BRH606 Research Proposal: Destructive Innovation in Restaurant Sector

This research proposal investigates destructive innovation within the restaurant industry, specifically addressing challenges faced by Meat & Wine Co. The proposal begins by outlining the research context and problem, focusing on declining beverage sales and changing customer preferences. A comprehensive literature review explores innovation in the hospitality sector, highlighting disruptive changes, menu design issues, staff training, and technological advancements. The review also examines the impact of changing consumer preferences, including the rise of personalized options and plant-based alternatives. The research methodology section details the exploratory research approach and justifies the choice of qualitative methods, including interviews and case studies, to explore the 'why,' 'how,' and 'when' of the research. The proposal aims to develop a defensible framework for understanding and addressing innovation challenges in the restaurant industry, providing insights into staff training, menu design, and service delivery to maintain competitiveness.

Running head: RESEARCH PROPOSAL
RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Destructive innovation in the restaurant industry
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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Research context
This research is based on the understanding and identification of the issue that the specific
industry is facing. It has been observed that the chosen industry Meat & wine Co is facing
the challenge associated with the innovation strategies it has adopted. It has been observed
that the industry is based on the 3330 Church gate Parramatta and it specialises in Afro-
African cuisine. It has over 216 Pax seating capacity the company also has their own cattle
firm and it has been one of the most successful industries in this sector. However it has been
facing number of challenges in the present context since there are number of issues with
innovation.
Research problem
It has been observed that the company is presently challenged with the issue of reduced
development in their sales of the beverages. It has been further observed that there is
significant drop in the expensive wines and then growing demand in the preferences in house
wines are one of the reasons for the need of innovation.
Literature review
Innovation in the restaurant industry
It is significant to note that the hospitality industry is undergoing changes in the recent years.
Some of the changes in the hospitality industry are triggered by the need of infusing creative
thinking which is again shaped by the enhanced expectations and demand of the customers. It
is also noted that the need of developing new habits and recruiting new people in the industry
is crucial to the development and adaptation to change (Abrahamsen et al., 2016). This

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change is more reflective on the restaurant industry since it has been subjected to number of
destructive change. It has been agreed by the author that the change in the restaurant industry
is getting disruptive since it is more of loss making than profit making. It has been also
observed that “disruption” is the new wave (Baldwin, 2018). The demand of the industry is
driven by two types of demand in the market people are expecting “more convenient”
restaurant. Moreover the taste reference of the people has drastically changed in the recent
years which have put the hospitality industry under number of threats(Baradarani et al.,
2018). Hence some of the issues that are impacting the delivery of the restaurants, for
example, it has been observed that the redesigning the new menus for restaurant has become
one of the costly issues that the mew company is facing since it has been observed that the
training the new innovations to the existing staffs has become one of the issues that the
restaurant industry like the Meat & wine Co is facing. In addition to this, the issues of this
innovation are restaurant industry is facing the challenge of replacing the wines and other
menus since people have changed their taste references towards the home grown drinks. In
case of the adoption of new technology, it has been observed that new technologies are
required for the companies to remain competitive in the market. It is also important to note
that the restaurant management is one of the issues that have been the centre of attraction for
long. Service delivery and the changing need of the restaurant industry is what have
challenged the way that requires further training of the employee (Kregor, 2015). Hence it
has become important for the purpose of the study to conduct further analysis on the issue of
training and development of the staffs in order to align to the new changes. It has been
predicted that the next five years are going to be the most disruptive years for the restaurant
industry since it is one of the challenging phases of the restaurant industry in particular. Some
of the challenges are associated with the development of the new menus that contain more
number of pages than the previous one(Skålén et al., 2015). Moreover it has been further

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argued that the existing staffs lack the knowledge of the new innovation brought to the
industry. Moreover it has been also observed that the changes are not easy to be adopted by
the existing staffs since they are not accustomed to the new changes. Since the importance of
menu is more important for the purpose of the restaurant to maintain the right menu and
timely delivery of the same (Snyder et al., 2016). There are number of examples like the
Meat & Wine Co that has been facing issues with the upselling the menu. However it is not
clear whether the redesigning the menu acts as boon to the development of the new profit
making opportunity for the restaurant industry. This is important to consider at this juncture
that the need of menu design has been negatively impacting the profit making ability of
the industry(Souto et al., 2015). For example, it is significant to note that menus are one of
the most important point of sale for building connection with the customers. However there
is a very little understanding on the issue of menu design for the restaurant industry since it is
thought to be one of the peripheral aspects of the restaurant industry. It is the correlation of
the food design and consumer behaviour which is likely to impact the profit making ability
of the restaurant unless it is not giving serious through in redesigning the menu(Abrahamsen
et al., 2016).
To sum up the above discussion, it is to be mentioned these trends ad challenges of the
restaurant industry are not specific to any particular geographical areas; instead it is one of
the most prevalent challenges of the restaurant industry aced by the top restaurants of the
world. To name a few, staff training and recruitment has been one of the challenges since the
level of competition has become higher in the last few years (Storey et al., 2015). The
restaurant industry is faced with number of challenges like retaining and training of the good
staff. It is also important for the purpose of the maintaining the reputation of the restaurant in
the market. Secondly, designing the new menu important to attract the customers. Hence it
has become crucial to develop smart dishes that are easier gather customers and it has been

