Supply Chain Management Impact on KUDU Restaurant Success in Jordan

This research proposal investigates the impact of supply chain management on the success and failure of the KUDU restaurant chain in Jordan. The study aims to analyze the reasons behind KUDU's operational failure, examining factors such as supply chain structure, supplier relationships, and market dynamics. The proposal includes a detailed literature review covering supply chain management concepts, restaurant performance, and relevant factors. The methodology outlines the research approach, hypothesis development, data collection methods, and ethical considerations. The analysis will incorporate PEST analysis and statistical implications, with the final chapters presenting findings, recommendations, and limitations. The research seeks to provide valuable insights for both scholars and industry practitioners, offering practical strategies for improving supply chain efficiency and enhancing restaurant performance in the Jordanian market.

Supply Chain Management Impact on Restaurant Success:
The case of KUDU Restaurant in Jordan – An Analytical Study
Research Proposal By Reema Kazimi
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Abstract
This paper is prepared as a proposal for Master Thesis. The research covered in this paper
has been conducted aiming to achieve a number of objectives, most importantly to analyze
and outline the main factors behind the failure of a fast food chain restaurant (KUDU) in
Jordan as a sample.
The research is divided into five main chapters:
The first chapter (Introduction), covers the rationale of topic selection (i.e. the significance of
the study), a summarized background of the organization (KUDU Restaurant) and It's
restructuring , the statement of the study (Research Problem), and the research objectives.
The second chapter (Literature review), which explains the previous literature review, and
the researcher's discussion of previous studies.
The third chapter (Methodology), outlines the research approach, the hypothesis
development, research instruments and data collection, and the research model (or
paradigm).
The fourth chapter (Analysis), provides a detailed multi-facet description of data
analysis (PEST) and statistical, theoretical implications, managerial implications, and the
research limitations and ideas for future research
The Fifth Chapter (Discussion), includes the results (or findings) of the research as well as the
recommendations.
The research findings has shown that KUDU management has lacked strategic planning for
its supply chain. Certain recommendations were also enlisted that covers main parties
involved (both types: scholars and industry practitioners).
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Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................6
1.1 Rationale of topic selection....................................................................................................6
1.1.1 The importance of Supply Chain Management in any industry......................................6
1.1.2 The critical role of restaurants on Jordan's economy.....................................................7
1.2 Summarized Organization Background and Restructuring of KUDU Jordan.........................8
1.3 Problem statement................................................................................................................8
1.4 Objectives of the study..........................................................................................................9
1.5 Research Questions................................................................................................................9
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW.................................................................................................10
2.1 The concept of supply chain................................................................................................10
2.2 The impact of supply chain..................................................................................................10
2.3 Connection with the restaurant performance.....................................................................11
2.4 Concept of supply chain management................................................................................12
2.5 Importance of Supply Chain Management..........................................................................12
2.6 Restaurant Supply Chain Management...............................................................................13
2.7 Factors of Restaurant success..............................................................................................14
2.8 Discussion.............................................................................................................................15
2.9 The conceptual Framework..................................................................................................16
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY.........................................................................................................17
3.1 Research Philosophy / paradigm.........................................................................................18
3.2 Research purpose.................................................................................................................18
3.3 Research Approach..............................................................................................................19
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3.4 Research Design...................................................................................................................19
3.6 Research Main Hypothesis...................................................................................................20
3.7 Data Collection instruments................................................................................................21
3.8 Ethical Considerations..........................................................................................................23
3.9 Key variables........................................................................................................................23
CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS, FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS.........................................................25
4.1 PEST Analysis: Political.........................................................................................................38
4.2 PEST Analysis: Economic......................................................................................................41
4.3 PEST Analysis: Socio-Cultural...............................................................................................43
4.4 PEST Analysis: Technological................................................................................................45
4.5 Results and Observations.....................................................................................................47
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS.................................................................50
5.1 Theoretical implications.......................................................................................................50
5.2 Managerial Implications.......................................................................................................50
5.3 Research Limitations & ideas for future research...............................................................51
5.3.1 Research Limitations.....................................................................................................51
5.3.2 Ideas for future research...............................................................................................51
5.4 Recommendations...............................................................................................................52
References.....................................................................................................................................53
Appendix........................................................................................................................................57
Appendix (1)...............................................................................................................................57
Appendix (2)...............................................................................................................................58
Appendix (3)...............................................................................................................................62
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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Rationale of topic selection
1.1.1 The importance of Supply Chain Management in any industry
Supply Chain Management (SCM) in organizations is a critical issue which attracted a
considerable attention and is the topic of a big debate by scholars as well as industry
practitioners in the last two decades. As a new phenomenon (Wisner et al, 2008) an Integrated
supply chain management has its benefits and problems. Benefits are clearly linked to building
trust between supply chain members, more accurate assessment of the deficiencies or the
realignment of the competitive strategies employed among firms. On the other hand, supply
chain management drawbacks may include its costs, sophistication and time consumption. The
supply chain management of a restaurant consists of many parts. The parts are the purchasing
order management, the vendor management, stock management, consumption and variance
management. The supply chain management can have huge impact on a restaurant business as
per the views of Ciani, Vörös and Fagioli (2016). Taken for example, the traditional supply chain
technology can put the profits of a restaurant at risk. It has been found that the restaurant
companies are using such technologies which do not suit to the running of a complex supply
chain. Running these systems is a growing challenge for the restaurants. According to
Bendeković, Jadranka et al. (2016), the supply chain has to be associated with the enterprise
and across all the partners of the supply chain. On the other hand, the restaurant supply chain
management with the use of spreadsheets, various electronic systems along with the paper
invoices can create staggering monetary loses and still remain invisible. Hence, without an
integrated system, the complexity of managing the supply chain increases upto greater extent.
Although it is time-consuming and costly, but delayed, inefficient and poorly constructed supply
chain can highly affect the business.
This particular research will focus on the importance of supply chain management in
the success of a restaurant. A supply chain consists of the inventory management that is huge
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part in the success of an organization. The paper will draw inference from theories and models
from the scholarly articles to support the research statements. The research statement of the
problem will justify the reason behind conducting the research on this particular topic. The
fulfillment of the customer demand is necessary and at the same time, the waste reduction and
lowering of the overhead costs are also necessary. A proper network is required for the
completion of end–to-end visibility, collaboration and the business intelligence (Mung’onye,
Paul 2008). One such example is the Real Time Value Network that helps to share the real-time
demand along with the information with instant visibility and the automated actions. It also
eliminates the delays and at the same time reduces the costs by the reduction of waste
materials. On the contrary, according to Teddlie and Tashakkori (2009), the supply chain of the
restaurants can be managed by on–time pricing delivery, speed control and adherence on the
service level comments. (Appendix #3)
Thus, the problem statement for this study is that an efficient supply chain
management is an essential factor of success for any industry, including the restaurant industry.
However, to achieve efficiency of supply chain management in the restaurant industry, there are
many factors that need to be addressed in an in-depth manner to get an overview of the
challenges. This study will investigate and evaluate the success and the challenging factors that
affect the efficiency of the supply chain management of the restaurants, which in turn affect the
performance as well as success of the restaurants.
1.1.2 The critical role of restaurants on Jordan's economy
The restaurant industry in Jordan plays a significant role in the growth of its economy, although
it heavily depends on the tourist inflow to the country. In 2016, there are more than 900
restaurants in Jordan, among which 85% are located in Amman (Mustafa 2016). It has been
found that the restaurants located outside Amman faced a 20 to 30% drop in the revenues due
to lack of tourists and adequate capital while the restaurants in Amman have been growing.
However, in 2017, drop in the number tourists have led to a drop of 10-30% of the revenue in
the restaurant industry of Jordan (Mustafa 2017). Due to its strategic importance for the
sustainability of organizations in general and for restaurants in particular, supply chain
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management impact on fast food chain restaurants is considered by several scholars – as well as
traders- as the main factor behind its' success or failure due to the fact that SCM's main aims
are to satisfy consumers and consequently becoming economically sustainable (Dani, 2016).
1.2 Summarized Organization Background and Restructuring of KUDU Jordan
Kudu's background in the Middle East goes back to the year 1988 when the restaurant was
established in Saudi Arabia. Nowadays there are more than 300 Kudu restaurants in the Middle
East. In Jordan, Kudu's rivalry is composed of several fast food chains including but not limited
to Al-Tazej, McDonald's, Burger King, Hardeez, and Crispy Chicken. All mentioned competitors
in Jordan are flourishing. Pizza Hut, Little Caesar, and Papa Jones are somewhat not to be
considered as direct competitors to Kudu as they concentrate more on Italian food such as
Pizza, Lasagna, and the like. Restructuring operations aimed to correct and develop the
necessary technical, business, and financial structures of the establishment in order for it to
flourish and sustain in the business marked by a desired return on investment, to address
obstacles that the company should deal with and difficulties to overcome in a short time.
1.3 Problem statement
When the fast food restaurants chain industry sales soar it is definitely one of the warning signs
of a looming economy as a major resource of countries income is derived from sales tax. This
study focuses on Kudu fast food chain restaurant in Jordan. Kudu restaurant in Jordan has
suffered throughout is operations (based on Kudu's facts and figures reports). KUDU has never
expanded its operations as signaled by only branch in Jordan in the capital city of Amman at Al-
Gardens Street. Business owners were struck with the negative outcomes of their investment,
as a result of losses incurred throughout its first two years, as a result, the only KUDO branch in
Jordan went out of business. Accordingly, the statement of the problem may be represented in
the following question: Is there a relationship between Supply Chain Management at KUDU and
it's closeout (or operational failure)? The researcher, on the other hand, intended to analyze
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this case from the prospective of Supply Chain Management, as it is described earlier as one of
the most crucial factors of business success.
