Researching “Tacos Mi Amor” Food Truck, but you can pull information from any other taco food truck that has no data to use.
1)Title page
2)Background information
3)Decision problem
4)Research problem(s)
5)Preliminary research design, including data collection method, sampling plan, etc.
6)A tentative time schedule table for all the tasks you plan to carry out
7)Appendices
Background Information
The food sector has become one of the most innovative due to high competition and lifestyle changes and eating habits. The increase in the number of street food joints is a recent innovation that has gained ground in most western nations, such as the United States and Canada. Streets foods are ready-to-eat foods and beverages that people prepare and sell in open places, including streets and parks. Street foods, mostly involving food trucks, have become the means for preserving cultural and social heritage since most food vendors and hawkers sell traditional foods affiliated with a specific culture. Besides, cultural cuisines are an essential tourist attraction as people want to taste traditional foods, especially when far from home. While food trucks, such as Gourmet and Taco, are commonplace in modern society, research is inadequate regarding the factors that determine the placement decision. Thus, the current study focuses on exploring the decision-making drivers that determine when a food truck is placed to counter competition and increase sales.
Decision Problem
Decision-making is a critical part of beginning any type of business and should be a strategic process to generate returns on investment. Thus, entrepreneurs should explore the factors that determine their decisions, such as the business location. Considering that food trucks sell street foods, their location plays a key role in determining their success. Failure to consider the factors, such as the target market’s culture and lifestyles, leads to loss in most street food business ventures. The study will address the problem of the lack of sufficient knowledge to inform decision-making in the sector that causes the risk of failure from poor planning or intense competition.
Research Problem(s)
The research problem that the current research will focus on is the inadequate data regarding decision–making when establishing a food truck business. Understanding the factors, such as culture and lifestyle, and their impact on decision–making when establishing such as business will inform the business model’s future. Entrepreneurs can use the findings when venturing into the food truck business. Besides, the results will close the knowledge gap and inform future research on the critical drivers of success in the food truck business.
Preliminary Research Design
The current study will use an exploratory qualitative research design to understand the factors that inform business location and success in the food truck sector. The exploratory study is necessary since the research will explore the phenomenon to understand it instead of solving a current problem. The research will collect data from two food truck companies, Gourmet Food Truck and “Tacos Mi Amor” Food Truck, through an interview with their managers. The study will use purposive sampling to obtain a sample of ten managers running the food trucks in different parts of the country. The interview will be conducted using an interview schedule (see appendix for a copy of the interview schedule). Due to the distance between the different food trucks’ locations, the study will be conducted using phone interviews. Their responses will be recorded for transcription and analysis to inform findings. A thematic content analysis will be used to analyze and report the collected data.
A tentative time schedule table
Task/Timeline | Mar 1-15 | Mar 16-31 | April 1-15 | April 16-30 | May 1-15 | May 1-31 | June 1-15 | June 16-30 |
Topic identification | ||||||||
Preliminary literature review | ||||||||
Research instrument preparation | ||||||||
Sample identification | ||||||||
Data collection | ||||||||
Data analysis and reporting |
Appendices
- What is your current position in the company?
- How long have you worked for the company?
- How long have you been operating from the current location?
- What informed the decision to locate the business at the current location?
- Who are your regular customers?
- How many customers do you serve per day?
- What types of food do you serve your customers?
- Do you think the location determines the sales per day?
- Are there other food trucks at the same location?
If yes, how many?
- Are they more or less busy than you?