Last Print Feasib

Pamantasan ng Cabuyao
Katapatan Subd. Banay-Banay, City of Cabuyao, Laguna
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION i
THIRD-PARTY: UNDERSTANDING THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF
CABUYAO CITY FOOD BUSINESS OWNERS IN INVESTING
A Thesis Presented to the College of Business Administration and Accountancy
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
BAC107A: Feasibility Study
Mahinay, Me-Ann A.
Parala, Rhaine Aira O.
Rodriguez, Cher Angeline R.
2022
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION ii
Acknowledgement
We thank God, the All-Powerful, first and foremost for giving us this opportunity and
giving us the ability to do so. Thanks to the help and direction of many people, our
humble participants who shared their experiences to make this study possible. We also
would like to thank our friends, who supported us to finish this study. Therefore, we
would like to express our profound gratitude to everyone.
Additionally, we would like to convey our sincere gratitude to our adviser, Professor Ma.
Herbel Endencia, for her kindness, patience, and compassion, as well as sharing her
expertise while conducting the research. Also, we would like to thank Dean Fernando
Pendon III, our research professor, for guiding us with this study.
Last but not the least; we would like to thank our family who supported us financially and
mentally throughout writing this study.
-The Researchers
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION iii
Chapter 1
THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND
Introduction
The Covid-19 pandemic is primarily a global health crisis, but also has vast
economic and social impact. It has also brought challenges to businesses as they need to
cope with the struggles caused by the virus. According to Menon (2020), in this time of
challenges for business owners, one must be able to survive and learn to adapt. According
to a recent Raydiant (2020) study, without investing in delivery services, around 40% of
food businesses would be unable to keep their businesses open during the covid-19
pandemic. Even before the COVID-19, the on-demand economy driven by Uber, Netflix,
and Amazon had already begun to influence the restaurant industry. Convenience was
desired in all aspects of consumers' lives, including food. Restaurants are now looking to
food delivery services not only to sustain their business during a pandemic, but also to
strategize and join the bandwagon. Even large corporations like McDonald's are adapting
to the new normal, as such small business owners must as well (Norris et al., 2021). The
one-click order placement process from your mobile phone using the on-demand delivery
service app online has made a significant impact on people all over the world.
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According to the Business of Apps website survey, the revenue growth of this
food delivery business increased from 8.7 billion USD to 26.5 billion USD between 2015
and 2020. It is also expected to grow to 42 billion USD by 2025. It forecasts 61.53
percent revenue growth over the next five years (Curry, 2022). Since it has been
demonstrated that the demand for food delivery and the entire online ordering system has
increased significantly, businesses must consider the wider context when deciding to
utilize a food delivery system in the business process.
Food delivery is a long-term investment, so it is necessary to make research first
before deciding to implement it in the whole business process. Before it can be used for
business, it requires cash and capital investment because it has many costs. It will be less
work for a business if it uses a third-party partner for both ordering and delivery but
having that requires sharing of profits with that platform. The costs of partnering with a
third-party food delivery service may include (1) a one-time setup fee to add your menu,
find hardware and software for your restaurant, and get on the map. (2) Transaction fee,
most apps will charge a per transaction fee, which is a percentage of each other. The
percentage varies depending on where you are – busier areas typically have higher fees.
The percentage of transaction fees charged may differ depending on the delivery provider.
Some third-party apps also charge (3) marketing fees; most apps offer priority placement,
promoted listings, and featured offerings – for a fee. Prices vary depending on which
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION v
third-party app you use (McCan, 2022). This research will further investigate the
usability of Third-Party Partnership by analyzing how valuable it is as an investment as
perceived by the lived experiences of Cabuyao food business owner. It is significant
because its partnership entails fees derived from profit or a portion of capital expenditure
for newly established businesses. This will aid business owners in planning their
investment, budget management, decision-making, and risk management decisions, all of
which are critical in any business operation. The researchers will focus on analyzing the
lived experiences of business owners in Investing, operating particularly in Cabuyao City
Laguna.