This research is in-fact divided into two parts: The first part, which is related to a past situation,
analyzes the main reasons behind the failure of KUDO fast-food chain restaurant in Jordan. The
second part outlines present practices applied by successful fast-food restaurants, in order to
suggest operational means and ways for improving the prospects of new entrants to this
industry.
1.4 Objectives of the study
This study aims at the following:
1) To describe the structure/status of the subject restaurant supply chain elements; such
elements include suppliers, distributers, customers, and the company.
2) To analyze and outline the main factors behind the failure of a fast food chain restaurant
(KUDU) in Jordan as a sample; and what measures – if taken- would've increased its sales and
consequently increased its customer loyalty. This would've prevented the restaurant from
undertaking losses and which resulted in its closeout.
3) To monitor and report current practices by successful supply chain food restaurants in
Amman, the Capital city of Jordan.
1.5 Research Questions
Q.1: How supply chain process helps in achieving success in the Restaurants?
Q.2: How to monitor and report the current practices by the successful supply chain food
restaurants in Amman, the city of Jordan?
Q. 3: How are the supply chain elements such as distributers, the suppliers, customers and the
company are interlinked with each other?
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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 The concept of supply chain
Many scholars have addressed the definition of supply chain management, and although these
definitions differ (Muysinaliyev and Aktamov, 2014). Supply chain management was defined by
some scholars as the management of the upstream and the downstream value-added flows of
the materials, the final goods and also various related information among the resellers, the
suppliers, the company and the final customers (Kotler and Armstrong, 2006, 379). Other
scholars, has defined it as a designed operation and also the improvement that creates and also
delivers the primary products, services of the company (Jacobs and Chase, 2011, 4). Another
definition was brought by Diaconu and Alpopi. They suggested that it is a potential way for
securing the competitive advantage and also improving the organizational performance. It is
because the competition is not anymore between the companies but the supply chains. They
also argued that they are the key improvement areas for example, the strategic orientation, the
IT support and the process, the organization and the management, the measurement and the
cooperation, which are outlined and evaluated by at various levels, that can bring improvement
in the SCM process and performance (Diaconu and Alpopi, 2014, 3).
Christopher (2016, 8) defined Supply Chain Management (SCM) as a philosophy of management
that involves the integration of a set of selected key business processes from end user through
original suppliers.
2.2 The impact of supply chain
Supply Chain Management has played a critical role in the survival, continuity and success of
companies or business organizations. On the other hand, there were other concerns when it
comes to supply chain in relation to environment (i.e. ecology) as well as the economy as they
both impact sustainability of the organizations (Karen, 2012). A sustainable system will have the
economy as their basis for better environment for the future and current generations along with
the ecological and regenerative market capacity. Restaurants can control flows of energy, food
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and waste, support people and the environment, as well as communicate and educate
consumers.
Emphasis was also given to collaborative efforts in restaurants use of resources, employment,
and communication. Integration and sharing of resources and information between restaurants
were also recommended by Mung’onye (2008). For innovation, the creation of the sustained
cooperative advantage is necessary which can be done by the integration of the supply chain
into a different seamless unit. It forges the link with the research for the technical support and
other investment of the IT technology that facilitates the coordination in the supply chain and
also the transformation of the information (Hugos 2018). On the contrary there are different
points of views from the perspectives of researchers who have researched on different topics.
The related topics are the purchasing along with the supply chain management, transportation
and logistics, marketing, operations management, the management information system and
organizational theory (Monczka et al. 2015).
2.3 Connection with the restaurant performance
The restaurant performance rests on how well the restaurant is operating and serving the
people around. It also states how well the restaurant fulfills the market and the financial goals
as per the views of Diaconu, Diana-Maria and Alpopi, (2014). The primary objective of supply
chain is to increase the productivity of the restaurant along with reducing the time of the
inventory cycle. The long term goals are to enhance the market share and profits for all the
members involved in the supply chain. Many prior studies have evaluated the organizational
performance based on the market criteria and financial too. On the contrary, Wilhelm and
Sydow (2018) suggested that the measurement of the restaurant performance is also based on
the ROI (return on investment), the sales growth, profit margin on the sales, the overall
competitive position and others.
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2.4 Concept of supply chain management
There are many authors who describe the concept of supply chain management by giving an
overview of the supply chain. However, it would be more appropriate to explore the concept
development of the supply chain management. The reason is that this concept must be treated
as the co-constitutive collective set of various ideas made up of many components. There is a
distinctive difference between the concept of supply chain and the supply chain management.
While supply chain is considered as a group of suppliers of a firm, the supply chain
management is the management of the firm’s suppliers, the distributors and procurement too.
As stated by (Freeman (2011), in the academic world the concept of supply chain management
began in the later part of the 1990s. The concept emerged more elaborately with more
empirical and theoretical investigation by the year 1997. It is far wider than the integrated
logistics management. It is also not just the logistics and the physical movement of the
materials but also includes the soft elements in the business that involves the customer and
employee relationship management. Kanyan, Agnes et al. (2016) suggest the supply chain
management to be an integrative philosophy that manages the complete flow of the
distribution channel from the supplier to the end users This is different from the concept of
supply chain management as a management approach. The focus shifts from the flow of
materials to the collaboration between the members of the supply chain. Notably, there is
ample evidence on the variety of perspectives on Supply Chain Management.
2.5 Importance of Supply Chain Management
Since the supply chain is an inseparable part of a business, it must be well- managed, structured
and monitored too. An active management of the supply chain activities helps to maximize the
value of the customers and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. According to
Kwennah, Afamah Cee (2017), the storing and movement of the materials are necessary to
manufacture a particular product along with the inventory management. The inventory
management helps to track the finished goods. The global brand expansion and the outsourcing
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of the products are the main focus points of the supply chain. Therefore, the entire
management of the operations of supply chain is interconnected with each other. The Supply
Chain Management is extremely necessary for making the foundation of all the businesses. The
operations of the supermarket deal with an extensive variety of producers. According to
Robbins and Judge (2007), the supply chain of any industry needs a proper management and an
integrated approach to meet the requirements of both the producers and the customers. The
integration starts with the manufacturing plans and ends with the final consumers. A well-
monitored supply chain inevitably improves the customer service and helps to deliver the right
product, to the right customer at the right deliver time, which is a critical success factor for any
company.
2.6 Restaurant Supply Chain Management
The supply chain management of a restaurant consists of the visibility, agility from the menu,
synchronization, raw materials, distributors, suppliers and the logistics providers. There are
many challenges connected with the restaurant supply chain management. Ass highlighted by
Muysinaliyev and Aktamov (2014), high agility is required due to volatility of the high demand.
The fulfillment of the customer demand is necessary and at the same time, the waste reduction
and lowering of the overhead costs are also necessary. Mung’onye, Paul (2008) stated that a
proper network is required for the completion of end–to-end visibility, collaboration and the
business intelligence. One such example is the Real Time Value Network that helps to share the
real-time demand along with the information with instant visibility and the automated actions.
It also eliminates the delays and at the same time reduces the costs by the reduction of waste
materials. On the contrary, the supply chain of the restaurants can be managed by on-time
delivery, speed control and adherence on the service level (Teddlie and Tashakkori 2009). The
use of contract compliance during execution can be the root cause of the analysis that
determines the chargeback. The long term forecasts of the commodity help to project the
requirements of raw materials requirement in future. The negotiation of the long term deals to
forecast the demands can be a useful step. The restaurants can also reduce the planning time
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and the time of order processing also which can contribute to their success. As suggested by
Teddlie and Tashakkori (2009), the requirements can be calculated by the current inventory,
projected usage and already placed orders. The dynamic inventory optimization is also a
process directs the inventor with higher need of selling. It reduces the wastes. The restaurants
can reduce the price of the raw materials by better range forecasts which require fewer
inventories.
2.7 Factors of Restaurant success
In here research on Restaurant Industry Sustainability, Freeman (2011) explained her views of
the main Barriers to Sustainable Practices in restaurants. She suggested that Energy
consumption, water use, waste production, and food throughput are the four sustainability
indicators. She also argued Results show that for traditional restaurants, the primary barriers to
implementing sustainable business practices are cost, lack of awareness, and space. For
sustainability-marketed restaurants, the barriers included a lack of knowledge or legal concerns.
On the other hand, purchasing strategy, durability (Wheelen and Hunger, 2004, 82 and 173) as
well as distribution channels (Kotler and Armstrong, 2006, 362) and collaboration between all
parties in the supply chain management were placed higher emphasis. (Robbins & Judge, 2007,
511). There are other emphasis on the positive relationship between supply chain integration
and supply chain performance (Kwennah, 2017). Other scholars focused on aspects such as
training and monitoring, food safety and food quality (Waqas et al., 2010) and (Bendeković, et
al., 2016) also emphasized on ensuring that different food products require different types of
temperature level, which ensures that the hygiene level is maintained as per the regulations,
norms and standards. Kanyan et al. (2016) stated that customer service and customer
satisfaction of restaurants based upon equipment, materials and processes. Kanyan et al. (2016)
have also offered ways to improve operational performance and overcome the problem of poor
service operations. The alternatives offered include (1) Quality Function Development which
helped in determining what will satisfy the customers and where to put the quality effort, (2)
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Total Quality Management (TQM), (3) process focus which uses service blueprint to strengthen
the interaction between customers and the restaurant, (4) layout, (5) human resource
management, (6) practice of good supply chain management, and (7) maintenance of the
restaurant equipment by performing regular maintenance. Finally, Muysinaliyev and Aktamov
(2014) in their descriptive literature review of supply chain management argued that the
strategic supply chain management mostly use best value supply chains to increase the
efficiency in their operations in terms of speed, cost, flexibility and quality.
Among many concerns of scholars as related to SCM activities and their significance for the near
future, is the argument "In the next decade, increased consumer demand, changing consumer
tastes, increased regulations, limited availability of arable land and water, and consolidation
with the commodity industry will put pressure on sources of supply. The market's future
leaders are those that are challenging their own thinking and pursuing solutions to take
advantage of global opportunities while mitigating global risks. Donnan et al. (2014) emphasized
on the importance of having food and beverage leaders asking the hard questions related to
decision making choices between the suppliers on the basis of the future potential and
influencing power, integration capacity and investment capacity along with sourcing initiatives
with longer payoff horizons.
2.8 Discussion
From the above discussion, it can be said there are different views of supply chain management
and its critical factors depending on the experiences and knowledge of the scholars. However, a
common theme exists among all the definitions, that is, supply chain management is the
process of integration and synchronization of all the material and product supply flow networks,
from production to the distribution of the final products and services to the end consumers at
the right time and manner to achieve customer satisfaction. However, depending on the nature
of the industry, the characteristics of the products or services also get changed along with the
particulars of the supply chain networks and thus, the success factors and challenges are also
different to some extent. Thus, the businesses must try to identify the specific factors that
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benefit and create challenges for efficient business performances so that accurate measures can
be taken to address the challenges and reap the benefits.
Marketing strategies need to anticipate rapid changes both in consumer tastes and ingredient
availability, which can be beneficial for increasing the efficiency of the supply chain networks
and management. It can be inferred that the future is bright for companies that know their
strategic supply network chain and develop relationship with the suppliers that provide
innovation, share the risks, and provide for ongoing product security, sustainability, and long-
term advantage.
2.9 The conceptual Framework
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supply chain
management
restaurant success
The inventory management The customers service
The suppliers customer satisfaction
The distributors on –time delivery
Impact of supply chain on restaurant
success

