MBA 6601
International Business
By
Wendy B. Machana
Burger King International
Burger King, previously known as InstaBurger King in 1954, is the world’s largest flame-broiled fast food restaurant chain (Daniels, Radebaugh & Sullivan, 2011). Burger Kings core competency lays in the way it cooks its burgers- by its flame broiled method as opposed to grills that fry and also the option that it offers its customers as to how they want their burgers (“have it your way” theme), (Daniels, Radebaugh & Sullivan, 2011). According to the Burger King Investor website (www.investor.bk.com), the companies’ basic strategy is to offer the lowest prices possible for its products and to continuously improve its menu to fit the needs of the customer. Burger King has also observed mistakes that have been made by other companies and used their mistakes as a learning experience and as a growth mechanism. This can be seen in through its use of Brazil as a model of entry into Russia (Daniels, Radebaugh & Sullivan, 2011). Some of the strategies that they used include: development of infrastructure before putting in restaurants, development of a local management team, focusing development in established locations, establishment of local offices and headquarters and finally, supporting continuous development and use of local suppliers to meet Burger Kings’ specifications (Daniels, Radebaugh & Sullivan, 2011). Burger Kings’ core competency therefore falls in line with its strategies so that by offering a high quality product created at low costs, the company is able to create demand for its goods and generate higher revenues.
Value Chain I strongly believe that Burger King configures and coordinates its value chain according to the market into which it is entering. In regions where Burger King has been a late entrant into the market, they have been left to focus on improving the taste of their flame broiled menu items and also
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