Theoretical Framework
Technology Acceptance Model (1989)
Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) is a theory that describes how users come
to accept and use technology, with two primary factors influencing individual intentions
to use new technology: perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness (Davis, 1989).
Consumers who do not want to go outside but also do not want to prepare meals at home
will be most likely to adapt technology because it is easier and convenient to them. Take
another example, a working woman who needs to finish her deadlines will also most
likely use technology to deliver some meals at her doorsteps. Cabuyao Menus is a new
online platform for customers of the Cabuyao area's local food industry. Limited face-to-
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION vi
face transactions in accordance with IATF protocols. Online transactions and virtual
communication are highly recommended. As a result, customers are influenced to use
technology and the internet because they play an important role in keeping our society
functional during times of lockdowns and quarantines (Xiao and Fan, 2020).
Research Paradigm
Figure 1. The Conceptual Framework
This concept map is used by the researchers to better understand the study. This
will serve as the foundation for further investigation of the researcher's idea and other
existing relevant studies. As a theoretical framework, the research utilizes the
Technology Acceptance Model, which is where food business owners and consumers
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arrive at using food delivery services. Investing in a third-party partner is where food
business owners will find other businesses that can provide online food delivery or
ordering service. Because of the perceived usefulness and ease of use of technology, the
three variables will now be the restaurant (food business owner), the food delivery
service provider (Cabuyao Menus), and the consumer. Consumer feedback and comments
received via Food Delivery Service will be forwarded to the food business owner, who
will use them to make improvements and suggestions.
Statement of the Problem
It is crucial for businesses not to take advantage of technology nowadays. In a
world where everyone is in a fast-paced environment, everyone must adapt to the changes
that are being brought by man. Many businesses have been forced to close because they
deny utilizing modern business operations and still use the traditional ones. Technology
has become critical in taking competitive advantage may it be a local or global market. In
consequence, businesses must not just look at their strengths but also at their weaknesses.
Investing in food delivery service providers entails advertisement fees, annual partnership
fees, commission fees, and any other cash disbursement that is important in cash
management and entire business operation. Hence, this study will further analyze the
lived experiences of Cabuyao food business owners that invest in a food delivery. To
support or oppose the existing studies, the study aimed to answer the following questions:
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION viii
1. What are the lived experiences of Cabuyao City food business owners in
Investing?
2. How do the Cabuyao City food business owners face the demands and
challenges in Investing?
3. Based on the lived experiences of the food business owner in investing, what
action plan can be developed?
Scope and Delimitations
The study will focus on the demands and challenges of business owners in
investing in third-party delivery services. The primary participants of this study will be
ten (10) selected food business owners in Cabuyao City, Laguna. There will be criteria
for choosing respondents to narrow down the numbers of existing businesses around the
city. It will help researchers to clearly investigate and analyze the phenomena.
Furthermore, participants will be purposely selected from a list of Cabuyao Menus
business partners.
Significance of the Study
The researchers aim to learn about the real-life experiences of food business
owners in Cabuyao City, especially when it comes to investing in online food delivery
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION ix
services. The researchers’ goal in conducting the study will benefit the following
individuals:
Business owners. Business owners will understand how to invest in and utilize
online food delivery services to boost sales, expand the market and retain customers. On
the other hand, the study would benefit those business owners by strengthening their
business operations.
Food delivery services owners. The result of this study will provide food
delivery services owners with empirical information on the effect of online platforms on
the food business. Thus, it will lead food delivery services to an effective strategy in
handling business in a pandemic.
Entrepreneurs. The study will provide new information and ideas about the food
industry, food delivery services and investing.
Customers. This study will help them to understand the services they use and
how they relate to the food business from which they order.
Students. It will help them better understand the concept of online food delivery
services, their effects, benefits, and advantages.
Researchers. They will benefit from the study in terms of improving their
research skills and knowledge. Furthermore, the study will assist researchers in
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION x
determining the results on challenges and demand, as well as the lived experiences of
food business owners investing in third-party services that they aim to investigate,
analyze, and understand.