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY
The research methodology is the particular process which is applied for the identification,
selection, and analysis of the information regarding a specific topic. As stated by Kumar (2019),
research methodology includes the plans and actions taken by the researcher to collect
relevant information and analyze them to get the findings and address the research questions
in the most logical manner. The most important methodological choice is the distinction
between the quantitative and the qualitative data. In this regard, it has to be mentioned that
the qualitative data comes mainly in the descriptive form and non-numeric. On the other hand,
the quantitative data comes in the form of numbers. The choice of methodology depends on
the research questions which are fed by the research perspectives. Furthermore, there are
primary and secondary data. The data that is collected directly from the field of study through
interviews, surveys, observations, focus groups, feedbacks etc. is known as primary data and
the data, which is collected from secondary sources, books, journals, official websites,
government databases, reports and publications, newspaper articles etc. is known as secondary
data (Flick 2015). Primary and secondary, both types of data can be qualitative as well as
quantitative depending on the research requirement and type of data collection method. The
quantitative data can be gained by questionnaires and the qualitative data can be gained by the
semi-structured interviews. The language based data can also be translated into the numbers.
This particular chapter elaborates the various strategies along with the action which are applied
for the necessary data collection and analysis. Hence, the research methodology is defined as
segments through which the data is collected and analyzed to get the key findings addressing
the research questions (Kwennah, 2017). It further explains particular techniques or methods
used for the recognition, selection, processing and analysis of information regarding a specific
topic (Quinlan et al. 2019). It also should be noticed that the research methodology consists of
research philosophy, conceptual approach, design, data collection method, research sampling
and data analysis process (Mackey and Gass 2015). This research study revolves around the
exploration of Supply Chain Management’s Impact on Restaurant Success: The case of KUDU
Restaurant in Jordan.
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3.1 Research Philosophy / paradigm
The research philosophy is the assumption or belief regarding the process in which the
information regarding the research phenomenon should be gathered, examined and
interpreted. The research philosophy is sometimes determined by the source or nature of the
research topic. It has to be noted that there are various types of research philosophies. These
are positivism, interpretivism, realism and pragmatism (Wheelen and Hunger, 2004, 82 and
173). The research philosophy of positivism concentrates on the collection of quantitative data
as analyzes the data having used the quantitative method in order to receive scientific
outcomes of the research phenomenon (Ryan 2018). On the other hand, realism helps the
researcher to investigate the reality more than the theories. As a contrast, interpretivism
provides the researcher the allowance to implement the interpretation skills and qualitatively
examine the research phenomenon. Finally, pragmatism is a philosophy that enables the
researcher to apply the quantitative and qualitative research methods in order to receive an in-
depth outline of the research topic (Antwi and Hamza 2015). In the present study the positivism
will be used as the research philosophy/paradigm. The study will take this research philosophy
because it will use the quantitative method for receiving the scientific outcomes of the research
phenomenon. The use of positivism will help the research to be predictable and explained. It
will help the research to be independent and it could be completely objective. The study will be
purely based on the facts and statistical methods will be applied to get the findings.
3.2 Research purpose
There are usually two types of research purpose. It is either the explanation of the research
phenomenon founded on the existing theories or exploration of the topic in a certain direction
which is still untested. The explanatory research concentrates on explaining the cause and
effects of relationships which are based on the prior researches or knowledge (Kanyan et al.
(2016). It explains the reason further and does not stay limited to the description of the
phenomenon. On the other hand, in the exploratory research, methods are used to explore the
research topic in order to get in depth overview (Hadiuzzaman et al. 2017). In the present
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study, the exploratory research process will be used in order to present the results of the
research topic. It will use the exploratory research for exploring the topic in a particular
direction that untested yet. The study will gain further insight by the examination of a topic. It
will start with a general idea and use the research a particular equipment to recognize the
issues which can be used in future.
3.3 Research Approach
The research approach refers to the plans and the procedures which consists of the steps
which help to assume the detailed methods of the collection of data and the analysis which is
followed by the interpretation. It has been observed that the research problem often helps to
determine the research approach. There are two types of research: deductive and inductive.
The inductive research approach enables the researcher to form new theories out of the
research topic. On the other hand, the deductive research approach allows the researcher to
scrutinize the research problem based on the existing theories (Bryman 2016). In the present
study, the deductive research approach is followed. The deductive research approach will be
used because the study itself will be based on developing the hypothesis founded on the
existing theory and then the research strategy will be designed to test the hypothesis. The
deductive approach will help to generalize the content from particularity. The deductive
method will be used to deduce conclusions from the propositions and the premises. The
findings of the data will be tested to evaluate the cause effect relationship between the
variables.
3.4 Research Design
The research design is the framework of the techniques along with the methods selected to
combine the various components of the study in a logical and precise manner which efficiently
handles the research problem (Omair 2015). The research design is usually used for explaining
the research type such as case study, survey, correlational, quasi-experimental.
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Throughout this study, the mixed method design will be used to provide a clearer and profound
understanding for the research problem through combining data from the qualitative and
quantitative approaches. According to Morse (2016), mixed method research provides better
inferences and minimizes uni-method bias. I select mixed method in order to search out the
opportunity for a greater assortment of divergent views.
Many researchers are worried to answer the question: What happens if the QUAN and the
QUAL components lead to two totally different conclusions? Based on the researches by
Onwuegbuzie &Leech,2004); (Driscoll et al.,2007); (Johnson et al.,2007), which were referenced
in Teddlie &Tashakkori (2009), the divergent findings are quite valuable as those result in a
reevaluation of the conceptual frameworks and also the assumptions underlying each of the
qualitative and quantitative components.
In this proposed study, a sequential explanatory design will be used with the rational of Supply
Chain Management Impact on Restaurants business by explaining the relationship between the
research variables and expanding and further elaborating the findings of the qualitative data
with the input of numerical quantitative results, i.e. the use of qualitative approach to explain
quantitative results (significant, non-significant, outliers or surprising results) or to guide to
form groups based on quantitative results.
3.6 Research Main Hypothesis
H0: There is no statistically significant relationship between efficiency of Supply Chain
Management and Restaurant Success.
The above hypothesis may be divided into sub-hypotheses as follows:
 H01: There is no statistically significant relationship between Suppliers Management
Systems and Restaurant Success.
 H02: There is no statistically significant relationship between Distributors Management
Systems and Restaurant Success.
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 H03: There is no statistically significant relationship between Customers Management
Systems and Restaurant Success.
 H04: There is no statistically significant relationship between Product/Service Delivery
(Distribution) system and Restaurant Success.
3.7 Data Collection instruments
Primary data is used in this current research study. The data which is collected through the
interviews, surveys, focus group, observation is called the primary data. The primary data will
be collected for this study through observation, semi-structured interviews and questionnaire.
In this study these three components are detailed below:
1) The Data collection Plan (Observation, Semi-structured interviews, and
questionnaires)
Observation
Normally, Observation takes place in work environment of the sample without any involvement
of the observer who takes notes regarding the study subject. This process will provide me with
a good chance to describe existing situations depending on my senses and eventually form a
clear image about the participants attributes, this type of data will be further collected and
analyzed, as it will help when constructing the other two instruments. In 1989, Marshall and
Rossman defined observation as the systematic description of behaviors, events, and artifacts
in the social set up selected for the study. DeMUNCK and SOBO (1998) described participant
observation as the primary method used by anthropologists doing fieldwork. In this study
however, it is difficult to observe opinions, feelings unless they are indirectly expressed so I will
be in contact with participants in their workplaces to observe and write down notes.
Semi-Structured interview
22

