This thesis aimed to analyze the cases of Wendy’s International and Pizza Hut’s expanding operations in the Argentine market toward the goal of having a deeper understanding of why most American restaurant chains and fast-food restaurants failed in the past on this same task and capture the lessons of managing global businesses. Both Wendy’s and Pizza Hut used standardized products and services in a market that requires local and specific customization. Thus, the commercialization of non-customized products and services generated a cultural shock that had a negative impact of the new-product adoption.
Being Argentina the country with the highest beef consumption in the world, it is striking that McDonald's and Burger King were the only successful foreigner companies in the burger sector. And with the pizza as the second favorite dish (and soon to oust steak), is not understandable that none foreigner pizza restaurant chain was successful yet. As a result of this thesis, the key factors for the failure of previous investments from American restaurant chains are the high standardization of products and services, lack or not enough adaptation to the local market, and not fully understanding of the country’s culture.

This thesis aimed to analyze the cases of Wendy’s International and Pizza Hut’s expanding operations in the Argentine market toward the goal of having a deeper understanding of why most American restaurant chains and fast-food restaurants failed in the past on this same task and capture the lessons of managing global businesses. Both Wendy’s and Pizza Hut used standardized products and services in a market that requires local and specific customization. Thus, the commercialization of non-customized products and services generated a cultural shock that had a negative impact of the new-product adoption.
Being Argentina the country with the highest beef consumption in the world, it is striking that McDonald's and Burger King were the only successful foreigner companies in the burger sector. And with the pizza as the second favorite dish (and soon to oust steak), is not understandable that none foreigner pizza restaurant chain was successful yet. As a result of this thesis, the key factors for the failure of previous investments from American restaurant chains are the high standardization of products and services, lack or not enough adaptation to the local market, and not fully understanding of the country’s culture.

i.Journal Articles and Literatures:
1.Borbor M.S., (2005, Fall). The Advantages and Disadvantages of Licensing & Franchising in Canada. University of Maryland University College, AMAB 606.
2.Bradach J.L., (1998). Franchise Organizations. Harvard Business School Press.
3.Castrogiovanni, G. J., Justis, R. T., & Julian, S. D. (1993). Franchise failure rates: An assessment of magnitude and influencing factors. Journal of Small Business Management, 31(2), 105-105.
4.Doherty, A.M. (2009). Market and partner selection process in international retail franchising. Journal of Business Research, 62(5), 528-534.
5.Edwards, C., Cato Institute, Direction of Fiscal Policy. (2003, September). The U.S. corporate tax and the global economy. Tax and Budget Bulletin, No. 18.
6.Emerson R., (1982). Fast Food: The Endless Shakout, Lebhar-Friedman; in Jeffrey L. Bradach, Franchise Organizations, Harvard Business School Press, 1998.
7.Euro Monitor, (1996). Consumer Latin America.
8.Grant, R. M. (2008). Contemporary strategy analysis. (6 ed.). Oxford: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
9.Grant, T. (1998). International directory of company histories. (Vol. 21). Chicago: St. James Press.
10.Hofstede, G. (1997). Cultures and organizations, software of the mind. McGraw-Hill Companies.
11.Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture's consequences : comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations. (2nd ed.). London: Sage Publications.
12.Holmberg S. & Morgan K. B., (2000). Franchise failure: New research and perspectives. Society of Franchising conference proceedings.