Future researchers. The study presented will be used as reference data in
conducting new research. The study will also serve as their cross-reference that will give
them a background or an overview of how food business owners face the demands and
challenges in investing.
Definition of Terms
The following terminology are explained in order to better comprehend the subject that
will be covered in the study:
Brick-and-mortar Revenues. The profit or revenue generated from the physical
store of the business.
Commission fees. The payment of food business to online food delivery service
from rendering services.
Covid-19. The coronavirus disease that is contagious. Transmitted through the air
at a distance of 6 feet from an infected person, as well as through respiratory droplets.

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION xi
Customer Loyalty. The retained customer of the food business that repurchases
food products.
ECQ. Enhanced Community Quarantine is the government protocol during Covid
pandemic, wherein people stay at home to avoid spreading the virus.
Food Delivery App. Is an application that can be installed in customers' mobile
phones to order food and drinks in restaurants and fast-food chains online.
Food Delivery Providers. The third-party delivery service that has partnership
with food business and rendering delivery services to customers.
IATF. The Inter-Agency Task Force, the government agency that manages
COVID 19 related cases.
Investing. It is another way to diversify money. Investing to generate a return,
whether an income or the ability to grow.
Platform-to-Consumer Delivery. The food business uses online food delivery
services to serve their customers.
Restaurant-to-Consumer Delivery. The food business uses their own delivery
services to serve their customers.

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION xii
Social Media Platforms. Is like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and used by
food businesses and customers to communicate virtually.
TAM. Technology Acceptance Model is the theory used in the study to relate the
use of technology in modern business.
Third-Party Partnership. The food business that works in collaboration with an
online food delivery.

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION xiii
Chapter 2
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDY
This chapter reviews the related literature, which supports and gives credence to
the details of this research. The researchers anchored this comprehensive study to
different viewpoints and perspectives to present a thorough treatment of the problem.
Concepts, findings, theories, and notions, from scholarly research and articles related to
Food Business and Investing in Food Delivery Service Provider, are presented to provide
an extensive background of the study and justify the researcher's objective in undertaking
it. It will also provide a synthesis of related literature that may be confirmed, negated, or
improved by this study's new knowledge.
FOOD BUSINESS AND FOOD DELIVERY IN THE PHILIPPINES
According to Law Insider (2022), Food Delivery Services mean online food
ordering platforms that will charge franchisees a fee for their delivery services from 13%
to 40% of each customer's total order. Moreover, it is called Online Food Delivery
Services because orders are processed online using the internet and mobile phones.
According to an article from Sri (2021), a report by venture-capital builder,
Momentum Works, showed that food delivery in SEA reached $11.9 billion in GMV in
2020. This far exceeds the $4.2 billion industry estimate in 2019, and $2.2 billion tally in
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION xiv
2018. The 2020 GMV estimation by Momentum Works combines on-the-ground sources
including from restaurants, delivery fleets, and other stakeholders (Legaspi, 2021).
According to e-Conomy SEA (2020), a report by Google, Temasek, and Bain &
Company, “Disposable income and offline spending on food and beverage may be low in
SEA; but overall food service spending has been growing with economic growth and
urbanization. With the proliferation of smartphones, online food delivery spending has
been growing healthily. While the average food delivery order is lower in SEA compared
to other regions, this can be offset by high volumes and density”.
The most popular Online Food Delivery apps in the Philippines are Lala food,
Food Panda Philippines, GrabFood Philippines, and Zomato PH. Meanwhile, the most
popular Online Food Delivery Services in Cabuyao City are the Cabuyao Menus Food
Delivery Service, Mangan.ph, FoodPanda, GrabFood, and Cabuyao Food Delivery. In a
study by Gupta (2019), Good Delivery performance can help restaurant operators
cultivate customer loyalty. As defined by Investopedia (2021), Customer loyalty is
demonstrated by repeat purchases of a product even when the consumer has choices of
competing alternatives. The excellent service performance of Online Food Deliveries to
customers positively influenced Food Business.