A semi-structured interview is a method of collecting data for the purpose of research.
Although this technique is usually used in the social sciences (Edwards, R; Holland, J (2013), yet
it would help in this study regarding how customers feel about the service/product offered by a
fast-food chain restaurant in the sense of their satisfaction. This technique of data collection
gives the chance for the interviewees to express themselves freely and openly allowing new
ideas to be brought up during the interview. The interviewer generally has a framework of
themes to be explored. However, the specific topic or topics that the interviewer wants to
explore during the interview should usually be thought about well in advance (especially during
interviews for research projects). Semi-structured interviews are widely used in qualitative
research. The researcher will adapt ten questions community derived from the questionnaires
designed by researcher (will provide in an appendix)
Questionnaire
Respondents are expected to complete Self-administered questionnaire which is either in paper
or electronic. In this study however, it will be paper questionnaire. Using Self-administered
questionnaires in this research will enable me to reach a large number of potential respondents
in a variety of locations, especially when utilizing mail-in responses or online questionnaires.
However, the response rate for self-administered surveys is relatively low, compared to other
methods such as interviews or researcher-administered questionnaires. The instrument will use
5-point Likert scales which is anchored between 1(strongly agree) and 5 strongly disagree.
This survey will consist of three main bodies and is expected to take 10 – 15 minutes to
complete in addition to a demographic table that will take approximately 5 munities to be
filled .There will be team members to help participants overcome the language barriers. The
first part of this survey will be designed to collect demographic information about participants,
such as gender, age, etc. This information will be used when categorizing the sample and
analyzing data.
The second and the third parts of this survey will be related to products/services offered in fast-
food chain restaurants in Amman (The capital city of Jordan).
23

3.8 Ethical Considerations
While conducting the research, all forms of ethical considerations will be followed. First
of all, the originality of the paper will be maintained strictly having cited the necessary
information in the proper way. Plagiarism is seen as a serious offense in the academic world
and induces heavy penalty. The information will be cited correctly. The consent of the
respondents will be taken before proceeding further. The purpose of the study will be
explained in the accurate way. They will be provided with the right to voluntary participation.
The data anonymity will be maintained along with all the personal details. No one will be asked
about their personal details. The data will be used only for the academic purpose.
3.9 Key variables
Independent Variables (SCM)
Dependent Variables
(Success)
Food Supply (Meat, Vegetables,
Bread)
Utensils Supply (Paper, Napkins,
Plates, Forks)
Sales
Manpower Supply (Waiters, Cashiers) Customers Satisfaction
Product/Service Delivery (Operations
& Marketing)
The Pilot Study (10% of the number of food chains restaurants and coffee shops in Amman).
24

A number of statistical instruments were used in the pilot study. Reliability test was conducted
to check the internal consistency of the data and Cronbach’s Alpha is the measure for reliability
statistics. The score of 0.7 and more is considered as good or acceptable score for internal
consistency (Ayyub, B.M. and McCuen 2016).
Study Instrument Validity Testing
Table (1) – Alpha Cronbach – Stability Coefficient
#of
Statements
Alpha
Cronbach
16.991
The Cronbach’s Alpha value is 0.991 which is an excellent score indicating that the data is highly
internally consistent.
25

CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS, FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS
Research instrument: Questionnaire (Based on Research Variables as presented to restaurants'
managers/owners)
Stron
gly
Agree
agr
ee
uncertai
n
disagr
ee
Strong
ly
disagr
ee
StatementN
Restaurant rely on high quality suppliersS1
Our Restaurant strives to establish long term
relationship with its suppliers.
S2
Our Restaurant has continuous
improvement programs that include its key
suppliers.
S3
Our Restaurant frequently interacts with
customers to set its reliability,
responsiveness, and other standards.
C4
Our Restaurant frequently measures and
evaluates customer satisfaction
C5
Our Restaurant frequently determine future
customer expectations.
C6
Our Restaurant frequently evaluates the
formal and informal complaints of its
customers.
C7
Our Restaurant and its trading partners
exchange information that helps
establishment of business planning.
Op8
26

