Analysis of fast food-service industry in Turkey

Abstract

With economic development, general labor productivity increases and labor force opportunities improve, especially for women. Many of traditional foods are time-intensive, in some cases extremely so, requiring long preparation times by the food preparers in household. The increasing value of the human time must be considered one of the factors underlying the shift from time-intensive traditional foods to time-saving foods. Fast food has emerged to satisfy the needs of people by means of clean and standard product which can be quickly prepared and eaten. This study utilizes both descriptive and empirical approaches. In the descriptive part the evolution and development of fast food industry in the world is discussed. This part covers history and concept of fast food including changes in the character of public feeding industry. Also, key factors for success in fast food service industry and responding to fast food market changes are reported. Besides, economic, social, and technological factors which create the demand for fast food service are outlined. It is known that the growth of fast food chains where an uniform product of high quality with relatively cheap price is served in a modern, clean, and pleasant environment has had a primary impact on the development of fast food service industry. That's why instead of local small scale businesses fast food service chains which offer products and services at international standards are taken into consideration. Finally top 20 international fast food and pizza chains are listed. There are very few studies done in Turkey on this subject. In the empirical part of this study consumers' preferences, their eating frequency, evaluation criteria and the satisfaction with the products and services provided in the Turkish fast food-service market are analyzed. Changes in fast food consumption patterns and consumers attitudes after entering foreign fast food chains into Turkish market are also investigated. Primary data collection method is field survey using questionnaire administered on 500 people chosen by convenience sampling. Three major findings described in the conclusion of this research are : (a) Most significant advantages of fast food are "saving time" and "being practical"; the major disadvantages are concentrated on "being unhealthy" and "causing unbalanced nutrition". (b) Cleanliness, quality, and taste are three evaluation criteria which are assessed as roost important ones. (c) Although foreign fast food service restaurants are leading chains for quality, standardization etc., some domestic restaurants are also capable of meeting the wants and needs of fast food consumers successfully. As can be seen from ranking of most preferred restaurants, Borsa place in the first four. In the last part of this study conclusions and implications for the operators and marketers of fast food; and for academicians and researchers are pointed out.