Business Research Methods

Case Analysis

INTRODUCTION

For this project you're going to read the Donatos: Finding the
New Pizza (Attached) case and answer the discussion questions.

Discussion questions: 1. Map the research design used by Donato’s for new product development. 2. Evaluate the Wassup meetings as an exploratory methodology to help define the research question. 3. Evaluate the test marked Donatos used. What were its advantages and disadvantages? 4. What measurement scales would you have used on the survey that was part of the in-restaurant product tests?

Writing Guidelines • Read the assignment carefully and answer each question. • Be specific. Limit your submission to the questions asked and issues …show more content…

"It's made of paper, but obviously one that can stand intense heat." But in employee taste tests of the first prototypes, something wasn't quite right. Donatos did central location taste tests to test some recipe variations. "We introduced a recipe which includes soy crisps, to give it texture and added protein without the carbs."
Statistically, the recipe with soy crisps was only a marginal winner over the recipe without the crisps. And adding the crisps would add significant cost to the new product. "Sometimes you have to step away from the numbers, and look at the central issue of what and who you are. We pride ourselves on being the very best. Adding protein for those customers watching carbohydrates was what we should be doing." Due to the somewhat negative connotation that soy has in the marketplace, Donatos' special ingredient isn't mentioned in its ads or on its
Web site. They describe the pizza as having "protein-enriched crumbles." A pizza without dough is built essentially the same as one with dough, with one obvious difference. The doughless pizza is layered on a plate with sauce first, followed by the protein crumbles and then the toppings. For every pizza, Donatos' measures all its topping servings to .01 of a pound to ensure consistency from pizza to pizza and restaurant to restaurant.
So from a production standpoint, the dough-less