Standardization and Adaptation Dilemma in International Food Service Industry Marketing on the Example of Yum!Brands Company

Nowadays, international companies come across the need to solve standardization-adaptation dilemma in international marketing. The paper is dedicated to the phenomenon of standardization-adaptation dilemma in international food service industry marketing analyzed on the example of the international company Yum!Brands (brand KFC). The paper examines theoretical aspects and industrial specifics of the standardization-adaptation dilemma, analyzes the way, how KFC solves the standardization-adaptation dilemma in international marketing on the example of two local markets, Russia and China, and compares case-study results with KFC divisions in other markets and other industry players. The main conclusion of the paper is that standardization-adaptation dilemma in the international food service industry, in general, is solved by the balanced mixed approach, and this approach varies depending on the local market, where a company operates.