The Market Structure of the Fast Food Industry

One research question was investigated and one hypothesis was tested in relation to the research question. The research question investigated was as follows: Is profitability associated positively with concentration in the fast-food segment of the restaurant industry. The hypothesis was stated as follows: Profitability (net income as a proportion of sales) varies positively with concentration ratios (market share squared) above 50 in the fast-food segment of the restaurant industry.

The analytical model used in the research performed as a part of this study was based on the traditional regression model used in industry concentration analysis, in which the independent variable is market share and the dependent variables is profitability. In the traditional regression model, the concentration ratio, as the independent variable, is stated as a market share based on sales levels, which is expressed as a percentage. Profitability, as the dependent variable, also is expressed a percentage, and reflects EB

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f theoretical and conceptual literature is structured in five main areas of interest. These topic areas are (1) market structure, (2) antitrust concerns, (3) elasticity of demand, and (4) productivity. Market Structure Market structure is a framework of industrial organization. Market structure refers to the character of competition within a product market. Variations in the level of competition occur along a continuum ranging from pure monopoly (highly concentrated markets) at one terminus to pure competition (competitive markets with low concentration) at the polar extreme. Market structure also may be defined within the contexts of (1) the numbers of firms and buyers, (2) product substitution, and (3) barriers to entry and exit (Byrns & Stone, 1998). A concept that is now under scrutiny is that the resources and competencies of wealth-creating institutions are largely independent of each other; and that individual enterprises are best able to advance their economic objectives, and those of society, by competition, rather than cooperation. While this concept has been severely challenged only over the last decade, for more than a century scholars such as Cournot in 1851 have acknowledged that the behavior of firms may b
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 9610
Approximate Pages = 38 (250 words per page)

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