The two first Outback Steakhouse stores were created by Chris Sullivan, Bob Basham and Tim Gannon in 1988 in Tampa. Within 7 years, the company became "the fastest growing US steakhouse chain with over 200 stores throughout the United States". In 1994, the company's stock increased from $22.63 to $32. Moreover, Outback Steakhouse seen as an example of a great success story was awarded many times.
In the context of this successful evolution of the company, the question of its internalisation and the conquest of other markets became obvious to the company. In 1994, Hugh Connerty was appointed president of Outback International and was in charge to lead to company abroad knowing that it would be a critical change.
This case study states the problem of the global expansion of a company and the strategic and operational anticipated changes it must take into account to make this internationalisation a success. Can the reasons of Outback Steakhouse's success within the United States also be applied to other markets? If not, what are the inputs the company needs to take into account before being global?
The potential international expansion of Outback Steakhouse can not be considered before explaining the reasons of the success of the company in United States through an environment and company analysis. Finally a few recommendations will be given to the company in order to help it to settle a suitable global strategy.
The reasons of Outback Steakhouse's success on the US market rely on its corporate strategy which stresses mainly on its strong corporate culture and leadership. In this area, Outback Steakhouse benefits from a core competitive advantage compared to its competitors. Indeed, the case states that the turnover for general managers and employees is the lowest in the US food industry. Managers are highly motivated by higher wages than in the rest of the industry ($100,000 per year instead of $60,000-$70,000 in the rest of the industry) and employees benefit from profit participation, trust relationship with the management and a deep commitment in the company's activity. They also enjoy from a relative autonomy, a week schedule that is less important than in the rest of the industry (from 50 to 55 hours instead of 70 hours in other restaurants) and health insurance. The culture of the company focuses on "long term well being" for all the "outbackers" who all share the same values: hospitality, sharing, fun and courage.
When deciding upon a steakhouse to eat at there is many places to choose from. I always went to Longhorn steakhouse until I was introduced to Outback steakhouse. In my opinion, outback steakhouse is number one for many reasons but the top reason is for its outstanding quality food and service.
In addition to that the culture of openness and not holding information for so long on important issues in the company makes it possible for the investors and employees make tough and timely decisions without having in mind the negative consequences that they may be facing if anything goes wrong. Chick-fil-A encourages the employees to be continuously innovative and lead the way in making little decisions both in the kitchen and at service space. For example employees are allowed to modify ingredients of food to feed special customers’ needs. The segmentation of the management structure on the other hand facilitates the ease of communication.
As sources point out, Outback's locations as seen on maps are not part of a conspiracy and meant to telegraph dire times ahead. Rather, "it's all just a coincidence," according to the Post. To put things in context, according to Google search results on "number of Outback Steakhouse locations," the most recent data shows 978 units are in operation in the United States. Therefore, a person is likely to see random odd shapes when looking at the dots on a map.
Outsiders wondered how each company’s internal changes would affect their endless competitive battle in the industry. The case illustrates how global competitiveness depends on the organizational capability, the difficulty of overcoming deeply rooted administrative heritage, and the limitations of both classic multinational and global models.
In my research of this company and its path to globalization, I found that information about certain aspects of the company were more readily available than others. For example, I found that I had more difficulty finding scholarly articles that dealt with the distinct business strategies that Starbuck’s employed in order to globalize, in that it became apparent that much of the information about the terms of their mergers and acquisitions were not released or that the companies and business groups that they did so with had websites that contained no information in English. Interestingly enough, I found more of an abundance of scholarly material on the homogeneous cultural impacts that Starbucks has had and how the spread of the company’s locations worldwide has been received by some cultures as the spread of American values. A bulk of my research findings came from business reports and releases about the company, which were useful in keeping accounts of how the company was able to infiltrate global markets and expand. The Website was a good starting point for my research in that it provided points of interest about the company that I could research into g...
Today what is known as In-N-Out Burger was first founded by Harry Snyder and his wife Esther Snyder in 1948. The first location was in Baldwin Park California (ReferenceforBusiness.com). Now with over 200 locations in California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and Texas it has been ranked number one in many polls (ReferenceforBusiness.com). Today its headquarters are in Irvine California.