13.Holmberg S.R. & Morgan K.B. (2007, April). Entrepreneurial global franchise ventures: US and European franchise failure strategic and empirical perspectives. Intl Entrepreneurial Management Journal. 3:379-401.
14.Hooke J.C., (2001). Emerging Markets. John Wiley & sons Inc.
15.Internicola, C. N. (2010). An entrepreneur’s guide to purchasing a business or franchise. (2 ed.). Staten Island, NY: Word Association Publishers.
16.Ireland & Hoskisson & Hitt, (2011). The Management of Strategy: Concepts and Cases (9 ed.). South-Western Cengage Learning.
17.Justis, R. T., & Chan, P. S. (1993). An investigation of franchise failure rates. Journal of Business and Entrepreneurship, 5(2), 1-0_6.
18.Kaufmann P., (1989) Costs and Benefits of Standardized Franchise Formats; In Jeffrey L. Bradach, Franchise Organizations, Harvard Business School Press, 1998.
19.Keaveney S.M., (1995, April). Customer switching behavior in service industries: An exploratory study. Journal of Marketing. Vol. 59, 71-82.
20.Keegan W.J. & Green M.S., (2000). Global Marketing (2 ed.). Prentice Hall.
21.Lafontaine, F. (1999, Nov 22). Myths and strengths of franchising. Financial Times, pp. 10-10.
22.Pederson, J. P. (2007). International directory of company histories. (Vol. 47). Chicago: St. James Press.
23.Porter, M. E. (1985). Competitive advantage: creating and sustaining superior performance. London: The Free Press.
24.Rogers, E. M. (1995). Diffusion of innovations. (5 ed.). New York, NY: A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
25.Root F. R., (1994). Entry Strategies for International Markets. New York: Lexington Books.
26.Sashi, C. M., & Devi, P. K. (2002). Franchising in global markets: Towards a conceptual framework. International Marketing Review, 19(4), 499-524.
27.Schiffman, L. G., & Kanuk, L. L. (2007). Consumer behavior. (9 ed.). Pearson Education.
28.Shane, S.A. (1998), Making new franchise systems work, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 19, pp. 697-707.
29.Shannon, C. E. (1948). A Mathematical Theory of Communication. The Bell System Technical Journal, Vol. 27, pp. 379–423, 623–656, July, October.
30.Stanworth, J. (1995). Penetrating the mists surrounding franchise failure rates – some old lessons for new businesses. International Small Business Journal, 13(2), 56-63.
31.Strack F & Deutsch R. (2004). Reflective and Impulsive Determinants of Social Behavior. Personality and Social Psychology Review, Vol. 8, No. 3, 220-247.
32.Tran & Hoai & Huong, (1995). Official Guide to Household Spending (3 ed.). New Strategist, 176.
33.US Department of Labor, Bureau of International Labor Affairs. (1994). Foreign labor trends: Argentina
34.Wadsworth F., (1999). Franchisee satisfaction: A report on the fast food industry. Society of Franchising conference proceedings.
35.Welsh D. H. B. & Alon I. (2001, April). International franchising in emerging markets Central and Eastern Europe and Latin America. CCH, 307–315. In Holmberg S.R. & Morgan K.B., (2007). Entrepreneurial global franchise ventures: US and European franchise failure strategic and empirical perspectives. Intl Entrepreneurial Management Journal, 3:379-401.

ii.Newspaper Archives and Non-print editions:

1.Bianchi, A. (1998, Mar 14). Ganaron las medialunas: se van las casas de donuts. La Nacion. Retrieved from http://www.lanacion.com.ar/90428-ganaron-las-medialunas-se-van-las-casas-de-donuts (Spanish)
2.Bianchi, A. (1998, Nov 3). Il postino, tras los pasos de pizza hut en la argentina. La Nacion. Retrieved from http://www.lanacion.com.ar/116508-il-postino-tras-los-pasos-de-pizza-hut-en-la-argentina (Spanish)
3.Bianchi, A. (1998, Dec 5). El exxel group pierde interés en pizza hut. La Nacion. Retrieved from http://www.lanacion.com.ar/96311-el-exxel-group-pierde-interes-en-pizza-hut (Spanish)
4.Bianchi , A. (2000, Nov 11). Wendy`s revisa su inversión en el país. La Nacion. Retrieved from http://www.lanacion.com.ar/41707-wendy`s-revisa-su-inversion-en-el-pais (Spanish)
5.Bidegaray, M. (2011, Jan 11). La cadena de hamburguesas wendy’s vuelve a la argentina. Clarin. Retrieved from http://www.clarin.com/economia/cadena-hamburguesas-Wendys-vuelve-Argentina_0_416958363.html (Spanish)
6.Company news; Wendy’s closes Buenos Aires stores and lays off 600. (2000, Nov 29). The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/29/business/company-news-wendy-s-closes-buenos-aires-stores-and-lays-off-600.html?scp=2&sq=Wendy's&st=nyt
7.De Castro, C. (1999, Sep 5). Las franquicias le ganan a la recesión. Clarin. Retrieved from http://edant.clarin.com/suplementos/economico/1999/09/05/o-00401e.htm (Spanish)
8.De Castro, C. (2002, Jul 21). Algunas franquicias crecen con la crisis. Clarin. Retrieved from http://edant.clarin.com/suplementos/economico/2002/07/21/n-00411.htm (Spanish)
9.Ferrarese, L. (2000, Mar 5). Para los norteamericanos, las economías de américa latina son difíciles de entender. La Nacion. Retrieved from http://www.lanacion.com.ar/7790-para-los-norteamericanos-las-economias-de-america-latina-son-dificiles-de-entender (Spanish)
10.Godin, S. (1999, Nov 14). Lecciones de enfoque. Clarin. Retrieved from http://edant.clarin.com/suplementos/economico/1999/11/14/o-01102e.htm (Spanish)
11.Guazzone , V. (2011, Mar 16). Las franquicias que el tiempo se llevó y todos quieren volver a ver. Retrieved from http://www.planetajoy.com/?Las_franquicias_que_el_tiempo_se_llevo_y_todos_quieren_volver_a_ver&page=ampliada&id=2805 (Spanish)
12.Hernandez, F. (2010, Apr 11). [Web Based Recording]. Entrevista del lector. La Nacion. Buenos Aires. , Retrieved from http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1252737-entrevista-del-lector (Spanish)
13.Hernandez, V. (2011, Dec 09). Will pizza oust steak as argentina's favourite dish?. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-16082489
14.Italia y la argentina se ponen en movimiento. (1998, Apr 14). La Nacion. Retrieved from http://www.lanacion.com.ar/217886-italia-y-la-argentina-se-ponen-en-movimiento (Spanish)
15.Las marcas "american way of life" no son infalibles. (1997, Nov 2). La Nacion. Retrieved from http://www.lanacion.com.ar/79953-las-marcas-american-way-of-life-no-son-infalibles (Spanish)
16.Malatesta, N. O. (1998, Apr 26). Son varias las marcas que apuestan al éxito compartido. La Nacion. Retrieved from http://www.lanacion.com.ar/94725-son-varias-las-marcas-que-apuestan-al-exito-compartido (Spanish)
17.Muscatelli, N. (2001, Jun 4). Franquicias en crisis: los costos bajaron a la mitad. Clarin. Retrieved from http://edant.clarin.com/diario/2001/06/04/e-01001.htm (Spanish)
18.Muscatelli , N. (2007, May 19). La cadena starbucks prepara su desembarco en argentina. Clarin. Retrieved from http://old.clarin.com/diario/2007/05/19/elpais/p-03001.htm (Spanish)
19.Pizza en puerta. (1999, Jun 6). Clarin. Retrieved from http://edant.clarin.com/suplementos/economico/1999/06/06/o-00902e.htm (Spanish)
20.Pizza hut deja la argentina: transfirió la gente y sus locales. (1998, Jun 30). Clarin. Retrieved from http://edant.clarin.com/diario/1998/06/30/o-02401d.htm (Spanish)
21.Pizza hut vuelve a la argentina de la mano de un nuevo socio. (2010, Oct 13). La Nacion. Retrieved from http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1314363-pizza-hut-vuelve-a-la-argentina-de-la-mano-de-un-nuevo-socio (Spanish)
22.Por octava vez, asaltan una pizzería en san isidro. (1998, Feb 22). Clarin. Retrieved from http://edant.clarin.com/diario/1998/02/22/e-04501d.htm (Spanish)
23.Rebossio, A. (2000, Nov 28). Wendy′s cierra sus puertas en el país. La Nacion. Retrieved from http://www.lanacion.com.ar/42710-wendys-cierra-sus-puertas-en-el-pais (Spanish)
24.Sainz, A. (2002, Dec 12). Schlotzsky′s deli, otra cadena de comida rápida que deja el país. La Nacion. Retrieved from http://www.lanacion.com.ar/457867-schlotzskys-deli-otra-cadena-de-comida-rapida-que-deja-el-pais (Spanish)
25.Sainz, A. (2005, Sep 02). Se expande una red de comida rápida. La Nacion. Retrieved from http://www.lanacion.com.ar/735260-se-expande-una-red-de-comida-rapida (Spanish)
26.Sainz, A. (2010, Feb 7). Los fracasos más rutilantes del fast food. La Nacion. Retrieved from http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1230196-los-fracasos-mas-rutilantes-del-fast-food (Spanish)
27.Sainz, A. (2010, Dec 12). Los fast food van por la revancha. La Nacion. Retrieved from http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1332614-los-fast-food-van-por-la-revancha (Spanish)
28.Sainz, A. (2011, Jan 28). Vuelve una cadena de comida rápida. La Nacion. Retrieved from http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1345168-vuelve-una-cadena-de-comida-rapida (Spanish)
29.Sainz, A. (2011, Nov 10). Con nuevos inversores, vuelve a la argentina la cadena wend'ys. La Nacion. Retrieved from http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1421861-con-nuevos-inversores-vuelve-a-la-argentina-la-cadena-wendys (Spanish)
30.Sims, C. (1994, Dec 27). Kfc tries for a turnaround in chile. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/1994/12/27/business/kfc-tries-for-a-turnaround-in-chile.html?scp=2&sq=Pepsico&st=nyt
31.Té en latita para todo el mundo. (2003, Oct 15). Clarin. Retrieved from http://edant.clarin.com/diario/2003/10/15/p-01808.htm (Spanish)
32.Tendencias: Diccionario 1994-2004. (2004, Jun 27). Clarin. Retrieved from http://edant.clarin.com/diario/2004/06/27/sociedad/s-784689.htm (Spanish)
33.United States. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). World Factbook. 2012. Web. <https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/>
34.Vuelven las hamburguesas cuadradas al país. (2011, Jan 28) La Nacion. Retrieved from http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1344983-vuelven-las-hamburguesas-cuadradas-al-pais (Spanish)
35.Wendy’s se fue de la argentina. (2000, Nov 29). Clarin. Retrieved from http://edant.clarin.com/diario/2000/11/29/e-01901.htm (Spanish)
36.Zuber, A. (2000, Dec 11). Wendy’s abandons unprofitable Argentina. Retrieved from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3190/is