According to the study of (Dano et al., 2021), these third-party restaurant delivery
organizations charge restaurants excessive commissions for each client order when the
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION xv
genuine paramount worth they bring is helping new clients discover eatery for the first
time. Like Grabfood, where commission for every order amount to 10 to 25%, and
Foodpanda, where order commission is around 25–30% per order. Based on this
statement, commission rates and other additional fees towards restaurants charged by
apps slowly killed their profitability. If this keeps happening, how the restaurants would
earn enough profit to survive, the only option for the restaurants would be to increase
their prices, which may affect their customers, or develop their delivery systems, which
will incur more expense to the companies. That is why many restaurants have stopped
collaborating with the apps and are using third-party delivery systems to cut costs and
make better profits. The Online Food Delivery charges a commission fee to their
partnered Food Business to gain profit. However, high commission rates badly affect the
Business's profit. For a business to earn a profit, they need to raise its prices. In return,
customers buy fewer products, and again the company will lose sales or profit.
INVESTING IN THIRD-PARTY DELIVERY SERVICES
According to Snaiderman (2022), from his article titled “Should I Use a Third-
Party Delivery Service or Create My Own?”, using a third-party delivery service is great
for start-up businesses. It already has a built system and business owners may not worry
about the cost of having its own delivery system. These apps contain excellent marketing
tools as they allow the business to reach customers that might not have reached otherwise.
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION xvi
These food delivery service providers have consumer smartphone apps that aggregate a
never-ending stream of restaurant options for hungry diners to choose from. Businesses
upload a list of menu available and important information, then customers place orders
directly from their phones to the in-house tablet, where an expediter calls out their order
to the kitchen. questionable profitability and low barriers to competitive entry. By then,
Investors should evaluate several different functional areas of the food delivery service
business in order to prepare for a potential transaction. Businesses' due diligence includes
examining the prospective food delivery partner's operational performance, food and
labor cost analysis, potential guest experience improvements, capacity, and market
analysis in order to identify risks and estimate the potential return on investment more
precisely.
In some cases, restaurants had to hire an extra person to spend a significant
amount of time packing up delivery orders and preparing them for pickup by a driver.
Deciding to work with a third-party delivery vendor will typically take a percentage of
each order the business makes. Uber Eats, for example, charges a fee of approximately
30% of every check brought to the restaurant via Uber Eats. For restaurants with razor-
thin margins, this can be an unsustainable cost. If a business owner decides to use a third-
party delivery service, it is necessary to check which services are operating in your area,
what percentage of each check the service absorbs, and whether diners in your region are
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION xvii
using third-party delivery services or they prefer to order straight from you. According to
Allen (2022), In its current state, the food delivery industry holds a lot of promise but
offers few clear winning investment ideas. While the sector may appear enticing due to
the sheer size of the restaurant industry's annual revenue haul, it is ultimately a service
business with.
Partnerships are highly beneficial, especially to a start-up. With the right partner,
a business can increase the overall pipeline, access otherwise high-cost infrastructure, and
reduce the risk of pursuing growth. The reality, however, is that most business
partnerships fail for one reason or another. Third-party partner means any partnership
engaged in Customer for the Processing of Personal Data. Start-ups must take advantage
of partnerships. According to Barry (2022), in his article "10 Steps to Developing a
Successful Third-Party Fulfillment Partnership", Startups should seriously consider
outsourcing to avoid capital use for facilities and systems and incur higher fulfillment
costs. A responsible restaurant owner must have understood in both the internal and
external issues that may affect their business. In the end, such a complete, transparent
perspective will support and validate not only the investing strategy, but also the financial
rewards in the business.
On the other hand, the challenge is that online food delivery service providers
continue to entice consumers with aggressive discounts and free delivery. Based on the
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION xvii
data from Stanley (2020), shows that this makes strategic sense because promotions and
deals influence 58 percent of consumers' decision-making. However, it is also leading to
negative earnings in every region.
