Examining the Influence of Culture on KFC in Chinese Market - Research Proposal Example

Examining the Influence of Culture on KFC in Chinese Market Location of the Examining the Influence of Culture on KFC in Chinese Market Background Introduced in Beijing on November of 1987, the American fast food giant Kentucky Fried Chicken is one of China’s most favourite currently. It is however still a mystery how it picked so fast with very little reported hurdles in a culture so different from its initial setting. In what several researchers believe to have been a result of their flexible business models, KFC has majestically conquered the Chinese market and trampled its competitors under its feet. However, as it appears, one of the reasons, which gave KFC so much buoyancy in the Chinese market, is the Chinese government policy. It gave foreign companies a presumably significant access to the Markets in 1992. Agile and versatile, KFC China managers seized the opportunity and came up with transformative actions for the chain with respect to the prevailing business environment. Despite the obviously unbeatable model, KFC still faced challenges due to cultural differences. Despite the effectiveness of their business model, most of their restaurants were always empty at the start (Cronin, 2010 p. 54). It was important that they find a quick solution quick for that matter. In what transpired later as cultural difference and lack of consideration of the behaviours of the Chinese consumers, KFC had to twitch its original business model to fit totally in the environment. One of the most apparent changes that they had to make concerned the menu. Apart from Chicken and other fast foods considered ‘American’, KFC had to introduce into their list of dishes, foods that are familiar to the locals like the preserved Sichuan Pickle. Contemporarily, KFC owns several successful restaurants across China in both small and big cities. This proposal aims to study culture and how KFC dealt with it to conquer Chinese fast food markets. Moreover, it aims to provide concrete research framework that would assist in collection and analysis of comprehensive findings that support the provided basis of argument. Literature Review This section intends to examine some of the already existing theoretical frameworks (journals, books, research and verbatim), on the subject of quality of culture and KFC in Chinese markets. In some way, this part of the proposal seeks to find a relationship between the subject of study and the previous works on the same. In one way or another, such past literature should be able to corroborate each other or differ in views. The section relies on the analysis of previous studies relating to the survival of KFC in Chinese markets but within the bounds of this research. The vastness of the fast food sector demands several factors for consideration. Due to the criticality of the subject at hand, several previous research work have been done. However, most of the past research dwelt only on one side of the whole subject (Bazeley, 2013 p. 21). It captured the cultural effect on KFC in China or how the food chain company survived in the challenges in the Chinese market. The study, therefore, will bridge the left gap by juxtaposing the two sides of the coin; effects of culture difference and how the company overcame obstacles associated with it to become successful in Chinese markets. After that, the proposal will draw concise conclusions on the subject of study relative to the previous works. A study by the University of Halmstad, School of Business Engineering, is one among the many that touched on this area of study. Entitled ‘American Fast Food in Chinese Market: A Cross-Cultural Perspective,’ the study narrowed its findings and dwelt on the influence of cultural consideration on KFC in the Chinese market. Furthermore, it focused on how the cross-cultural business surrounding played to see KFC change its business strategies (Alon, 2010). The researchers successfully fulfilled their objectives through gathering its data through structured interviews and secondary sources. After a thorough and exhaustive analysis of all the data, the research concluded that culture differences undoubtedly manipulate the 4p marketing strategies of companies (Bougie, 2013 p. 6). Also, it was found out that various aspects of culture like religion, language and general cultural behaviours of the customer plays pivotal roles in the implementation of assured business strategies on an international platform. Evidently, this research does not address the vacuum behind the astounding success behind the KFC in the Chinese market despite being a foreign company. Another study that attempted to discuss KFC in China is the 2011 investigation by David Bell. Just like its name indicates (KFC’s Radical Approach in China); The study concentrates on KFC’s business model with respect to the Chinese market. In this study, Bell founds out that as opposed to their rigid model in the U.S.A, KFC ventured into strange waters by entering the Chinese market. Due to the variation in consumer behaviour, the company was forced to change its business strategies and at some point, overhaul the whole model (Creswell, 2013 p. 87). Such findings would be definite, owing to the theoretical statements on the effect of consumer behaviours. Again, this research is somehow narrow in that it focuses only on one side of the whole problem (Zinzius, 2010). At this point, the puzzle is solved partially, and a broader research is still lacking. In the quest to find an all-inclusive study, one would encounter ‘West Meets East: KFC and Its Success in China’. Carried out in the earlier days of KFC in China, this research is presented as one of the most reliable ones since it attempts to merge cultural influences with the success of the company in China. It managed to find out that cultural variations highly affects a business’ operation (Gale, 2014 p. 10), which is