Information exchange between our
Restaurant and its trading partners is
adequate.
Op9
Our Restaurant strives to reduce time
wastage in operations.
Op1
0
Our Restaurant produces only what has
been ordered by customers (pull production
system)
11
Our Restaurant has the ability to respond to
and accommodate demand variations, such
as seasonality.
12
Our Restaurant participates in the
marketing efforts of its customers
13
Our Restaurant Current Policies and
regulations could be improved.
14
Our Restaurant ability to respond to and
accommodate new products, new markets
or new competitors
15
Our Restaurant participates in the sourcing
decisions of its suppliers
16
Please answer the following questionnaire to the best of your knowledge for the sake of
research.
The following questions are about the demographic profile of your organization. Kindly,
identify the appropriate characteristics of your organization.
DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE
Please tick (
) at the appropriate box/column or write in your answers where appropriate
D1. Business Description of company: D2. Number of Employees:
27

Individually Owned Restaurant
Fast Food Chain Restaurant
Coffee Shop
Others, Please specify:
___________________________________________
Less than 50
50-100
100-250
250-500
More than 500
D3. Annual Sales of this company
Less than 1 million
1-5 million
5-10 million
10-50 million
50-100 million
D4. Years of operating experience of
this company:
Less than 1 year
1-5 years
5-10 years
10-15 years
15-20 years
More than 20 years
The characteristics of the study sample are:
Business Description
The majority of the sample population was fast food chain restaurants (52.5%), while
individually owned restaurants accounted for 40%, coffee shops (5%) and other (accounted for
2.5%); the lowest proportion of the study population as depicted in table (2) below.
Table (2) - Distribution of the study sample according to the Business Description of company
variable
28

Business
Description # Percentage Accumulative(%)
Individually
Owned 16 40 40
Fast Food
Chain 21 52.5 92.5
Coffee
Shop 2 5 97.5
Other 1 2.5 100,0
Total 40 100%
Number of Employees
It is clear from Table (3) that only (7.5%) of the study sample were of less than 50 employees,
while 50-99 employees accounted for 12.5%, those of 100-249 employees were 17.5%, while
those with 250-499 employees were 20%. The percentage of those with 500 employees or over
was 20%, and finally other over (22.5%). As questions were directed to owners/managers of
several restaurants
Table (3) - Distribution of the study sample according to Number of Employees
29

Number of Employees # Percenta
ge
Accumulative
%
less than 50 3 7.5 7.5
50-99 5 12.5 20
100-249 7 17.5 37.5
250-499 8 20 57.5
500 or over 8 20 77.5
Other (less than 10) 9 22.5 100%
Total 40 100%
Annual Sales of the company (Restaurant)
It is clear from Table (4) that the percentage of restaurants with less than 1 Million in Sales is
17.5%, while those with 1 up to 4.9 M accounted for 37.5% and between 5 and <10 Million was
(45%), none of the surveyed restaurants had annual sales with 10 Million or More As questions
were directed to owners/managers of several restaurants.
30

Table (4) – Distribution of study sample according to previous Exp.
Annual
Sales
#
Percenta
ge
Accumulative
%
Less than 1
M
717.517.5
1< –5M1537.555
5< -101845100%
Total40100%
31

Years of Operating Experience
It is clear from Table (5) that the largest percentage of the sample were in operation for 15
years or more (40%), while the least percentage of the sample for those with less than one year
operation (5%).
Table (5) - Distribution of study sample according to Years of Operation
Statistical Instruments Used
1) The questionnaire
developed by the researcher
(previously mentioned),
consisted of 16 statements
to measure the
impact of supply chain
management on
restaurants
succes, and been based
on Likert 5- Scale, as follows:
Questionnaire statements analysis using the Coefficient of Variation
The coefficients of variance, considered as one of the dispersion or variance measurements that
attempt to identify the distance or proximity of the values of the sample from the points of
concentration such as the arithmetic mean, can be used as deviations from the mean as a
measure of the differences in the sample or the community and the extraction of the standard
deviations of the sample (40) restaurants and coffee shops, as shown in Table (8), we find that
the overall mean of the difference coefficients for all the questionnaire statements is (3,6391),
32
Years of
Operating
#
Percenta
ge
Accumulative
%
Less than 1 Yr.255
From 1 Yr. to
less than 5 Yrs.
512.517.5
From 5 Yrs. To
less than 10 Yrs.
61532.5
From 10 Yrs. To
Less than 15
Yrs.
1127.572.5
15Yrs. Or More1640100%
Total40100%

which indicates that the sample of the study population has a good percentage of conviction of
the impact of SCM over the organization success. Given the order of the terms according to the
coefficient of variation, we find that the best phrases (or statements) are the lowest in the
value of the coefficient of difference and therefore the best phrases, and thus the following are
the best five phrases:
Table (6) provided next demonstrates the arithmetic mean(s), Standard Deviation(s), and
Coefficient of Variation(s).
Table (6) - Descriptive Analysis
Phras
e #
Statement (or Phrase)
arithmetic
mean
Standard
Deviation
9Information exchange between our Restaurant
and its trading partners is adequate.
3,451,32
10Our Restaurant strives to reduce time wastage
in operations.
3,811,18
11Our Restaurant produces only what has been
ordered by customers (pull production system)
3,411,39
12Our Restaurant has the ability to respond to
and accommodate demand variations, such as
seasonality.
3,421,36
13Our Restaurant participates in the marketing
efforts of its customers
4,220,75
14Our Restaurant Current Policies and
regulations could be improved.
3,841,16
15Our Restaurant ability to respond to and
accommodate new products, new markets or
4,220,76
33

new competitors
16Our Restaurant participates in the sourcing
decisions of its suppliers
3,781,16
Overall Mean3,6391
Results of the Main Hypothesis Testing.
(One Sample T-test)
For the purpose of testing the main hypothesis (there is no statistically significant relationship
between supply chain management and restaurants success) the t-test was used for the sample
and the results were as shown in Tables (7 a, b) below:
Table (7a)
N Median Standard
Deviation
Standard
Error
Values 40 3.4030 .98104 .03257
Table (7b) – One-Sample T-Test
Test Degree 3
T Df Sig. (2-tailed) Mean of Trust Limits (95%)
34

Variance Min Max
Values 12 ,371 906 .000 .40298 .3390 .4669
It is clear from the table above that the value of t is very large, while its significance is 0,000,
which is very small and is below the acceptable level of 0.05. This means that the sample are
satisfied with the impact of the SCM and restaurants success.
After testing the sample, we obtained the results in Table (8). The table below shows that the
variance of the groups is equal for the Levin test. Therefore, we rely on the zero hypothesis that
there are no statistically significant differences in the impact of the SCM on restaurants success.
That is, the sample and support the impact of SCM on restaurants success.
Table (8) - Testing Variation homogeneity
Leven Test df1 Df2 Sig.
1.425 5 901 .213
Questionnaire statements analysis using the Coefficient of Variation
The coefficients of variance, considered as one of the dispersion or variance measurements that
attempt to identify the distance or proximity of the values of the sample from the points of
concentration such as the arithmetic mean, can be used as deviations from the mean as a
measure of the differences in the sample or the community and the extraction of the standard
deviations of the sample (40) restaurants and coffee shops, as shown in Table (8), we find that
35

the overall mean of the difference coefficients for all the questionnaire statements is (3,6391),
which indicates that the sample of the study population has a good percentage of conviction of
the impact of SCM over the organization success. Given the order of the terms according to the
coefficient of variation, we find that the best phrases (or statements) are the lowest in the
value of the coefficient of difference and therefore the best phrases, and thus the following are
the best five phrases:
The thirteenth phrase:
Our Restaurant participates in the marketing efforts of its customers.
The fifteenth phrase:
Our Restaurant ability to respond to and accommodate new products, new markets or new
competitors
The sixteenth phrase:
Our Restaurant participates in the sourcing decisions of its suppliers.
The 14th phrase:
Our Restaurant Current Policies and regulations could be improved.
The second phrase:
Our Restaurant strives to establish long term relationship with its suppliers.
Table (8) provided next demonstrates the arithmetic mean(s), Standard Deviation(s), and
Coefficient of Variation(s).
Table (8) - Descriptive Analysis
Phrase
#
Statement (or Phrase)arithmetic
mean
Standard
Deviation
Coefficient
of
36

