Global operations management during major change: an exploration of industrial practice

Article English OPEN
Ojiako, Udechukwu ; Maguire, Stuart ; Guo, Shuting (2009)
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the key practical factors that confront global businesses as they attempt to improve all aspects of their operations including emerging areas of the customer experience. The paper focuses on the way various organisational capabilities such as information systems/information technology have been adopted in order to provide an enhanced operational and strategic control over key areas of business. \ud \ud Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopts a case-based participation observation study which explores the global operations of a major restaurant brand. This approach enables it to explore several concepts which examine the behaviour of global operations at a time of major change. \ud \ud Findings – The paper has focused on the application of change principles in the restaurant and hospitality industry and its importance for business performance and marketing strategy. The paper shows how adapting business strategy to incorporate key cultural sensitivities can pay major dividends for organisations. This strategy appears to be contrary to the general approach of standardisation adopted by other franchises in this key market sector. \ud \ud Research limitations/implications – It will be necessary to increase the range of this research to ensure any real certainty regarding its implications. \ud \ud Originality/value – The paper identifies a number of interesting changes to preconceived ideas of standardising product portfolios in the restaurant sector. It shows the need for a balanced “mix” of menu products to satisfy local and national requirements.
  • References (159)
    159 references, page 1 of 16

    Abercrombie, N., Hill, S. and Turner, B. (1994), Dictionary of Sociology, Penguin, Harmondsworth.

    Agarwal, J. and Wu, T. (2003), “China's entry to WTO: global marketing issues, impact, and implications for China”, International Marketing Review, Vol. 21 No. 2, pp. 279-300.

    Andaleeb, S. and Conway, C. (2006), “Customer satisfaction in the restaurant industry: an examination of the transaction-specific model”, The Journal of Service Marketing, Vol. 20 No. 1, pp. 3-11.

    Anderson, P. and He, X. (1999), “Culture and the fast-food marketing mix in the People's Republic of China and the USA: implications for research and marketing”, Journal of International Consumer Marketing, Vol. 11 No. 1, pp. 77-95.

    Andersson, T.D. and Mossberg, L. (2004), “The dining experience: do restaurants satisfy customer needs?”, Food Service Technology, Vol. 4 No. 4, pp. 171-7.

    Andriotis, K. (2002), “Scale of hospitality firms and local economic development - evidence from Crete”, Tourism Management, Vol. 23 No. 4, pp. 333-41.

    Asgary, N. and Wall, A. (2002), “The cultural impact of globalization: economic activity and social change”, Cross Cultural Management, Vol. 9 No. 3, pp. 58-75.

    Baillie, K. (2008), “Health implications of transition from a planned to a free-market economy - an overview”, ObesityReviews, Vol. 9, s1, pp. 146-50.

    Benitez, M., Martin, J. and Roman, C. (2007), “Using fuzzy number for measuring quality of service in hotel industry”, TourismManagement, Vol. 28, pp. 544-55.

    Berkley, B. and Gupta, A. (1995), “Identifying the information requirements to deliver quality service”, International Journal of Service Industry Management, Vol. 6 No. 5, pp. 16-35.

  • Metrics
    0
    views in OpenAIRE
    0
    views in local repository
    88
    downloads in local repository

    The information is available from the following content providers:

    From Number Of Views Number Of Downloads
    Northumbria Research Link - IRUS-UK 0 88
Share - Bookmark