Effects of consumer behaviour on innovations in fast food industry

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Greito maisto industrija; Inovacija; Inovacijos; Komercializavimas; Restoranų pasirinkimo kriterijai; Vartotojo elgsena; Vartotojų elgsena; Commercialization; Consumer behavior; Fast food industry; Innovation; Restaurant selection criteria.

ENThe purpose of this study is to examine effects of consumer behaviour on innovation commercialization among fast food restaurants via the analysis of restaurant selection criteria in the Lithuanian fast food market. In today’s global economic competitive environment where innovation is becoming more important, companies need to successfully manage innovations in order to ensure their competitive advantage, exploit new markets and attract customers. There is extensive research in the area of innovation (for instance, Schumpeter, 1934; Drucker, 2002; Lundvall, 2004; Freeman, 1982; Alam and Perry, 2002; Berghman, 2008; Ottenbacher, 2007, 2008 and etc.); however, the literature on the impact of consumer behaviour on commercialization of innovation is not well-established. The paper is innovative and relevant due to the selected fast food industry for analysis. It addresses the question: how does consumer behaviour contribute to innovation processes in the fast food industry and what are the ways to optimize the innovation performance, based on consumer needs? Fast food could be considered as an innovation itself. Nowadays it is not enough to just provide a fast food. Companies need to innovate in order to attract new customers – there is a new trend of healthy fast food, where requirements for fast food companies are very high. The present paper overviews and compares the academic literature on innovation, various classifications of innovation types and innovation process. It also presents the specific trends and issues of the EU system of innovation, choosing the Lithuanian case due to its sensitivity to transformation and rapid improvements, and only then it evolves into a quantitative survey-based study on fast food; restaurant selection criteria. [From the publication]