Variation
1Our Restaurant rely on high quality suppliers3,461,3739,46
2Our Restaurant strives to establish long term
relationship with its suppliers.
3,801,1630,53
3Our Restaurant has continuous improvement
programs that include its key suppliers.
3,351,4142,10
4Our Restaurant frequently interacts with
customers to set its reliability, responsiveness,
and other standards.
3,301,4042,54
5Our Restaurant frequently measures and
evaluates customer satisfaction
3,821,1830,77
6Our Restaurant frequently determines future
customer expectations.
3,481,3137,55
7Our Restaurant frequently evaluates the
formal and informal complaints of its
customers.
3,391,3640,21
8Our Restaurant and its trading partners
exchange information that helps
establishment of business planning.
3,771,1931,55
9Information exchange between our
Restaurant and its trading partners is
adequate.
3,451,3238,25
10Our Restaurant strives to reduce time wastage
in operations.
3,811,1830,80
11Our Restaurant produces only what has been
ordered by customers (pull production
3,411,3940,81
37

system)
12Our Restaurant has the ability to respond to
and accommodate demand variations, such as
seasonality.
3,421,3639,74
13Our Restaurant participates in the marketing
efforts of its customers
4,220,7517,79
14Our Restaurant Current Policies and
regulations could be improved.
3,841,1630,19
15Our Restaurant ability to respond to and
accommodate new products, new markets or
new competitors
4,220,7618,01
16Our Restaurant participates in the sourcing
decisions of its suppliers
3,781,1630,66
Overall Mean3,6391
Results of the Main Hypothesis Testing
(One Sample T-test)
For the purpose of testing the main hypothesis (there is no statistically significant relationship
between supply chain management and restaurants success) the t-test was used for the sample
and the results were as shown in Tables (11) below:
38

Table (11a)
N Median Standard
Deviation
Standard
Error
Values 40 3.4030 .98104 .03257
Table (11b) – One-Sample T-Test
Test Degree 3
T Df Sig. (2-tailed) Mean of
Variance
Trust Limits (95%)
Min Max
Values 12 ,371 906 .000 .40298 .3390 .4669
It is clear from the table above that the value of t is very large, while its significance is 0,000,
which is very small and is below the acceptable level of 0.05. This means that the sample are
satisfied with the impact of the SCM and restaurants success.
After testing the sample, we obtained the results in Tables (12). The table below shows that the
variance of the groups is equal for the Levin test. Therefore, we rely on the zero hypothesis that
there are no statistically significant differences in the impact of the SCM on restaurants success.
That is, the sample and support the impact of SCM on restaurants success.
39

Table (12) - Testing Variation homogeneity
Leven Test df1 Df2 Sig.
1.425 5 901 .213
Table (12) - One-Way ANOVA
Total Squares df Mean
Squared F Sig.
Between
Groups 4 ,448 5 .890 .924 .465
With Groups 867 ,514 901 .963
Total 871 ,962 906
4.1 PEST Analysis: Political
Jordanian Government stability Rank: 4-Favourable
Reasons and Supporting Evidence:
 Political stability: Huge influx of refugees from the surrounding countries into Jordan.
 National resilience: Cohesion between the public and the Jordanian Government.
 Institutionalized country: Parliamentary system, where laws and regulations govern all
aspects of industry.
Taxation, employment and safety law in Jordan Rank: 4-Favourable
Reasons and Supporting Evidence:
Taxation:
 Entitlement for tax reductions based on years of operation.
40

Employment:
 Equal-opportunity and non-discrimination employment: KUDU is an example of staff
diversity.
 Flexibility in recruiting qualified staff: Degree diversity of staff at KUDU.
Safety Laws:
 Public health and safety governance: Availability of public health and safety laws.
 24/7 availability of local Authority safety services: Civil defense, fire brigades and policing.
Social welfare policies in Jordan Rank: 4-Favourable
Reasons and Supporting Evidence:
 The Jordanian Social Security Act is applicable to KUDU:
 Allows retirement at the age of 55 for females and 60 for males.
 Allows early retirement before the age of sixty.
 Enforces workplace injury and disability compensations.
Foreign trade regulations Rank: 4-Favourable
Reasons and Supporting Evidence:
 Jordan enjoys multiple free-trade agreements with foreign countries
 Jordan contains free-trade and industrial zones.
 The Jordanian Investment Promotion Commission employs “Flexible Foreign Direct
Investment (FDI)” regulations.
Relations between the Jordanian Government and private universities Rank: 3-Neutral
Reasons and Supporting Evidence:
 Public Private Partnerships: None.
 Quality control by official authorities Enforcing continuous monitoring on compliance.
 Governmental supervision over the educational sector: Imposing accreditation of programs
and universities.
Government ownership of universities and attitude to monopolies and competition policy
Rank: 2-Unfavourable
Reasons and Supporting Evidence:
41

 In Jordan, there are two categories of organizations, Public and Private: KUDU is an example
of a private business.
 Inconsistencies in applying bylaws and regulations on private and public organizations.
 Governmental support is totally directed to public organizations, Private businesses receive
minimal support from the Government.
'Green' issues that affect the environment Rank: 4-Favourable
Reasons and Supporting Evidence:
 Effluent water initiatives, green spaces as compared to built areas.
 Zero-Carbon emission initiatives: Brought about Jordanian environmental bylaws.
Level and type of energy consumed Rank: 4-Favourable
Reasons and Supporting Evidence:
 Renewable energy initiatives supported by the Government: Spread of Photo-voltaic
systems and wind-mill applications.
Rubbish, waste and its disposal Rank: 4-Favourable
Reasons and Supporting Evidence:
 Encouraging environmental laws and regulations: Growing practice of recycling of waste
and availability of ‘landfills’.
Others Rank: 4-Favourable
Reasons and Supporting Evidence:
 The overall political system in Jordan encourages coexistence and tolerance with high
degree of social safety and security: Currently, more than thirty food chain restaurants are
operating in Jordan.
Critical Evaluation: Jordan is one of the most stable countries in the Middle East.
4.2 PEST Analysis: Economic
Total GDP and GDP per capita growth rates (trends) in Jordan Rank: 4-Favourable
Reasons and Supporting Evidence: According to the Economist (2017)
42

GDP (USD bn):
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
30.9 33.6 35.8 37.5 38.7
Source: http::www.focus-economics.com:countries:jordan
GDP PER CAPITA (USD): According to the Economist (2017)
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
4423 4656 4831 5498 5541
Source: http::www.focus-economics.com:countries:jordan
Inflation Rank: 2-Unfavourable
Reasons and Supporting Evidence: According to the Economist (2017)
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
4.5 4.8 2.9 -0.9 -0.8
Source: http::www.focus-economics.com:countries:jordan
The tables show relative stability of inflation rates for 2012 - 2016. However, estimations, for
the fourth quarter of 2017 indicate an increase in the inflation rate.
Consumer expenditure and disposable income Rank: 2-Unfavourable
Reasons and Supporting Evidence:
 The trend in Jordan: Spending on quality education is lesser than commodities.
 The disposable income: Usually lesser than expenditures.
Interest rates Rank: 4-Favourable
Reasons and Supporting Evidence:
Interest Rates (Lending %): Source: www.theglobaleconomy.com
2012 2013 2014 2015
8.78 9.01 8.99 8.48
43

Interest Rates (savings %): Source: Central Bank of Jordan (2017)
2015 2016
3.499 3.75
Currency fluctuations and exchange rates Rank: 4-Favourable
Reasons and Supporting Evidence: According to the Economist (2017):
Exchange Rate JD vs. USD
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
0.71 0.71 0.71 0.71 0.71
Source: http::www.focus-economics.com:countries:jordan
Investment, by the state, private enterprise and foreign companies Rank: 2-Unfavourable
Reasons and Supporting Evidence:
The private sector investment: Lesser than governmental.
Business cycles Rank: 4-Favourable
Reasons and Supporting Evidence:
In Jordan, there are 20 fast food restaurants chains: Some of these are in the introduction,
growth, maturity or decline phase. Kodo was in the introduction phase.
Unemployment Rank: 2-Unfavourable
Reasons and Supporting Evidence:
Unemployment Rate: According to the Economist (2017):
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
12.2% 12.6% 11.9% 13.1% 15.3%
Source: http::www.focus-economics.com:countries:jordan
44

