著者

菊地 昌弥

出版者

日本農業市場学会

雑誌

農業市場研究 (ISSN:1341934X)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.17, no.2, pp.67-73, 2008

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This research analyzes the function of voluntary chain headquarters in the lunch service industry through a fact-finding survey of one company treated as a case study. The company is one of the biggest companies operating as a voluntary chain of lunch service. The remarkable points regarding the function of a voluntary chain headquarter are the creation of the menu and the compartmentalization of the market. These functions play an important role in the survival of small and medium-sized affiliated enterprises while the market of fast-food chain industries has already reached in period of maturity and increased competition. Therefore there is a certain degree of merit when small and medium-sized lunch service enterprise characterized by financial difficulty become a member of a voluntary chain. On the other hand, enforcement by the headquarters is not so strong such that cost-reduction by bulk buying, which is a strength of regular chain or franchise chain, can not be achieved. In order for voluntary chain to exist as a survival tactic of medium-sized enterprises and form a robust organization, it is imperative that this problem is solved.