Running head: RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Research Proposal: Changing consumers perception increases KFCs challenge to sustain in the
fast food market
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Authors Note

RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Table of Content
Introduction (Research Topic).........................................................................................................2
Research Aim and Objectives..........................................................................................................3
Background and Literature Review.................................................................................................3
Research questions:.........................................................................................................................6
Research Process.............................................................................................................................6
Methodology of the Research:.........................................................................................................8
Data collection and research..........................................................................................................10
Gantt Chart:...................................................................................................................................12
Expected research outcome:..........................................................................................................13
Conclusion with assumed contribution of the research:................................................................13
References:....................................................................................................................................14
Appendix: Ethical checklists.........................................................................................................16
Appendix........................................................................................................................................16

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Introduction (Research Topic)

The success of the retail business is completely customer-driver. It is indeed challenging
to keep maintain the competitive advantages in the market because consumer preferences are
keep challenging with times. There are many internal pressures in the industry of fast food
restaurant and cafes including KFC, McDonald and so on. To capture the maximum consumer
demand KFC invented own secret recipe of Sander (Recipe with spices and ranges of 11 herbs).
By the introduction of serving fried chicken in the Bucket system, the company has gradually
increased their popularity among global audiences. The main competitive advantages of the
company are the high standard supply chain and the system of the distribution. However
aggressive expansion by foreign rivals increasing the eating options for consumers (Paulsen,
Rogns and Hersleth 2015). Evidence suggests immense changing preferential food habits of
consumers in the fast food restaurant and caf industry. For instance, KFC, being the subsidiary
company of YUM was decided to be sold by the parent company to reduce the operational loss
of the YUM. Despite working hard to create irresistible taste and experiences that delight
consumers time, KFC faced many religious conflicts and thus results restricted consumption of
the products of company at times. Therefore, changing patterns of consumer choice in terms of
KFCs fast food products requires to be evaluated and analyzed being chosen as the research
topic foe this proposal.
Based on this research topic, the researcher will design the entire research process by
formulating the research aim, objectives, and research questions. After developing the aim and
objectives of the research, the researcher will discuss the literature review where recent journals,

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case studies, articles regarding the KFCs struggle, competitive challenges and fights for
sustainability over the years will be discussed. However, the evolving fast food consumption
patterns is the core essence of the reviewing the literature (Manning 2015). Based on the
literature the researcher will chose which tools, approaches, techniques would be suitable for
getting the desired results in the methodology section.

Research Aim and Objectives

The aim of the research is to analyze the changing patterns and the reactions towards the
intake of KFC. By aiming at this, the researcher is set out the objectives of the research which
are as follows:
To evaluate the frequency of changing patterns of the food consumption demand of
consumers all over the world
To discuss the changing fast food habits regarding the intake of KFC
To examine the biggest challenges which turmoil the brands position in India and around
the world
To discuss the cultural perception and reactions and its impacts of business management
and marketing strategies of KFC while doing the business all over the world.

Background and Literature Review

Several impressive growths of the developing countries over the past two decades ensure
the par capital growth incomes in the hands of most of the global consumers who prefer to eat
fast foods in their daily life (Manning 2015). However, the researcher noticed that the share of
consumer spending on food has recently declined despite countries maintained consistency with
the overall economic growth. It indicates that the fast food business has rapidly changing with
the different perceptions of consumers. Nowadays consumers have become choosy. To

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manufacture the ranges of products with flavoring new and presenting differently are the ongoing
challenges for fast food restaurants and cafes such as MacDonald and KFC. This company is the
second largest fast food chain has successfully operated more than 18000 stores around 115-118
countries around the world. To maintain the competitive advantages, the company introduced the
new recipes such as Sander which is the unique blend of eleven herbs. Furthermore the company
introduced a new trend of serving the fried chicken in the cardboard Bucket. The company has
successfully defeating all the competitions coming from the other rival companies in different
nations and has ensured huge average annual sales of approximately to 1.2 million dollar in
2013. However, the company experienced a huge setback in 2015, when YUM was all set to sale
KFC business in India due to failed to gain any profit after made many efforts by the
management. The company was observed that consumers suddenly have been cut down their
budget on discretionary spending. On the other hand, despite the second dominating position of
KFCs in the world-wide fast food industry, it encountered fierce cultural obstruction in many
countries such as China, India and other Muslim nations (Paulsen, Rogns and Hersleth 2015).
Firstly, this has happened in China. Being an ancient country with a long-established history and
unique oriental culture, this foreign company was being criticized for their patterns of adaptation
and the way Chinese customer perceived their products (Hugstad and Durr 2015). Thus the
company was caught by many authors attention due to cultural differences in the Chinese
market. In the recent times, Kentucky Fried Chicken have been faced strange cultural
consequences and criticized the company for slaughtering millions of under processed chicken
in a dreadful way, which is considered unlawful in many Muslim countries and India where there
are huge populations exists from Muslim communities. The same situation was faced by this
American company in other Islamic countries. Being recognized as the western food chains in

