Fast Food - the early years: Geography and the growth of a chain-store in the UK

Michael Waterson, Joanne Sault and Otto Toivanen

No 219, Royal Economic Society Annual Conference 2003 from Royal Economic Society

Abstract: We examine the development of UK outlets of a major fast food chain, from inauguration in 1974 until 1990, after which industry structure changed somewhat. The chain effectively introduced the counter-service burger concept. Locational spread across local authority district markets is explained by the characteristics of the areas where the outlets are sited. Of special interest is the effect of scale economies, measured by outlet numbers in neighboring districts. Both first and second entry are examined. We find that the hazard of first entry is positively influenced by market size and population density and negatively by distance from company headquarters.

Keywords: fast food; diffusion; regional economic activity; entry (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L21 L81 R11 R12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-geo and nep-ure
Date: 2003-06-04

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Working Paper: Fast Food - the early years: Geography and the growth of a chain-store in the UK (2002)
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