What is the Case Study Method ?

How can you use it to

write case solution for The WORKS Gourmet Burger Bistro
case study?

Almost all of the case studies contain well defined situations. MBA and EMBA
professional can take advantage of these situations to - apply theoretical framework,
recommend new processes, and use quantitative methods to suggest course of action.

Awareness of the common situations can help MBA & EMBA professionals read the case
study more efficiently, discuss it more effectively among the team members, narrow
down the options, and write cogently.

Case Study Solution Approaches

Three Step Approach to The WORKS Gourmet Burger Bistro Case Study
Solution

The three step case study solution approach comprises –

Conclusions – MBA & EMBA professionals should state their conclusions at the very
start. It helps in communicating the points directly and the direction one took.

Reasons – At the second stage provide the reasons for the conclusions. Why you choose
one course of action over the other. For example why the change effort failed in the
case and what can be done to rectify it. Or how the marketing budget can be better
spent using social media rather than traditional media.

Evidences – Finally you should provide evidences to support your reasons. It has to
come from the data provided within the case study rather than data from outside world.
Evidences should be both compelling and consistent. In case study method there is ‘no
right’ answer, just how effectively you analyzed the situation based on incomplete
information and multiple scenarios.
Case Study Solution of The WORKS Gourmet Burger Bistro

We write The WORKS Gourmet Burger Bistro case study solution using Harvard Business
Review case writing framework & HBR Sales & Marketing learning notes. We try to
cover all the bases in the field of Sales & Marketing, Pricing and other related areas.

Objectives of using various frameworks in The WORKS

Gourmet Burger Bistro case study solution

By using the above frameworks for The WORKS Gourmet Burger Bistro case study
solutions, you can clearly draw conclusions on the following areas –

What are the strength and weaknesses of Burger Miller (SWOT Analysis)

What are external factors that are impacting the business environment (PESTEL
Analysis)

Should Burger Miller enter new market or launch new product (Opportunities &
Threats from SWOT Analysis)

What will be the expected profitability of the new products or services (Porter Five
Forces Analysis)

How it can improve the profitability in a given industry (Porter Value Chain Analysis)

What are the resources needed to increase profitability (VRIO Analysis)

Finally which business to continue, where to invest further and from which to get
out (BCG Growth Share Analysis)
SWOT Analysis of The WORKS Gourmet Burger Bistro

SWOT analysis stands for – Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Strengths
and Weaknesses are result of Burger Miller internal factors, while opportunities and
threats arise from developments in external environment in which Burger Miller
operates. SWOT analysis will help us in not only getting a better insight into Burger
Miller present competitive advantage but also help us in how things have to evolve to
maintain and consolidate the competitive advantage.

Strengths

- Experienced and successful leadership team – Burger Miller management team has
been a success over last decade by successfully predicting trends in the industry.

- Streamlined processes and efficient operation management – Burger Miller is one of

the most efficient firms in its segment. The credit for the performance goes to successful
execution and efficient operations management.

Weakness

- Low profitability which can hamper new project investment – Even though Burger
Miller financial statement is stable, but going forward Burger Miller 5-7% profitability
can lead to shortage of funds to invest into new projects.

- Burger Miller business model can be easily replicated by competitors – According to

Eric Dolansky, Bruce Miller , the business model of Burger Miller can be easily replicated
by players in the industry.

Opportunities

- Increase in Consumer Disposable Income – Burger Miller can use the increasing
disposable income to build a new business model where customers start paying
progressively for using its products. According to Eric Dolansky, Bruce Miller of The
WORKS Gourmet Burger Bistro case study, Burger Miller can use this trend to expand in
adjacent areas Pricing.

- Developments in Artificial Intelligence – Burger Miller can use developments in

artificial intelligence to better predict consumer demand, cater to niche segments, and
make better recommendation engines.

Threats

- Growing dominance of digital players such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft etc can
reduce the manoeuvring space for Burger Miller and put upward pressure on marketing
budget.

- Home market marketing technique won’t work in new markets such as India and China
where scale is prized over profitability.

Once all the factors mentioned in the The WORKS Gourmet Burger Bistro case study are
organized based on SWOT analysis, just remove the non essential factors. This will help
you in building a weighted SWOT analysis which reflects the real importance of factors
rather than just tabulation of all the factors mentioned in the case.

What is PESTEL Analysis

PESTEL /PEST / STEP Analysis of The WORKS Gourmet

Burger Bistro Case Study

PESTEL stands for – Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, and Legal
factors that impact the macro environment in which Burger Miller operates in. Eric
Dolansky, Bruce Miller provides extensive information about PESTEL factors in The
WORKS Gourmet Burger Bistro case study.
Political Factors

- Political and Legal Structure – The political system seems stable and there is
consistency in both economic policies and foreign policies.

- Little dangers of armed conflict – Based on the research done by international foreign
policy institutions, it is safe to conclude that there is very little probability of country
entering into an armed conflict with another state.

Economic Factors

- Inflation rate is one of the key criteria to consider for Burger Miller before entering into
a new market.

