I completely agree with Krishnan that to get more guests and more facilities, apply the principle of affordability.

Look at these links (I found them through scopus.com using keywords restaurant and internationalization):

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278431909001479

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1046669X.2010.512861#.U1wB0NFZr4g

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278431912001491

In principle, restaurants can internationalize through opening branches abroad (through takeover or building new restaurants) or through franchising (developing a concept that other firms can use and pay for using it), also, they can attract international customers (e.g. tourists and business people). The main motivation is usually growth. Cultural differences may cause problems (e.g. because of different tastes and not understanding what customers want).

It may motivate by growth expansion.Normally they may be extended from successful operation in their domestic market with established brand. Internationalization in restaurant industry is sort of creative economy as it carry blending of food taste with distinctive culture.This means you bring reputation of food from one country to another country. As an industry it should link with food value chain within and across-country.And this can link with tourism activities.

Well, those are really good questions, Pedro.

Tiia and Choen have already made some very helpful comments I think.

I think it is very important for a restaurant chain to defend its good reputation. They want to make sure that the quality of the whole experience is the same at every location, domestically and internationally. That concerns basically everything, from the quality of the food to the interior design and so on.

Why do companies in general go abroad? Well, a common reason is to expand their business, to make more profit. Especially if a company has saturated the home market in its niche or segment it will look abroad for new opportunities. Economies of scale can also be a reason.

I agree with Choen that a main challenge in this industry will be different food tastes across the planet. They can adapt the food to local tastes or offer “international” food, such as pizza, pasta, burgers and so on that many people around the world can already relate to.

How can they enter a foreign market? Well, often it is helpful to cooperate with a local partner. That means franchising or Joint Ventures can be good ways for a domestic restaurant chain to enter foreign markets. With Joint Ventures the company will most likely have more influence over the quality of the customer experience abroad, so without knowing more details I would probably recommend JVs.

The restaurant chain can establish regional (or even country) headquarters to support the local franchisees (or the JV restaurants, depending on the market entry mode). That will help them to adapt their product to local market characteristics.

They also have to decide which markets to enter first. A common approach is to enter foreign markets according to the “Uppsala Model”, which means for a Portuguese restaurant chain for instance they would possibly first enter the Spanish or French markets.

Before actually entering a market they of course should first investigate the market potential there for their product. Perhaps there are already – local or international - competitors active that offer very similar products?

Success strategy to achieve International status of a Restaurant has only two folds

1. More Guests

2. More Facilities

To gets these maximized, apply the principle of affordability... accordingly you need to focus on the target group.... RICH / Medium / Utility oriented

For every hotel there requires a SEED CAPITAL, based on which the scale-up needs to be re-deployed as the business cycle continues...

Coming to Internationalization, it is an Organic growth with culture and effective management... In this process the entrepreneur needs to systematize the operations and let go decision making through empowerment of staff...

Like any other organization the basics are https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262282435_Strategic_Marketing_Management?ev=prf_pub

Data Strategic Marketing Management

I completely agree with Krishnan that to get more guests and more facilities, apply the principle of affordability.

Yes providing exceptional services is a key including many smiles...i.e. CRM should be considered with all its components.

I have lived abroad in many countries. I had an opportunity to meet the locals and expatriates on their preference to eat in hotels. The success strategies are (1) Courtesy (2) The food should meet the local population's taste and variety (Chinese preparation meets most of the foreign nationals) (3) Meet the choices and preferences of the expatriates in a nations (Mostly South Indians, Srilankans, Nepalis and Biharis) (4) The cost should be compatible with the local average earning capacity (In USA/UK there are more white collared professionals, with high earnings. In Middle East and Singapore, there are more workers like masons, carpenters etc.... with low earnings. They should be able to save and food cost should not be high)

A possible way of looking at the internationalization process could be through the so called "organizational drivers". In such respect, it is worth researching personal traits of entrepreneurs/managers/owners of restaurants. It is considered that their previous exposure to international markets can be a leading factor within the internationalization path.