Energy costs, transport costs, communications costs, raw materials costs Rank: 2-
Unfavourable
Reasons and Supporting Evidence:
Energy Costs are expected to increase.
Critical Evaluation: The economic situation in Jordan as far as the higher education is concerned
is not encouraging.
4.3 PEST Analysis: Socio-Cultural
Shifts in values and culture Rank: 4-Favourable
Reasons and Supporting Evidence:
Values
 Acceptance of the other: Coexistence between various nationalities in Jordan.
 Increased adoption of and emphasis on vocational education: Change in higher education
laws towards encouraging vocational education.
Culture
 The influx of refugees has contributed to extending the bases of cultural diversity within the
Jordanian society: Coexistence of people from various denominations and cultures.
 Enhancing women's rights in the Jordanian bylaws: Increased female participation and
contribution in business, higher education institutions and other social activities.
Change in lifestyle Rank: 4-Favourable
Reasons and Supporting Evidence:
 Increased empowerment of the youth: Enhanced Jordanian bylaws in terms of youth
participation in all aspects of life.
 Increased awareness of the importance of athletic activities, music and arts.
45

 Increased adoption of social media reflected on human interaction and social relations.
Consumerism Rank: 2-Unfavourable
Reasons and Supporting Evidence:
 Excessive commodity consumption: Statistics on family expenditures and priorities.
 Social conviction: "spend and God will send": Statistics on loan agencies for lending on non-
education related to items.
Attitudes to work and leisure Rank: 2-Unfavourable
Reasons and Supporting Evidence:
 Tendency towards low productivity of workforce: Excessive time is needed to process.
 Engagement in social media during work time: The majority of employees own smart-
phones that are used persistently. (Jordan Times 26 Feb. 2014).
 Lack of commitment to quality work and deliverables: Outcomes of assessment tools reflect
general weakness in quality work and deliverables.
'Green' environmental issues Rank: 4-Favourable
Reasons and Supporting Evidence:
 Healthy food attract more customers lately.
 More emphasis on the adoption of Zero-Carbon emission systems: Jordanian bylaws
encourage Green environment and very low tax on renewable energy assets e.g. photo-
voltaic systems, wind-mills and geo-thermal systems.
Fast Food and Tourism Rank: 4-Favourable
Reasons and Supporting Evidence:
 Increased awareness of the relation between residence type and meals suitability for
arrangement).
Demographic changes Rank: 2-Unfavourable
Reason and Supporting Evidence:
 The majority of rural inhabitants favor migration to urban areas.
 Decreasing family size in Jordan reduced need for outside eatery: Family size decreased
from 6.7 in 1979 to 5.2 persons in 2012. (Jordanian Department of Statistics 2013).
Distribution of income Rank: 2-Unfavourable
46

Reasons and Supporting Evidence:
 The affluent social sector is more centralized in major cities than rural areas.
 Increase in poverty levels: one third of the Jordanian population is below the defined
poverty line; correspondingly they cannot afford to pay for outside family meals.
Social mobility Rank: 2-Unfavourable
Reasons and Supporting Evidence:
 Middle class population is decreasing: Income of many families has decreased in value and
subsequently less fast food customers seek services.
 Jobs availability does not tally with population growth: According to published statistics.
Critical Evaluation: The socio-cultural factors, in general, indicate an adverse contribution to the
prosperity of the food and beverage sector in Jordan.
4.4 PEST Analysis: Technological
Government investment policy on research Rank: 3-Neutral
Reasons and Supporting Evidence:
 A limited budget has been allocated for research purposes in the food sector.
 The Scientific Research Support Fund bylaws compelling private sector contribution to
research activities have been abolished: Few companies contribute to scientific research
specifically in the field of technology.
 Royal Scientific Society (RSS) contributes to spreading a scientific research culture: A
number of projects carried out by RSS.
Government focus on technological effort Rank: 3-Neutral
Reasons and Supporting Evidence:
 Encouraging investment in the Information Technology (IT) sector: Jordanian bylaws
concerning reduced taxation on IT infrastructure. (Evidence from Jordan Government
Website)
47

 Lack of effective collaboration between the Government and private businesses in terms of
technological development.
New patents and products Rank: 4-Favourable
Reasons and Supporting Evidence:
 The bylaws encourage patenting the introduction of new products: Low fees for patent
registration in Jordan. (Evidence from Jordan Government Website)
 The government encourage the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship: Jordanian bylaws
encourage such aspects. (Evidence from Jordan Government Website)
Speed of change and adoption of new technology Rank: 2-Unfavourable
Reasons and Supporting Evidence:
 Slow adoption of new technologies due to lack of coordination between different
Governmental entities: IT implementation of the e-Government started 2003 and full
implementation is expected in the year 2020. (Evidence from Jordan Government Website)
Rates of obsolescence Rank: 2-Unfavourable
Reasons and Supporting Evidence:
 Slow rate of phasing out of old technologies and introducing new ones, as well as lack of
follow up on system upgrades: Obsolete equipment still in use.
The impact of the Internet Rank: 5-Most favorable
Reasons and Supporting Evidence:
 Jordan is regionally leading in the implementation of state-of-the-art internet infrastructure
projects: Fiber-optics technology has been widely adopted (Fiber To The Home and Curb,
FTTH & FTTC).
 Reduced Jordanian tariffs on internet usage compared to neighboring countries: Local tariffs
as compared to neighboring countries.
 Deregulation of telecom services in Jordan: Multiple service providers are currently
operating in Jordan (Zain, Orange, and Umniah).
48

