An Examination of Marketing Performance by Retail Chain Size and Brand Origin in the Kuwait Coffee Shop Market

The purpose of this study is to investigate, in Kuwait western-style coffee shops, the effects of brand size and brand origin (domestic versus foreign) on marketing-related performance measures. It is shown that small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are more likely than expected to be domestic companies and very large enterprises (VLEs) are more likely to be foreign in origin. Based on surveys collected from 700 respondents in the Kuwait market, it is also found that VLEs exhibit significantly greater marketing performance as measured by number of users, retention, satisfaction, preference, penetration, and share. Additionally, it is shown that, in comparison to domestic brands, foreign brands also exhibit superior marketing performance. The paper significantly contributes to the body of research on the relationship between firm size, country of origin, and marketing performance in the Middle Eastern market.