In conclusion, the idea of globalisation, the process where companies develop themselves internationally is one of the current issues of our generation. Globalisation has been caused because of many factors, such as reduced protection, the reduction of tariffs and quotas and new developments in information and transportation technology. Consequently these factors that cause the globalisation of Australian businesses also result in many costs and benefits. The key costs and benefits are free trade, the result of removing trade barriers and the environmental costs that are caused by pollution from factories. Overall, a positive outcome will arise if the globalisation of Australian business continues.
With the advent of the Internet, decreased shipping costs, and the removal of trade barriers, the world market has shrunk in such a way that everyone can be a player. While many businesses thrive solely on serving a small local area, a globalized company has the benefits of increased customer markets, gross production, and brand awareness. Take for example Coca-Cola; this multi-national corporation offers products in countries all over the world, operates in over 200 of those countries with the help of its franchisees, and is the most well-known beverage companies. It is interesting to note however, that as positive as globalization may seem, there are many negative ramifications and a large population of detractors to this movement. While increased product availability is good for profits, if a local market is inundated with imported products, locally grown or manufactured items may be squeezed out, to the detriment of the local economy. Although it is cost effective to have your product produced in another country with low wages, you are essentially taking away jobs from the people of your own country, negatively impacting your national economy. However, if you manufacture your products in a country with higher wages, you must increase your products’ prices which may be harmful to your profits. While maximizing your companies profits is always of great importance, it is essential that you weigh the pros and cons of globalization and its effects on not only your company, but the areas in which you wish to spread.
According to Royle (1999) McDonald’s is a very large multinational enterprise (MNE) and the largest food service operation in the world. Currently the company has 1.5 million workers with 23,500 stores in over 110 countries with the United Kingdom and Germany amongst the corporation’s six biggest markets, and over 12,000 restaurants in the United States. In 1974 the United Kingdom corporation was established and in 1971 the Germany corporation was established, currently the combined corporation has over 900 restaurants and close to 50,000 employees in each of these countries (Royle, 1999).
Founded in 1981 by Louis Kane and Ron Shaich as Au Bon Pain Company Inc.; a bakery-café company in the East Coast. In 1993, the company bought the Saint Louis Area Bread Company (20 additional stores). After an extensive market research by the management team, Panera belief that there was a need for higher quality, fresh and quick dinning. The idea to try in the “fast-casual” dinning segment was in the works. By 1997, the idea proved to be a success; sales volumes increased, and over a hundred new stores were opened. Later that year, management decided to officially rename the company to Panera Bread Company. Not long after the changed, in 1998 the Board of Directors decided to sell Au Bon Pain division to ABP Corp. for $73 million dollars. Using the revamped company’s concept and debt free, Panera new focus was concentrated in the fast growth of the company, expanding its locations all across the United States.
This paper examines the expansion of General Motors overseas in its various phases, as well as triggers for internationalization and the problems faced during the process. The paper also considers what benefits have been achieved through international growth, and how the company can be classified with regards to Bartlett and Ghosal’s 4 typologies. Finally, the paper discusses the concept of a “world car,” meeting the demands of customers across the globe.
...e policies result in satisfaction of employees, so Starbucks has lower turnover rate than market competitors. As a result, better working condition, and great organisational culture help them to perform better. For the company, Starbucks can keep experienced employees longer so that they can provide better quality of product and service, also can save expenses from recruiting new employees. The dimension of People orientation leads company to make a friendly and flexible working surroundings to attract talented new employees and retain current employees. These days just high wage can't attract the best people. They are not just asking for better wage. Friendly, enjoyable working condition and company's environment are also critical factors to choose working place. When the employee's satisfaction is increased, more people will be staying in their current work place.
In 1973, a group of ten principal franchise owners became the officers of the company. Shares were offered to each store owner. Because of the amount of stock offered, Sonic became a publicly traded company with 165 stores in the chain.
Vignali, C. (2001). McDonald’s: “think global, act local”--the marketing mix. British Food Journal, 103(2), pp.97--111.
Burger King’s core competency is fast food restaurant franchises specializing in made to order, flame-broiled hamburger sandwiches, particularly the “Whopper”. Using the strategy of industrial organization to capture market share Burger King offers a similar product (hamburgers) in a different way (flame-broiled). This strategy of product differentiation is part of the firm conduct category that Burger King uses to set itself apart from its competitors. In order to compete with its fast food competitors Burger King accentuates its core competencies in its marketing and product strategies, thereby leveraging market share.