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Crespo de Carvalho, J., Vinhas da Silva, Rui & Syed Alwi, S. F. (2014). h3 gourmet: great to go upmarket, but are people willing to pay for the difference?. European Journal of Business and Social Sciences. 3 (6), 81-102

J. L. Carvalho et al.,  "h3 gourmet: great to go upmarket, but are people willing to pay for the difference?", in European Journal of Business and Social Sciences, vol. 3, no. 6, pp. 81-102, 2014

@article{carvalho2014_1732201219663,
	author = "Crespo de Carvalho, J. and Vinhas da Silva, Rui and Syed Alwi, S. F.",
	title = "h3 gourmet: great to go upmarket, but are people willing to pay for the difference?",
	journal = "European Journal of Business and Social Sciences",
	year = "2014",
	volume = "3",
	number = "6",
	pages = "81-102",
	url = "www.ejbss.com"
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - h3 gourmet: great to go upmarket, but are people willing to pay for the difference?
T2  - European Journal of Business and Social Sciences
VL  - 3
IS  - 6
AU  - Crespo de Carvalho, J.
AU  - Vinhas da Silva, Rui
AU  - Syed Alwi, S. F.
PY  - 2014
SP  - 81-102
SN  - 2235-767X
UR  - www.ejbss.com
AB  - This case study addresses the pitfalls of internationalization and entrepreneurial
decision-making in the creation of relevant differentiation for a gourmet fast-food
concept, whose foundations lay in good old fashioned fast food rules dressed in a
gourmet experience. In standardizing their market offer and having engaged in a frantic
expansion program, h3, the organization under scrutiny here (and that illustrates
business and management research methods in practice) has had to face serious strategic
challenges and concerns. Initially limited to the confines of their home nation, Portugal,
with subsequent expansion to Poland, Spain and Brazil, the chosen strategy of
geographical diversification cannot be said to have been an indisputable success, as the
organization is currently witnessing serious divestment decisions away from the Polish
and Spanish markets. The Brazilian market on the other hand appears to be thriving.
Their concept is that of gourmet burgers with a fast food logistics and service culture
underpinning it. Competition has been tough as several competitors have flocked into the
market with pretty much the same idea. The company has sought to establish an
emotional difference in what is increasingly a saturated market, although the h3 brand is
quickly becoming synonymous with a novel association that has been emerging in the
minds of consumers, gourmet and fast food coupled together in one food business
concept. However, some service elements and customization characteristics (co-creation
possibilities) may give the business a unique angle for relevant market differentiation.
Whilst there is no profound emotional difference that would otherwise have been present
via the association with a well-recognized and established brand, h3 appears on the
surface to have an even more worrying problem, in that they are apparently stuck in the
middle in terms of their strategic outlook into the future, as on the one hand their cost
structure is not fast food like and on the other, their ethos and potential basis for
differentiation, gourmet meals is susceptible to imitation by any middle of the road
competitor with serious intentions of coming into a profitable market. In addition to
possibly not having enough differentiation they are also not “branded” sufficiently…how
best to tackle the future is then their plight.
ER  -