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observed that number of dishes can become limited however it has to target the customer in
the rightful manner(Tang et al., 2016). The third most important aspects of this new trend is
keeping consistency in performance for the restaurant in order to maintain their standard and
quality.
Changes and trends in the service industry and its consequences
Some of the prominent changes in the service industry has been overwhelming in the last few
decades since it has been observed that the technology and other innovation has led to the
significant change in the way it the service industry is perceived. A major change in this
regard has been the personalisation and customisation(Venkataraman et al., 2017). It has been
observed that the change and preferences of the choices made by people have undergone
significant change in terms of generating new demands of the customers. People tend to
choose more personalised option in terms of services offered. It is also crucial to understand
the fact that changing needs of the individual is bound to impact the end point service
delivery options for the service provider(Witell et al., 2015). Furthermore, it has been
observed that the changing needs of people towards the homemade foods and drinks have
changed due to the large number of personalised options available to them, it is indeed
important for service provider to have knowledge about the competitive needs in the market
in order to understand the changes requires to meet the customer needs and
satisfaction(Venkataraman et al., 2017). Another significant change in the service industry
has been the demand for the meatless meat. This refers to the process of plant based
alternative for meat which created the new sensation in the market. In reference to the above
mentioned vase study it is crucial to understand that one of the challenges faced by them is
the falling demand of meat and the difficulty of finding the alternative for the same. Some
of the other changes ar associated with the changes in training of the existing staffs, for

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example, in case of the above mentioned company, it has been found that the existing staffs
are finding it difficult to cope with the system of new menu and their timely delivery. This
has been one of the challenges of the service industry is facing since it has not been able to
cope with the new changes. Hence it has become important to develop understanding of
automation and training of the employees accordance with this. There are number of new
avenues generated for the effective training of the employees in the service industry like
social learning and online training in place of the traditional ways of training of classroom
teaching. It is also crucial to note that the service industry has been focusing a heightened
concentration on the issue of training of the existing employees in case of preparing them to
the leading changes of the industry(Venkataraman et al., 2017). However the question lies in
the training process of the employees since the level of adaptability and requirements of the
situation. It becomes difficult for people coming form different background to adopt the
new learning process which is one of the challenges the serve industry is faced with.
Engagement of the employees in a meaningful ways is one of the challenges that have created
much debate in the academic discussion.
The restaurant industry has been one of the most challenging fields for sustenance since there
is high competition. It is important for the restaurant industry to explore new opportunities
and ideas in order to meet these common challenges. Keeping the market trend and having
enough capital for bringing the desired change is required to maintain their business and
service delivery.
Research methodology
Research approach

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The aim of this research is to understand the problem of disruptive innovations in the
hospitality industry. The exploratory research is based on the understanding that issue of the
research study is not clearly defined and there is a need to develop the further exploration on
the same. In order to conduct the research in a more systematic manner, it is important to
undertake one of the research approaches, namely, exploratory, descriptive or causal(Flick,
2015). For the purpose of this academic research and after consideration of the issues of the
research study, this study will be undertaking the exploratory research approach. The
rationale behind the choice of this approach is that it leaves the option for the researcher to
undertake definitive conclusion on the issue of disruptive innovations in the hospitality
industry. It is also important to note that the exploratory research approach relies on the
following technique of secondary research a primary research undertaking the qualitative
research method(Gast et al., 2014). The significance of this research method is that it helps
the researcher to gain understanding from the experiences which provides a solid foundation
for developing the research hypothesis. The aim of this research method helps us to
understand what is going in a specific industry in order to get an idea of the why, how and
when of the research study. It is also significant due to the fact that there are number of
disadvantage of the research since it does not offer the understanding of how of the research
issues, however it is essential to develop the understanding on the basis of interview and case
study method(Mackey et al., 2015).
Research design and method
Research design is the process of answering to the research question while the research
method is the process of implementing that plan. For selection of the research design, it is
crucial to revisit the research questions. In this case, the research question lies in

