You have been brought in as a restaurant industry expert as a consultant on the Cracker
Barrel Restaurant strategy. You sit on three other successful restaurant boards of directors. Each of the three publicly traded company boards you sit on have had at least
8 consecutive quarters of stock price growth and at have attained at least 15 percent
growth in earnings. As the industry expert you know you will have to apply your strategic planning tool skill set, including the Co-Alignment Model, to conduct a situation
analysis and then make recommendations to the Board of Directors of Cracker Barrel.
Student Questions
1. Apply the concepts of the Porter’s Five Forces Model, the New Product/New Market
Matrix, and The Life Cycle of a Services Firm to Cracker Barrel Country Stores.
2. Identify the key challenges for the company today. Identify the challenges of
the future. List these and support your listed challenges.
3. Prepare a SWOT Analysis Model and identify strengths/opportunities and the
weaknesses/threats for the Cracker Barrel Corporation.
4. What are your recommendations to the Board of Directors of Cracker Barrel to
add value to stockholders today and also going forward into the future?
References
Cetron, M., DeMicco, F., Davies, O., (2010) Hospitality 2015. The Educational Foundation, Orlando, FL
Porter, M.E. (1980). Competitive Strategy. The Free Press. New York, New York