, and using local versus American suppliers Empresa: PIZZA WORLD Ênfase: Restaurante Objetivo do Caso: Introduzir uma rede de pizzarias no mercado brasileiro Conflito Cultural: Enfrentar a adaptação do produto, rede de contato locais, estilos de gerenciamento Introduction and Synopsis T his case describes a number of difficulties that Pizza World encountered upon entering the Brazilian market. Brazilian-style pizza is very different from American-style pizza. North Americans find it difficult to visualize a pizza with corn, onions, and catupiry (a Brazilian cheese). It is not that Americans do not like Brazilian-style pizza, but they do not associate it with the concept of pizza. In this case the same problem occurred in reverse: Brazilians just did not think of American-style pizza as pizza. Furthermore, Brazilians are proud of their pizza. Senichiro Koshio begins his comments by saying, “We want and we like good, tasty pizzas, those that are a pleasure to eat. And there are good pizzerias in São Paulo and in all Brazil.” On the other hand, North American executive Kevin Christensen describes American-style Pizza World 129 pizza as “traditional Italian pizza.” Of course, most Brazilians would probably beg to differ, and Italians even more, but it does show how each group defines the pizza of the others. Pizza World not only made assumptions about Brazilian tastes but also advertised their product in American ways. Additionally , they tried to run things with an American management style. Despite its difficult beginnings, the Pizza World case also shows how modifications were implemented in each of these areas. Introdução e Sinopse Esse caso oferece vários exemplos das dificuldades que a Pizza World teve ao entrar no mercado brasileiro. A pizza brasileira é muito diferente da pizza americana. É difícil para os norte-americanos visualizarem uma pizza com milho, cebolas, e catupiry. Não é que os americanos não gostem da pizza brasileira, é só que eles não associam estes ingredientes com a idéia do que é uma pizza. O mesmo problema aconteceu nesse caso, os brasileiros não associavam a pizza americana com a sua idéia de pizza. Além disso, os brasileiros são orgulhosos de suas pizzas. Senichiro Koshio começa seus coment ários dizendo, “E nós queremos, gostamos de pizzas boas, saborosas, que a gente sente prazer de comer. E tem boas pizzarias em São Paulo e no Brasil inteiro.” Por outro lado, é interessante notar que o executivo norteamericano Kevin Christensen descreve a pizza americana como a “tradicional pizza italiana”. Claro, é bem provável que a grande maioria dos brasileiros e mais ainda os italianos não estejam de acordo com essa declaração, mas isso mostra como cada grupo define as pizzas dos outros. A Pizza World não só errou nos gostos brasileiros, mas também lançou a propaganda sobre seu produto de uma forma bem americana. Além disso, eles também tentaram seguir um estilo de gerência que era muito americano. Apesar de todas essas dificuldades no início, o caso da Pizza World também mostra como é que eles implementaram algumas modificações em cada uma dessas áreas. Case: Pizza World Pizza World entered Brazil in the late 1980s with expectations of the same success that the company had experienced in other foreign markets. However , in the Brazilian case, the market turned out to be much more difficult than anticipated due to local product competition and distinct Brazilian taste preferences. It was only later, in the late ’90s, that Pizza World hired Brazilian businessman Paulo Teixeira to assess the situation and develop a business plan to better position Pizza World in Brazil. Previously, Paulo had been the Chief 130 Brazilians Working With Americans Executive Officer (ceo) responsible for the success of several other international franchising endeavors in the fast food sector in Brazil. In addition, Paulo had received a master’s degree in business administration from the Wharton Business School. Pizza World headquarters felt confident that Paulo’s professional experience and training in both Brazil and the United States made him a perfect choice to strategically place Pizza World in the local market and win...