Critical Evaluation: Despite the technological advancements in the internet, the Government-
Industry relationship needs further development in order to reflect positively on research and
technology.
Semi-structured interviews Questions (directed to restaurants owners and managers)
Q1) Does your restaurant have a documented and articulated plan for its supply chain
management?
Q2) Does your restaurant have a steady and adequate list of providers for all of your
organization's supply?
Q3) Does your restaurant communicate periodically with your suppliers in ordinary situations
(When no need to obtain additional supplies)?
Q4) Is your restaurant's management facing problems dealing with new suppliers?
Q5) has your restaurant achieved its sales quotas as planned in the past year?
Q6) has the economy affected your sales?
Q7) Are there operational obstacles your business is facing?
4.5 Results and Observations
According to the statistical study conducted and data collected therein, current practices
undertaken by successful supply chain food restaurants in comparison with KUDU restaurant in
Amman may be outlined as:
1) Successful Food Chain Restaurants (used in the research sample) participates in the
marketing ef orts of its customers as appropriate for the Jordanian community, whereby KUDU
restaurant in Amman has used those indicated by the Original Saudi KUDU chain restaurants
which were not fit for the named community.
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2) Successful Food Chain Restaurants ability to respond to and accommodate new products for
the new markets were clear in the city of Amman as concluded by the data obtained from the
questionnaire as well as their products' popularity for the residents of the city and the citizens
response to their promotions. Such promotions and advertisement of the new products has of
course implied additional measured costs which would be considered as part of the total costs.
This was not the case for KUDU (in Jordan).
The first two results is commensurate with the Transaction cost economics theory for best
practices where the focus on total costs, not just transaction costs, as the basis of "make or
buy" decisions. As pointed out earlier in the theoretical perspectives and implications section,
short term costs play a secondary role if the potential for long term, trusting relationships
exists.
3) Successful Food Chain Restaurants participates in the sourcing decisions of its suppliers each
by its local subsidiary, unlike the local KUDU restaurant which has only dealt with suppliers as
appointed by Main KUDU administration (Saudi Arabia).
The third result is in fact a clear weakness for KUDU Restaurant (in Jordan), as indicated by the
institutional theory for best practices mentioned in the theoretical perspectives and
implications section: "Use industry recipes and best practices to inform, but not dictate, supply
chain management activities".
In addition to the above, a number of observations were noticed, although these were not
considered – according to the questionnaire (statistically) as vital for the business success – yet
the logical indication would be that such instances have affected KUDU, these are:
1) KUDU Restaurant (in Jordan) has not shown appropriate analysis for future customer
expectations, neither it has not shown appropriate evaluation and follow up for formal and
informal complaints of its customers.
2) KUDU Restaurant (in Jordan)has not shown initiatives for reducing time wastage in
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operations.
3) KUDU Restaurant (in Jordan) has not shown appropriate continuous improvement
programs that include its key suppliers.
As for the Interview questions, the following is noted:
Q Description Yes No
1 Does your restaurant have a documented and articulated plan for its
supply chain management?
87.5% 12.5
%
2 Does your restaurant have a steady and adequate list of providers for all
of your organization's supply?
65% 35%
3 Does your restaurant communicate periodically with your suppliers in
ordinary situations (When no need to obtain additional supplies)?
52.5% 47.5
%
4 Is your restaurant's management facing problems dealing with new
suppliers?
40% 60%
5 has your restaurant achieved its sales quotas as planned in the past
year?
75% 25%
6 has the economy affected your sales? 25% 75%
7 Are there operational obstacles your business is facing? 30% 70%
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CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Theoretical implications
As seen from the findings of the study, KUDU restaurant in Jordan has not shown any initiative
in improving its relationship with suppliers, cost and time reduction and expanding its supplier
base. As seen from the literature review, it is important to reduce the cost and time, that is,
reducing the time for inventory cycle (Diaconu and Alpopi 2014) for establishing an efficient
supply chain network in any organization, especially for restaurants as health and hygiene
factors are important along with speedy delivery at a reasonable cost. Thus, the restaurant
does put much effort on improving its supply chain network and management, which is a
weakness for the restaurant.
5.2 Managerial Implications
1) There was no proper strategic planning by the management of KUDU restaurant.
2) There was no appropriate supply chain management that accommodates the needs of a new
starting business that is licensed by an international fast food chain.
3) There was no clear and adequate Customer Relationship Management.
4) There was no visible Cost/Benefit analysis conducted, whether for the manual operations or
for the IT system for KUDU Jordan. (check appendix 3 for fixed/operational costs vs. Benefits
from a systems design perspective).
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5.3 Research Limitations & ideas for future research.
5.3.1 Research Limitations
The small sample size may not be sufficient for validating the points. The study of the impact of
supply chain management on only the KUDU Restaurant might not be limited. It requires
extensive research to come to a viable conclusion. The Time Limitation (Past KUDU experience)
is another limitation. The existence of the resource limitation (Competing restaurants keep
information confidential) can be considered as a big drawback of the study. Measurement
Instrument Limitation (Published Statistics and data accumulated from questionnaires and
interviews) is also there. A more detailed and international study would have been useful to
generalize the contents.
5.3.2 Ideas for future research
Investors who would be part of future business projects should consider an articulated practical
strategy for the businesses’ supply chain. They should investigate the current suppliers in the
market and analyze their weaknesses and strengths for this type of industry.
 Future Investors should conduct a complete market assessment as related to their
prospected customers and competitors, keeping in consideration the changing trends
and customers expectations.
 Future scholars are encouraged to use the mixed method approach in their researches
(quantitative and qualitative).
 Future scholars are also encouraged to realize the fact that certain studies that involve
the success or failure of any business in the middle east may be affected critically by the
current political and social situation.
 It is recommended that the Jordanian government encourage scholars to undertake
further studies, as it will be a knowledge source for decisions making that will indirectly
affect the economy.
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5.4 Recommendations
After the research the restaurants of Jordan are recommended to improve their supply
chain management for experiencing rapid success in their business.
In the foreseeable future, the food and safety traceability should be one of the biggest areas of
focus. When there is not existing Quality Management system in place, the managers of the
restaurant should incorporate that in the operations. The QM system covers a vast area. All
types of organization irrespective of their size should incorporate this. There are different QM
options which can be used.
The restaurants must also ensure their purchasing compliance. They must have the ability to
get alerted towards the off-contract purchasing along with the visibility required to tackle the
issues related to compliance before they pose as large threats.
The product shortage can also pose as huge disasters for the restaurants. In order to succeed,
the restaurant chain must be visible to the distribution center inventory. The flow of product
from the suppliers must be there. The restaurants must ensure that demand is built before
promoting. The involvement of the store managers and at the same time soliciting their
feedbacks will help to provide deeper insights.
These three recommendations will significantly improve the supply chain of the restaurants. It
will also ensure that the brand stays at the best position.
54

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Appendix
Appendix (1)
Source: John Latham (2005)
59

Appendix (2)
Restructuring Methods
Restructuring methods
Rescheduling and dropping debt:
Negotiations are performed with creditors on debt scheduling or waiver of part of them and a
comprehensive solution must be reached in this part
Re-evaluation of sites:
The choice of the appropriate location with the environment of the restaurant and the target
category based on the best choice and naturally the areas of Western Amman and the
periphery of universities have the first to choose our sites
Collection of third party receivables:
A timetable for the settlement of arrears from third parties and third parties must be developed
in order to provide the necessary liquidity.
Management development and management skills:
To develop administrative and organizational methods in the establishment by assessing the
efficiency of the management and its leadership ability and what possible amendments can be
made in this regard
Take advantage of the workforce:
Putting ready-made alternatives to correct the specific employment structure:
1. Excessive employment
2. Develop wage structure and show incentives
3 Take advantage of the workforce:
Putting ready-made alternatives to correct the specific employment structure:
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1. Excessive employment
2. Develop wage structure and show incentives
3. Continuous training and development of personnel
________________________________________
This means that the organization will follow new strategies of interaction on resource handling
and the four restructuring mechanisms: it should be limited to financial restructuring but must
be to include the administrative structure to coincide
. Continuous training and development of personnel
Financial restructuring
Debt restructuring: - The Organization helps in the restructuring of debt that the organization
and its creditors understand one or more of these things:
 The conversion of short-term debt into long-term debt gives the organization a longer
period to invest these debts.
 Stop paying debt installments temporarily or give a new grace period and help to
temporarily stop part of external cash flows until conditions improve.
 Reduction of interest rate or waiver of accrued interest.
________________________________________
Switching Debt with Ownership
- In this case, all or part of the current debt is converted into equity in the company through the
issuance of equity shares equivalent to the value of the debt, depending on the extent to which
the creditor understands and accepts this proposal, They will have a direct impact on the
company's management, voting and franchise.
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Increase of Capital: - The company resort to the issuance of new shares to provide some
liquidity, especially if the organization or this company can achieve future profits in the light of
the provision of liquidity by increasing the capital of the company with new equity, but this
alternative to some Critics include:
This solution only works in cases of financial failure or temporary stumbling.
The new shares do not find interest from shareholders because they fear the company's
condition and future circumstances.
Shareholders represent a new constraint on management that reduces their ability to move
with sufficient flexibility to exit the company from its current circumstances.
Increase in cash inflows: - This can be achieved through many strategies or behaviors that have
a positive impact on cash in and out (for example): -
 Increase sales to increase company revenue.
 Change the collection strategies of the company's debt and grant some discounts to
expedite payment.
 Disposal of idle stock, such as auction or installment, or exchange it for another required
by the organization.
 The sale of assets is small or non-existent such as scrap, exhaust, damaged and
defective.
 Sale and re-leasing of non-major (secondary) assets.
Reduction of cash outflows: - The Organization can reduce its cash payments or postpone some
of them to overcome some financial difficulties and possible means:
 Agreement with the creditors to postpone the payment of some installments and the
benefits of debt.
 Negotiate with suppliers of raw materials and parts on purchase by installment, credit or
without a provider.
 Obtain new grace periods from creditors.
 Rationalize various items of direct and indirect expenditure.
 Deferment of short-term liabilities or transfer to long-term commitments.
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 Reduce the amount of purchases through immediate purchase rather than pre-purchase
and try to find alternative materials less expensive than current materials.
Administrative Restructuring: -
Administrative restructuring is an integral part of the financial restructuring, although
administrative restructuring is relatively far from financial restructuring, which leads us to not
expand it, but we conclude that this can be done in one or more of the following:
 Re-study production strategies to improve production and reduce costs.
 Re-study marketing strategies to increase marketing effectiveness and reduce marketing
costs.
 Re-examine the policies of individuals to increase their effectiveness and reduce the
costs of the work component.
 Increase sales to reduce unit share of fixed costs, reducing overall costs.
 Reduce various administrative costs.
 Study the disposal of non-economic activities and fields
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Appendix (3)
Costs and Benefits for Economic Feasibility
-from a systems analysis and design perspective
(Source: Dennis et al., p. 23)
Development Costs Operational Costs
Development Team Salaries Software upgrades
Consultant Fees Software licensing fees
Development Training Hardware repair and upgrades
Hardware and Software Cloud storage fees
Vendor Installation Operation team salaries
Office Space and equipment Communications charges
Data Conversion Costs User training
Tangible Benefits Intangible Benefits
Increased Sales Increased market share
Reductions in Staff Increased brand recognition
Reductions in Inventory Higher-quality products
Reductions in IT costs Improved customer service
Better Supplier prices Better supplier relations
64