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many Arab and Asian countries, KFC restaurants have been stormed, bombed and burned down
in fits of anti-American rage or terrorism over the past decade. The company has become a topic
of debates over encroachment of non-traditional values. There were many scholar article
published cited concerns that the restaurant was another sign that the United States is trying to
gain cultural influences over Iran. These results, KFC are still banned in Iran under orders
from the higher authorities of the country. Later the company received request from an Islamic
Imam to have Islam-approved meat served in their chain but this American food chain company
refused these offer in Hong-Kong for the first time (Hugstad and Durr 2015). In this way, the
cultural influences changed the human perceptions and demand of food consumption and KFC
faced this managerial problem by many years. Now the company is mainly concerned about the
security issues to function in the global market. Though there is a huge cultural difference of
Western and Asian, new generation people of India hugely appreciates the secrets of crispy
chicken (Paulsen, Rogns and Hersleth 2015). Due to economic liberalization policy of the
government of India, KFC initially has received permission to open 30 new outlets across the
country. The company has become popular due to having substantial upper middle class families
with the trend of families eating out in most of the major cities. However, KFC faced severe
protests by People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). This regulatory body even released
a video tape showing the brutal treatment in poultry firms of KFC. This hampered the year end
sale of the company during the phase of nineties. Despite the company faced many cultural
constraints in India, the company planned a massive expansion program in India considering the
values and beliefs of Indian culture.
Gap of the literature:

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The managerial issues and problems are difficult to measure for the researcher because all
such data are confidential and non-accessible for the third party. On the other hand, depending
only on the published data and journals regarding such issues may not give the authentic
outcomes of the literature.

Research questions:
The researcher will address specific at the end of the research study by addressing the
following research questions:
What is the significance of different cultural perspectives in term of selling products of
KFC?
How does changing preferences of consumer impacts on business management and
marketing strategies of KFC?
What are the challenges faced by the organization while selling products in India?
How would KFC stand for new prominence in India and around the world?
How does the fast food brand deal with the aggressive entry of foreign rivals in the
market?

Research Process
A progressive research must maintain a structure and procedure which comprises some
typical research process in form of following stages:
With the expectation that the chosen research topic holds the relevance, the researcher
selects the research area in the first stage. To discuss the research topic in more descriptive
manner, the researcher will formulate the research aim, objectives and significant question which
address the problem statement of the research clearly. In that context, the researcher will select
the appropriateness between the formulation of the research questions and the development of

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the hypothesis. This stage is vital because the following stage of methodology is completely
depends on research aim and objectives or hypothesis. In the third stage, the research will
conduct comprehensive reviews of the literature. Here the researcher will form an opinion after
the studying different perspectives and approaches of the changing consumer perceptions in
order to intake the food consumptions because consumers has become choosy due to an
impressive economic growth over the last two decades in most of the developing countries
including India. In the next stage, the researcher will select the specific data collection method
on the basis of critically evaluating suitability or non-suitability associated with several
alternative data collection methods. After gathering all data and relevant information, the
researcher will be preceded by the great level of preparation for the successful completion of
data collection method. Data will critically examine in the section of data analysis for the
observations of research aim and objectives. Based on the outcome of the research, the
researcher will reach at conclusion stage where the researcher will justify what the study has
achieved in the due course. Following all of the stages above, the researcher will organize the
entire research study and close the research procedure within a specified time frame.

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Methodology of the Research:

Research methodology gives researcher a framework for conduct the research
systematically (Yin et al. 2016). By the use of various tools and techniques, the researcher will
conduct this research. To identify the evolving issues related to changing perceptions of
consumers and impacts of disgraceful cultural understanding against the intake of KFC in India
or particularly other Muslim countries, the company needs to choose a suitable research design.
The purpose of the research design is to explore the specific aspects of the research area. The
researcher may chose three types of research design: Descriptive, Exploratory and
Explanatory. Descriptive research design provides the additional information about the
research topic. In this approach, the researcher collects information instead of making guesses or
elaborate models to predict the future. On the other hand, Exploratory research design
describes as the initial research into hypothetical or theoretical ideas. Here the researcher forms
an observation about the research topic. Furthermore, Explanatory research design, is

