BUSI600 CASE STUDY DONATOS 2
1. Map the research design used by Donato’s for new product development.
The typical research-based product development process follows these steps: developing
the product prototype, employee taste testing, concept screens, and in-restaurant tests in a select
number of locations, in that order. The concept screens are meetings in a neutral location where
participants are asked to evaluate the product under development in terms of its creativeness,
brand fit, cost, and how likely they are to purchase the product (Schindler, 2022). These are
important to ensure the “product development process meets business objectives and customer
expectations…reducing risks associated with the new product development process” (The
Complete Guide to Idea Screening, 2023, para. 3).
In the product development phase of the low-carb crust pizza, Donatos was not able to
develop a product that was up to their standards, so they changed directions and proceeded with
the concept of a dough-free pizza. In addition to their typical toppings, Donatos added protein-
enriched crumbles, despite adding significant cost to their production, to ensure that there was a
focus on the customers. On December 22, 2003, Donatos had gotten the concept to two test
stores and to take advantage of New Year’s resolutions, rolled out the doughless pizza on January
19, 2004 (Schindler, 2022).
2. Evaluate the Wassup meetings as an exploratory methodology to help define the research
question.
The research question is “the hypothesis that best states the objective of the research
question…the answer to this question would provide the manager with the desired information
necessary to make a decision with respect to the management dilemma” (Schindler, 2022). To get
from the management dilemma and question to the research question, exploration is needed.
Typical exploration techniques to define the research question include interviews with
BUSI600 CASE STUDY DONATOS 3
information gatekeepers and brainstorming with experts. The method that was used by Donatos
to identify factors that have the potential to impact restaurant sales was a monthly WASSUP
meeting where all employees were required to come prepared with a current element of pop
culture and how it could impact Donatos (Schindler, 2022).
While the Donatos employees are not the typical experts that you would expect to be
weighing in on these issues, there is extreme value in having them identify pop culture trends
that could be impacting business. This is because pop culture involves aspects of social life that
people of the public are involved in. Additionally, pop culture is determined by the interactions
between people in their everyday activities, so everyone’s opinion is unique and valuable to these
discussions (Delaney, 2007).
3. Evaluate the test market Donatos used. What were its advantages and disadvantages?
The Donatos test market was two stores in Columbus. Having a test market this small is a
disadvantage due to the regionality of food perception. Perception of taste is shaped by a variety
of factors, including, but not limited to, genes, geographical location, social and cultural
influences, and food availability (Pienak et al, 2021, para. 1). Those who live in the same regions
and within the same culture experience similar taste identification abilities and preferences. By
only including test stores in Columbus, there is a lack of reliability in the acceptance of the No
Dough pizza.
Additionally, the test market lasted less than a month, which introduces a lack of
reliability. Tom Krouse, the chief concept officer with Donatos, even pointed out the
shortcomings of such an abbreviated test market. Krouse mentioned that one of the factors that
influence restaurants is the weather; by having such a short test market, there would not be the
ability to assess restaurant sales of the No Dough pizza under a variety of seasonal conditions
BUSI600 CASE STUDY DONATOS 4
(Schindler, 2022). In addition to the weather, there are non-weather-related seasonal changes that
impact restaurant sales; Columbus is a college city, so businesses can see large boosts and drops
in sales at times that line up with major changes to the school year. Students would not have been
on campus for the entire time that the Donatos test market was run, so this could reduce the
amount of sales and lead to misleading data (Higuera, 2019).
4. What measurement scales would you have used on the survey that was part of the in-
restaurant product tests?
Even though they are not using the data to decide if from a test market, the No Dough
pizza should be offered in all of their restaurants, it is still important to decide the viability and
success of the pizza across all restaurants. Donatos has done this through a variety of techniques,
including phone interviews, email questionnaires, and in-restaurant comment cards. One of the
measurement scales I would have used for the in-restaurant product test would have been the
Likert scale, which used agree or disagree statements to express a favorable or unfavorable
opinion toward something. Additionally, a numerical scale could have been used due to its
linearity and simplicity (Schindler, 2022). These scales would have been useful to evaluate the
success of the No Dough pizza. Utilizing an ordinal measurement scale allows for the
development of rules and methods that guide researchers and allow for statistical tests of the data
(DeVillis, 2012). If the desire shifted to evaluate other types of low or no-carb pizza choices or
even to evaluate the toppings of the current No Dough pizza, it would be beneficial to use paired-
comparison questions (Schindler, 2022).
BUSI600 CASE STUDY DONATOS 5
References
Delaney, T. (2007). Pop culture: An overview. Philosophy Now: a magazine of ideas.
https://philosophynow.org/issues/64/Pop_Culture_An_Overview
DeVellis, R. (2012). Measurement & Measurement Scales.
http://media.acc.qcc.cuny.edu/faculty/volchok/Measurement_Volchok/Measurement_Volc
hok_print.html
Higuera, V. (2019, February 12). Seasonal factors affecting the restaurant industry. Small
Business - Chron.com. https://smallbusiness.chron.com/seasonal-factors- affecting-
restaurant-industry-31192.html
Pieniak, M., Pisanski, K., Kupczyk, P., Sorokowski, P., Sorokowska, A., Frackowiak, T., &
Oleszkiewicz, A. (2021, December 26). The impact of food variety on taste identification
and preferences: Evidence from the Cook Islands archipelago. Food Quality and
Preference. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0950329321003943
Schindler, P. S. (2022). Business research methods (14th ed.). McGraw-Hill.
The Complete Guide to Idea Screening. Qualtrics. (2023, November 9).
https://www.qualtrics.com/experience-management/research/idea-screening/#:~:text=For
%20every%20business%2C%20idea%20screening,even%20penetrate%20the%20market
%20effectively.
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