The factors affecting the fast-food industry and consumer trends in Sri Lanka

ENG- This doctoral thesis analyzes the consumption of fast-food in Sri Lanka with a focus on the consumers (demand side) and the fast-food restaurants (supply side), with the aim of providing new and recent evidence on the main influential factors and trends. To do this, several research objectives were covered: analyze consumers’ food preferences, motives for fast-food consumption and their determinants; identify the factors affecting fast-food consumption behavior; determine consumers’ level of satisfaction with the fast-food; the attributes defining a fast-food consumption experience from the perspective of the consumer; analyze fast-food consumption environment with a focus on the fast-food restaurants and their characteristics; identify consumers’ perceptions related to the sustainable practices of the fast-food restaurants; look into the social media and advertising strategies promoted by the fast-food restaurants and their impact on consumers’ fast-food purchasing behavior; identify the main changes to be undertaken by fast-food managers and the marketing implications within the framework offered by the 7Ps of the marketing mix; identify the most popular fast-food restaurant brands in Sri Lanka and the main implications for marketers in the fast-food industry of Sri Lanka and in the context of the global fast-food market. The empirical research is based on primary quantitative and qualitative data and secondary information provided by a case study. Data (459 observations and 10 qualitative interviews) were analyzed with quantitative and qualitative techniques. The thesis is structured into seven chapters: introduction, review of the related literature, fast-food restaurants’ integrated marketing communication strategies and main trends; the fast-food industry of Sri Lanka, method and data, results and discussion, and conclusions/limitations. Findings add to the existing evidence on the role of generational and gender differences in the formation of fast-food consumption habits in general, offering new evidence for the case of Sri Lanka with the role of family gastronomic culture as a determinant factor. The analysis extends existing research with the incorporation of new variables focused on fast-food restaurants, the assessment of the experience of consuming fast-food, the marketing strategies and promotional media used by fast-food restaurants, and sustainability and management practices from a marketing mix perspective, contributing to increase the value added of the research, and providing new evidence for the case of Sri Lanka, and also for international comparisons