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described as an attempt to connect ideas to understand the different consequences of the research.
For this research, the researcher will follow the descriptive research design. By the
approaching these research design the company will gain an in-depth understanding of the topic
of the research.
In this section the researcher will also decide the suitable approach of collecting such data
and information which are essential to conduct such research. Here the primary and secondary
both data collection methods will be used. The secondary data research is required for
conducting the extensive literature about the chosen topic. Here sources of data will explore
different articles, journals, books about the behavior and patterns of consumers regarding the
changing perceptions of eating fast food habits will be discussed. On the other hand, the primary
research consists of a collection of original primary data collected by the researcher. It is often
undertaken after the researcher has gained some insight into the concerned issue by the analyzing
of the secondary research (Smith 2015). Here the researcher will explore both qualitative and
quantitative data for getting the best research outcomes related to the topic. Moreover, the
researcher will select the sample for getting the statistical data for the chosen respondents
(Palinkas et al. 2015). In this research, people from the age group of 18-50 years of different
religions will be selected for participating respondent because ranges of ages consumed goods
with various choices.

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Data collection and research

For conducting the research, the best research design needs to explore the sufficient
amount of data which needs to collect from different sources (O'Leary 2013). According to
Pickard (2012), the adequate data helps to explore different perspectives of the concerned issue.
As per the research methodology, the researcher will explain both primary and secondary data
for presenting the better analysis of the topic of the topic of the research. The secondary sources
will help to understand the cultural perspective and patterns of intake of KFC. For gathering
primary data, different region people of the age group of 18-50 years who may be a consumer or
not interested to intake KFC foods. Therefore, the researcher will get the variable responses. By
conducting the survey, the researcher has chosen Dandenongs KFC considering the best location
because it is situated at the centre of Melbourne City. Generally people of this area are come for
dinner and they are from the different language and diverse cultural background. This is a
method of quantitative data analysis where personal observations are collected and critically

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analyzed (Tayur, Ganeshan and Magazine 2012). On the other hand, the face-to-face interviews
will be conducted under the qualitative data analysis section. The managerial people of different
locations of KFC will participate in the discussion regarding the changing food intake habit of
the global audiences. Furthermore, the cultural factors indulge brutality slaughtering of chicken
for making the processed chicken recipes of KFC raised many issues against the companys
operation. Therefore, the managerial people of the concerned company are the best people to
share their responses regarding this sensitive issue. This is a qualitative data analysis where
methods of enquiry employed in many of academic disciplines (Silverman 2016). In this way, the
research will analyze both qualitative and quantitative data through the process of primary data
collection method.

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Gantt Chart:
4.5

3.5

2.5

1.5

0.5

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Expected research outcome:
By the successful completion of this research, the concerned company, KFC will get to
know about the consumers perceptions and theoretical thinking about the products of the
company. Based on such results, the management of the American based company will anticipate
the future sales. This research may help to recover the issues which may responsible for
decreased product demand in the India and Other Muslim countries.

Conclusion with assumed contribution of the research:

The researcher may hope that this research will provide a clear perspective about the
different cultural values, beliefs, norms and a particular food consumption habits as well. This
will help to understand the changing consumers trends and perceptions regarding the intake of
fast food consumption. This will definitely contribute in companys sustainability in the foreign
market.

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References:
Hugstad, P.S. and Durr, M., 2015. A study of country of manufacturer impact on consumer
perceptions. In Proceedings of the 1986 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual
Conference (pp. 115-119). Springer International Publishing.
Manning, L., 2015. Determining value in the food supply chain. British Food Journal, 117(11),
pp.2649-2663.
O'Leary, Z., 2013. The essential guide to doing your research project. Sage.
Palinkas, L.A., Horwitz, S.M., Green, C.A., Wisdom, J.P., Duan, N. and Hoagwood, K., 2015.
Purposeful sampling for qualitative data collection and analysis in mixed method implementation
research. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research,
42(5), pp.533-544.
Paulsen, M.T., Rogns, G.H. and Hersleth, M., 2015. Consumer perception of foodbeverage
pairings: the influence of unity in variety and balance. International Journal of Gastronomy and
Food Science, 2(2), pp.83-92.
Pickard, A., 2012. Research methods in information. Facet publishing.
Silverman, D. ed., 2016. Qualitative research. Sage.
Smith, J.A. ed., 2015. Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods. Sage.
Tayur, S., Ganeshan, R. and Magazine, M. eds., 2012. Quantitative models for supply chain
management (Vol. 17). Springer Science & Business Media.

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Yin, Z., Valdez, A., Mata Jr, A.G. and Kaplan, C., 2016. Developing a field-intensive
methodology for generating a randomized sample for gang research. Free Inquiry in Creative
Sociology, 28(1), pp.81-90.

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16

Appendix: Ethical checklists

Appendix
Ethical Checklist
1.