the foundation of all the changes in the business model. Moreover, such factors are also responsible for the various transformations KFC has to undergo to succeed in the foreign land (Malhotra, 2015 p. 31). However, just like the others, a loophole exist in this research. It failed to consider all the dynamics that might have contributed to the success; rather, it narrows its scope to cultural differences only (DeBevoise, 2014). Therefore, this research will explore a wider range of research that the ones in the previous research work. In regards to the unanswered several questions by the previous studies, this proposal intends to provide a competent research framework that will answer all the questions and fill all the left gaps in this field of study. In addition to the research work named above, there are several other past studies that touched on this research topic for instance Petrick (2011). Indeed, there are much other similar research, journals, articles and general writings covering some, if not all, elements of this study. Research Questions and Objectives In constructing a plausible research proposal, research questions serve to help guide the researcher stick within the bounds of the research and easily satisfy the requirements of the study (Alvesson, 2013 p. 3). As integral as they are, research objectives provide a reason and explains why the research would be necessary. For this research, some of the objectives and questions are outlined below. 1. To determine the relationship between Chinese consumer behaviour and the survival of KFC in the Chinese market. 2. To examine the link between cultural difference and the business model of a company, with KFC in mind. 3. To compare the quality of services offered and by KFC in China and U.S.A in a bid to explain the Chinese KFC success. 4. To investigate the level of customer expectation and how KFC managed to deal with it in Chinese markets. Research Questions 1. In what ways does culture affect marketing strategies of a company? 2. What customer expectations influence their choice of fast food restaurants? 3. Between price and quality, which one comes first for the consumers in China? Methodology and Research Methods Based on the objectives above, questionnaires will be used to obtain the results. For the purpose of achieving accuracy, questionnaires will be administered alongside the random sampling method. The variables included in each question in the survey apply the Likert scale: Strongly disagree to agree (Brymann, 2011 p. 41). The purpose of using these two variables is to come up with strong opinions from various correspondents. The Chinese management of KFC will be able to give their opinion based on their observation of the influence of culture on business, consumers too, will be able to rate the quality of services offered by KFC. Before the data collection, all the variables and items for measuring the set constructs have been presented to culture study experts and practitioners for scrutiny to ensure their validity with respect to the research area. In each case, the focused sample contains respondents 18 years old and above who happened to be frequent users of the particular KFC restaurant throughout China. Research Strategy and Underpinning Philosophy The research strategy is the general plan of how the researchers will go through the process of providing answers to the research questions. It entails the general orientation of the research. The strategies in this study will rely on the objectives of the research, nature of the research questions and the depth of the existing knowledge. Specifically, the study will employ strategies such as case studies, surveys, archival research, participative enquiry and action research. The main reason for using these strategies is to obtain reliable qualitative information that will directly answer the research questions. Research Design The research will work effectively to seek valuable answers to the research question. Additionally, the framework will support the statistical analysis plan and the data collection methods. In this study, the type of design will take a descriptive, correlational and review structures. In the explanatory framework, it will employ surveys and case study techniques. Past literature and systematic review will also constitute the structure. The research techniques were chosen carefully to avoid the incorporation of methods that cannot work. Techniques such as cross-sectional study, ethnography, experimentation cannot apply in this care. There will be not experiments in the study, hence making experimentation invalid in this case. Data Collection and Analysis Here, various methods will be used to collect data- primary sources and secondary sources Primary Data Primary data will be arranged in a way that they can fulfil the objectives set for this research and by that address the problem in question. The primary data collection method that will be used, in this case, is questionnaires. According to Gale (2014), primary data refers to the first-hand information obtained by a researcher based on their variables of interest on the particular objectives of the study (p. 178). Fully structured questionnaires will be given to a randomly sampled group of consumers found at the restaurants at the time of the research as well as some of the staff of the particular restaurant. The same will be done to consumers in KFC restaurants in other parts of the country. The questionnaire will consist of two sections. The first section aims to capture respondents’ expectations towards KFC with respect to some of the restaurants they may have visited. Here, measuring of consumer expectation is to be based on the model developed by Parasuraman and Berry (Parasuraman, 2011 p. 40). The scale of customer expectation consists of several dimensions. It includes facilities, responsiveness and customizations, employee conduct and reliability of the company. The second sections