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understanding the disruptive innovation in terms of introducing new elements in the old
structure or the training of the staffs to accommodate the new changes. It is also important
to understand the fact that impact of the innovation in the hospitality industry. For the
propose of understanding the research questions in greater detail, it is significant to undertake
the qualitative research method. Under the qualitative research method, there are number of
advantages that are to be catered. For example, the qualitative research method helps us to
understand the issue in greater detail by referring to the issues of innovation and their
related impact on the industry as a whole. It is also significant to note that the qualitative
research method is structured as well as fluid which eaves option for the researcher to bring
flexibility to the research(Panneerselvam, 2014). In addition to this, this research method is
also helpful in deriving the result based on the human experiences. Hence the qualitative
method of data collection is chosen of the purpose of the study. The qualitative method of
data analysis will be done on the collection of data form primary and secondary sources. In
case of the primary source of data collection, it is crucial to gain insight into the issue from
the face-to-face interview while in the case of the secondary research, peer-reviewed journals
and books will be referred.
Research technique
The research technique includes the process of adopting the tools in order to implement the
chosen methodology in the body of research. It is this research technique that is undertaken
in order to gather data, for example, for the purpose of the study, interview method of data
collection will be undertaken since it is important for the research to have insight on the
issue of destructive innovation(Simonsohn et al., 2017). The interview process would be
undertaken by choosing some of the manager in the hospitality industry in order to derive the
knowledge on the changes and challenges the company undergoes in the process of

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innovation. However face-to face interview is not sufficient for the purpose of the study. The
case study method of data collection will also be inducted since it is important to develop an
understanding on similar pattern of cases in the hospitality industry. It is also significant to
note that secondary research is important in order to complete the study undertaking the
complete knowledge building. The secondary research will be gathered form the process of
thorough understanding of the issue from the books and peer-reviewed journals.
Sample size
The sample size of the study will be based on the probability and non-probability method of
sample size selection(Smith, 2015). Along with probability method of sample selection, few
case studies will be undertaken. For the purpose of the interview process, managers of the
chosen industry, Meat Wine & Co. This will include the process of primary data collection
involving the process of innovation management in the organization. This method of data
collection will be substantiated by three different case studies from the hospitality industry in
order to drive the knowledge about the similar patterns of impacts on other hotels. For the
purpose of the secondary data collection, this study will be completed by undertaking the
secondary research method of data collection. The secondary data collection will be done
understanding the different viewpoint of the scholars on the issue of innovation management
in the restaurant industry.
Sample design
The design of the sampling method will be based on the meticulous choice of probability and
no-probability method. This will be followed by the random sampling method in order to
collect the required for the design. For the case studies, it is important to take up three
important case studies relevant for the purpose of the study.

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Expected outcome
This study will be focusing on the issue of challenges of destructive innovation in the
restaurant industry. The aim of this paper is to highlight the trends in the market regarding the
need of developing innovation in the restaurant industry. This will also be focusing on the
current challenges of such destructive innovation. The chosen industry for the discussion is
the Meat & wine Co. which is faced with the issues of falling revenue due to the changing
demand of the customers and different orientation towards the existing menu of the
restaurant. Considering the issues of the restaurant, it is necessary to understand the fact that
there are issues with the destructive innovation in restaurant which are to be discussed and
debated in order to mitigate the challenges in due time.

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Proposed timeline of the study:
Activities 1st
to 3rd
Week
4th
to 10th
week
11t
h to
13th
Week
14t
h to
17th
Week
18th
to 21st
Week
22
nd to
23rd
Week
24th
Week
Selection of the topic 
Data collection from
secondary sources
 
Creating layout 
Literature review   
Analysis and
interpretation of
collected data
  
Findings of the data  
Conclusion of the
study

Formation of draft  
Submission of final
work

Fig: Gantt Chart
(Source: As created by the author)

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Reference
Abrahamsen, M. H., & Håkansson, H. (2016). Market policy and destructive network
effects. IMP Journal, 10(2), 195-220.
Baldwin, W. (2018). The restauranteurship of Hong Kong’s premium Japanese restaurant
market. International Hospitality Review, 32(1), 8-25.
Baradarani, S., & Kilic, H. (2018). Service innovation in the hotel industry: culture, behavior,
performance. The Service Industries Journal, 38(13-14), 897-924.
Kregor, B. (2015). Food trucks, incremental innovation, and regulatory ruts. U. Chi. L. Rev.
Dialogue, 82, 1.
Skålén, P., Gummerus, J., von Koskull, C., & Magnusson, P. R. (2015). Exploring value
propositions and service innovation: a service-dominant logic study. Journal of the
Academy of Marketing Science, 43(2), 137-158.
Snyder, H., Witell, L., Gustafsson, A., Fombelle, P., & Kristensson, P. (2016). Identifying
categories of service innovation: A review and synthesis of the literature. Journal of
Business Research, 69(7), 2401-2408.
Souto, J. E. (2015). Business model innovation and business concept innovation as the
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142-155.
Storey, C., Cankurtaran, P., Papastathopoulou, P., & Hultink, E. J. (2016). Success factors for
service innovation: A meta‐analysis. Journal of Product Innovation
Management, 33(5), 527-548.

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