development in the industry growth life cycle. The research question investigated in this analysis is as follows: Has the fast food segment of the foodservice industry in the United States entered the maturity stage of the industry life cycle?
While the actions of investors and corporate executives within the fast food segment of the foodservice industry may reflect the stage of development of the industry segment, such actions and trends in the valuation/EBITDA relationship do not in and of themselves provide a measurement or an assessment of the segment's stage of development in its life cycle.
The growth or life cycle for an industry is, in many ways, analogous to the product life cycle. The stages of each cycle are the same. The perspectives for evaluation of the stage of growth, however, vary. The four stages of the growth or life cycle generally recognized are introduction, growth, maturity, and decline.
In the introductory stage, the market is new, sales are slow, advertising expenditures r
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