Consumer Behavior and the Growth of the Fast Food Industry in a Small Emerging Country

Abstract

 

The purpose of this paper is to review the main concepts in the study of consumer behavior so as to obtain a deeper understanding of the subject area as it applies to the fast food industry and the implications for small emerging countries. A qualitative research design was adopted and included; collection and distillation of relevant published literature on consumer behavior to extract the major themes relevant to the enquiry; extrapolation of different country experiences to serve as comparisons; observation of purchasing behavior in fast food outlets operating in Trinidad and Tobago (TT) a small island Caribbean state; and application of the results obtained to the TT case. The major findings are that fast food businesses have become firmly embedded in the restaurant industry in TT through the franchise system, and are providing intense competition for local restaurants. However, the by-product of the spread of the fast food industry is rapidly emerging health issues especially among people. The research was limited to study of published sources and observation of fast food purchasing behavior from visits to restaurants but did not include interviews or focus group sessions. The practical implications of the research is to provide a ‘wake-up’ call to parents and public health officials regarding the potential health risks of regular consumption of fast foods by children and young adults. The research is novel in that it applies the learning obtained from the conduct of the research to a small island case where fast food consumption is well established.

Keywords: Consumer Behavior, Fast Food Restaurants, Food Franchises; Emerging Countries, Health and Fast Foods.