Will the human subjects be informed of the

Yes

Human

nature of their involvement in the collection of

subjects

data and of features of the research that

will

reasonably might be expected to influence

informed

willingness to participate?

about

be

the

details
data

2.

of
and

Will the human subjects be told that they can discontinue their Yes

information
The

participation at any time?

respondent
may

face

discontinuati
on

without

prior notice if
the
researcher
notice

any

difficulties
during

the

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17
survey

3.

Will the human subjects in your study be aware that they are the Yes

process
The

targets of research?

researcher
will

ensure

the targets of
the

research

during

the

process

of

identified
researcher
4.

If the subjects are underage, will their guardians be asked to sign No

topic
No underage

the consent form?

respondents
will be chosen
for

survey

process
because
knowledgeabl
e
respondents
response will
only
selected

be

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5.

18

Is the confidentiality of the human subjects identity positively Yes

The

ensured?

researcher
bound

to

protect

the

confidential
information
of
respondents
throughout
he
6.

research

In cases where there is a possibility that the human subject's Yes

process.
Any personal

identity can be deduced by someone other than the researcher, is

identical

the subject's right to withdraw his/her data respected?

information
will

not

be

disclosed

by

the
researcher.
The

selected

respondents
shall

have

freedom

to

withdraw
their

name

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19
from

the

survey
process

at

any point of
7.

Will the researcher fulfil all the promises made to the human Yes

time.
The summary

subjects including providing the summary of the findings upon

of

request?

findings

the

the

research

will

be

conveyed

to

the
8.

of

selected

Will all necessary measures be taken to protect the physical safety Yes

respondents
A complete

of

security

the human subjects from dangers such as faulty electrical

equipment, poor grounding, lack of oxygen, falls, traffic &

measures will

industrial accidents, possibility of hearing or vision loss etc.?

be taken care
of

by

the

researcher to
avoid

any

unfavourable
9.

Will the human subject be debriefed (told the true nature of the Yes

consequences
The research

study) after the data has been collected?

is bound to be
maintained

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20
the

ethical

transparency
during

the

research
1

In cases in which the human subject is dissatisfied or a complaint Yes

process.
If respondent

about the researcher or procedure, will the researcher explain to the

not

human subject that he or she may express this complaint to the

with

Subject Coordinator?

research

satisfied
the

process, then
they

can

express their
complaint in
front of the
subject
1

Does the study involve concealment from and/or deception of the No

coordinator
The

1.

human subject?

transparency is
bound to be
maintained by
the researcher.
However, any
kind
camouflage

of

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21
shall not be
entertained by

Will deception be used in order to obtain agreement to participate?

No

2.

the researcher.
No deception
or fraud will
be

obtained

in

the

participation
process
because
transparency
is bound to be
maintained
by researcher
Responses

Will the study involve human subjects who are legally or otherwise

3.

not in a position to give their valid consent to participate such as

shall

be

children, prison inmates, mental patients?

treated

as

valid,

if

No

selected
respondent is
physically
and mentally
fit and sound.
Person

with

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22
involved

in

legal
consequences
will

not

be

considered as
valid
1

Will information on your human subjects be obtained from third No

respondent.
No

4.

parties?

information
of

human

subjects

be

obtained
from

the

third parties
for
maintaining
transparency,
authenticity
and
accountabilit
1
5.

Will any coercion be exerted upon subjects to participate?

No

y
No

forceful

participation
process shall

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23
be
entertained
by

the

Will the study involve physical stress to the human subjects such No

researcher
The

6.

as might

respondents

result from heat, noise, electric shock, pain, sleep

loss, deprivation of food and drink, drugs, alcohol?

will

be

physical
stress, human
subjects

will

be protected
The research

Will the study cause any mental discomfort to the human subjects

7.

such as fear, anxiety, loss of self-esteem, shame, guilt,

will

be

embarrassment etc.?

looking

for

No

accurate
response
from

their

respondent so
mental
discomfort
shall not be
1

Could publication of the research results possibly interfere with Yes

entertained
A
strict

8.

strict confidentiality?

confidentiality
shall

be

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24
maintained in
order

to

maintained the
data

security

and
1

Could publication of the research results possibly harm the human No

authenticity
Proposed

9.

subject -

publication

either directly or through identification with his/her

membership group?

will definitely
not harm the
human
subjects
collect

to
the

authentic
data

and

Are there other aspects of the study that may interfere with the No

responses
All
ethical

0.

protection of the

aspects shall

well-being of the human subjects?

be considered
seriously
protect

to
the

well-being of
the

human

subjects.

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Contribution of the Research 150

Conclusion 100
Gantt chart
Ethical Checklists

30