deal with consumer views on the quality of services provided by KFC in relation to the dominant culture in the area where it operates. These two sections contain assorted questions related to the objectives of this research. Questionnaires are efficient data gathering method, which fully takes care of the ‘whats and hows’ of measuring definite variables (Malhotra, 2015 p. 11). Secondary Data Secondary data is defined as the information collected by other people who previously conducted research on the same area of study (Bougie, 2013 p. 30). The most common ways of obtaining secondary data are by searching online databases for any documents relating to that study area. These online documents can be in the form of online journals, articles, written speeches and other relevant materials. The research will not use outdated information that could lead to wrong results and conclusion. Again, obtaining secondary data from the internet is less time-consuming, efficient, cost efficient and requires less effort. The researcher should take advantage of technological advancement to achieve accurate data through this method. Data Analysis and Presentation The qualitative data consisting of numerical will be analysed using statistical methods. The latest SPSS software will be employed in undertaking the process of analysis. The software will be used to compare the outcomes with past results of similar research. Statistical procedures such as simple counting, visual inspection of the rates of frequency change over time and graphing. The output data of the analysis will be presented in graphs, charts and tables. The methods of data analysis are flexible and can conduct a variety of manipulations. SPSS software will test the validity, reliability, and reliability of the data. Additionally, the methods will produce classified and explicit information that are easy to interpret. Therefore, it will be easy to generalize the main points in every category of data. Data Gathering Activity Details of Sample Method of Data Analysis Which Research Objective This Data Informs. Questionnaires 300 randomly chosen consumers and staff who are 18 years and above Parasuraman and Berry Model SPSS Software Effects of Chinese culture on KFC Various factors that informed the current model of KFC in the Chinese market Secondary data N/A Comparison of findings from various literature Effects of culture difference, the basis of KFC success in the Chinese market, the reason behind the business model employed by KFC in China. Ethical Considerations In cases where a research involves an organization as big as KFC, the researcher has to have a complete preview of the operations of the said organization. That is, organizational concepts like how the company works, rules of the organization, company policies regarding research works and even how the company would expect the researcher to conduct themselves in the presence of customers. Overall, the researcher has to follow strictly firm’s work ethics. Above all, this case requires a strict abidance by the CU Ethical Approval Process. Moreover, it is permanently a good idea to use participation information sheets, sometimes alongside a consent form if necessary. For a fruitful research, these considerations must be taken into account prior to the research; failure to which can lead to acute obstacles to data collection. In this research, there is a need to use both primary and secondary data. In that regard, it will also require the researcher to consider seeking low-risk approval using means such as the Coventry University online ethics system among others. In addition, the researchers will have to obey the rules of conducting research, as well as, interpretation of data. It is vital to do this to avoid any element of bias. Planning and Resources Required The research is scheduled to run for a duration of 12 days. It is necessary to prepare all necessary resources before the commencement. Additionally, contingency plans must be formulated to ensure that the research does not stall. Besides, in any important mission, an alternative plan has always saved situations that were almost out of hand (Alvesson, 2013 p. 55). In this case, alternative research tools, extra questionnaires will be availed for use in case the others get destroyed. In addition, adequate financial resources, research workforce, reference resources and sufficient time must be allocated for the study. List of References Alon, I. (2010). Chinese culture, organizational behavior, and international business management. Westport, Conn.: Praeger. Alvesson, M. (2013). Constructing Research Questions. New York: Sage Publications. Bazeley, P. (2013). Qualitative Data Analysis: Practical Strategies. New York: Sage Publications. Bougie, R. (2013). Research methods for Business. London: Wiley Bryman, A. & Bell, E. (2011). Business Research Methods. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Creswell, W. (2013). Research Design - Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approaches. New York: Sage Publications. Cronin, J. & Hult, T. (2010). Assessing the effects of quality, value, and customer satisfaction on consumer behavioural intentions in service environments. Journal of Retailing. London: Pearsons. DeBevoise, J. (2014). Between state and market. Leiden: Brill. Gale, B. T. (2014). Managing customer value: Creating quality & service that customers can see. New York: The Free Press. Malhotra, N. & Birks, D. (2015). Marketing Research: An Applied Approach updated. London: Prentice-Hall International. Parasuraman, A. & Berry, L. (2011). Servqual: A multiple-item scale for measuring consumer perception of service quality. Journal of Retailing. London: Macmillan. Petrick, J. (2011). Examining the antecedents of brand loyalty from an investment model perspective. Journal of Travel Research. New York: Cengage Publishers. Zinzius, B. (2010). Doing business in the new China. Westport, CT: Praeger. Read More