- Foreign Exchange movement is also an indicator of economic stability. Burger Miller

should closely consider the forex inflow and outflow. A number of Burger Miller
competitors have lost money in countries such as Brazil, Argentina, and Venezuela due
to volatile forex market.

Social Factors

- Consumer buying behavior and consumer buying process – Burger Miller should
closely follow the dynamics of why and how the consumers are buying the products
both in existing categories and in segments that Burger Miller wants to enter.

- Demographic shifts in the economy are also a good social indicator for Burger Miller
to predict not only overall trend in market but also demand for Burger Miller product
among its core customer segments.

Technological Factors

- 5G has potential to transform the business environment especially in terms of

marketing and promotion for Burger Miller.
- Proliferation of mobile phones has created a generation whose primary tool of
entertainment and information consumption is mobile phone. Burger Miller needs to
adjust its marketing strategy accordingly.

Environmental Factors

- Environmental regulations can impact the cost structure of Burger Miller. It can further
impact the cost of doing business in certain markets.

- Consumer activism is significantly impacting Burger Miller branding, marketing and

corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives.

Legal Factors

- Intellectual property rights are one area where Burger Miller can face legal threats in
some of the markets it is operating in.

- Property rights are also an area of concern for Burger Miller as it needs to make
significant Pricing infrastructure investment just to enter new market.

What are Porter Five Forces

Porter Five Forces Analysis of The WORKS Gourmet Burger

Bistro

You can use Porter Five Forces to analyze the industry in which Burger Miller operates in
and what are the levers of profitability in those segments – differentiation, Pricing.
Michael Porter Five Forces of Strategy are –

Competition among existing players,

Bargaining power of suppliers,

Bargaining power of buyers,

Threat of new entrants, and

Threat of substitutes

Porter Five Forces can help in answering following questions for writing case study
solution for The WORKS Gourmet Burger Bistro -

How attractive is the industry described in the The WORKS Gourmet Burger Bistro?

Are some segments more attractive than others? Why? Identify, analyze, and evaluate
the strategy of the Burger Miller featured in the The WORKS Gourmet Burger Bistro case
study.

What are the pros and Cons of each strategy? What impact Burger Miller actions will
have on industry and economy on whole?

What is VRIO Analysis

VRIO Analysis of The WORKS Gourmet Burger Bistro

VRIO stands for – Value of the resource that Burger Miller possess, Rareness of those
resource, Imitation Risk that competitors pose, and Organizational Competence of
Burger Miller. VRIO and VRIN analysis can help the firm.

Competitive
Resources Value Rare Imitation Organization Advantage
Global and Local Yes, as it Yes Can be Yes, it is one Providing
Presence diversify the imitated by of the most Strong
revenue competitors diversified Competitive
streams and companies in Advantage
isolate its industry
 Competitive
Resources Value Rare Imitation Organization Advantage
company's
balance sheet
from
economic
cycles
Distribution and Yes, as it helps No Can be Yes Medium to
Logistics Costs in delivering imitated by Long Term
Competitiveness lower costs competitors Competitive
but it is Advantage
difficult
Opportunities in Yes, the e- No, most of The AI and It is just the In the long
the E-Commerce commerce the inhouse start for the run it can
Space using space is competitors analytics can organization provide
Present IT rapidly are investing be difficult sustainable
Capabilities growing and in IT to enter to imitate competitive
firm can the space advantage
leverage the
opportunities

What is Porter Value Chain

Porter Value Chain Analysis of The WORKS Gourmet

Burger Bistro

As the name suggests Value Chain framework is developed by Michael Porter in 1980’s
and it is primarily used for analyzing Burger Miller relative cost and value structure.
Managers can use Porter Value Chain framework to disaggregate various processes and
their relative costs in the Burger Miller.

This will help in answering – the related costs and various sources of competitive
advantages of Burger Miller in the markets it operates in. The process can also be done
to competitors to understand their competitive advantages and competitive strategies.
According to Michael Porter – Competitive Advantage is a relative term and has to be
understood in the context of rivalry within an industry. So Value Chain competitive
benchmarking should be done based on industry structure and bottlenecks.

What is BCG Growth Share Matrix

BCG Growth Share Matrix of The WORKS Gourmet Burger

Bistro

BCG Growth Share Matrix is very valuable tool to analyze Burger Miller strategic
positioning in various sectors that it operates in and strategic options that are available
to it.

Product Market segmentation in BCG Growth Share matrix should be done with great
care as there can be a scenario where Burger Miller can be market leader in the industry
without being a dominant player or segment leader in any of the segment.

BCG analysis should comprise not only growth share of industry & Burger Miller
business unit but also Burger Miller - overall profitability, level of debt, debt paying
capacity, growth potential, expansion expertise, dividend requirements from
shareholders, and overall competitive strength.

Two key considerations while using BCG Growth Share Matrix for The WORKS Gourmet
Burger Bistro case study solution -

How to calculate Weighted Average Market Share using BCG Growth Share Matrix

Relative Weighted Average Market Share Vs Largest Competitor