Additionally, as stated by Stanley (2020), young and digitally savvy food
customers ages 18-34 are the most frequent users of delivery aggregators—but they are
also the most promotion-sensitive, with 63 percent checking for promotions and deals
before ordering or only ordering with a promotion. Taking restaurants' perspective, while
almost every chain has now added delivery, only a few can point to demonstrable sales
lift thus far. However, previous attempts at self-delivery for chains have had mixed
results. As the popularity of chain food delivery grows, online food deliveries enable
restaurants to reach new customers and new occasions in a low-risk model for the chains
themselves.
As supported by the study of McPherson (2019), The conclusion is that
businesses may make sure they are satisfying customer requests, market to new
customers, and track crucial consumer data and purchase trends that can guide essential
business choices by implementing a third-party delivery arrangement.

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION xix
INVESTING BEHAVIOR OF FOOD BUSINESS OWNER
In March 2020, Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) was implemented to
secure the safety of people due to the threat of Covid-19. The face-to-face transactions
and activities are limited. It affects the economy in general and Local Industries resulting
in decreasing sales because they could not operate. In the study by Fairlie and Fossen
(2020), they found that sales losses were most prominent in businesses affected by
mandatory lockdown, including food businesses.
As the government put higher restrictions on Food establishments and public
areas, the business owners developed a new business model to sustain their business,
adapting take-out and deliveries to consumers. In this technological advancement,
internet-based platforms play vital roles. Today, they are undeniably at the heart of the
digital economy (Lattanzi, 2020), opening the way for the rise of online food delivery
services and third-party delivery services. The worldwide pandemic has highlighted the
importance of Online Food Delivery in the lives of existing food consumers.
According to Lattanzi (2020), because millions of people were required to remain
at home to manage the health crisis, online food delivery services have become one of the
primary actors during quarantine. Alawan (2020) stated that, online food delivery
services have emerged as an alternative for reaching clients, offering them higher-quality
options in these difficult economic times. Online Food Deliveries also play an essential
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION xx
part in the long-term operation of the business. Orders placed using the website, smart
phone application, or messaging app have increased by 23% in the last four years,
amounting to a $26.8 billion sector. The rapid rise in popularity of food delivery services
like Uber Eats, Doordash and Deliveroo (to name a few) shows people love the
convenience of getting their meals delivered. In fact, a Statista report (2020) shows 8.7
million Aussies have ordered food online or through an app in 2020, compared with 5.6
million in 2017.
According to Curry (2022), As the world went into lockdown in February and
March, Uber Eats, Deliveroo, and DoorDash all reported a sharp increase in orders. In
fact, The popularity of online ordering through restaurant delivery applications has soared
recently, and sales are expected to reach $320 billion by 2029.
According to (Stephens et al., 2020), Using these third-party food delivery
services or a food business app, consumers may explore menus and place orders for take-
out or delivery from nearby food establishments. The need for variety, versatility, and
convenience among consumers was already high, thus increasing the use of food delivery
applications and websites globally. The COVID-19 crisis marks a new era, with a poll
recently revealing that more than 51 percent of customers rely on online food delivery.
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION xxi
FOOD BUSINESS AND THEIR CHALLENGES IN INVESTING
As food business establishments are filling up again and demand increases, food
delivery services do not seem to disappear anytime soon, although the government
lessens the restrictions and enables 100% capacity operations. There are many reasons for
this persistent change in customer behavior toward variety, versatility, and convenience
where food businesses might benefit from addressing some of the underlying issues.
According to Li, Mirosa, Bremer (2020), During the global COVID-19 outbreak,
online food delivery benefits were evident. It improved consumer access to prepared
meals while allowing food providers to remain open. However, there have been reports of
consumer and restaurant boycotts of online food delivery. Food delivery services have
been criticized for charging high commission fees to restaurants.
When customers order food through an online delivery service, users usually must
pay charges on top of the cost of the food. A few of these extra costs can be a registration
fee, a service charge, or even a tip for the delivery rider. According to an article released
by The Wall Street Journal, some restaurants are accountable for the rising expenses of
delivery orders. For example, as stated in reports, Chipotle's delivery pricing is around 17
percent more than instore pricing. The Wall Street Journal indicates that DoorDash
customers pay $15.95 for a Chipotle meal that would initially cost $13.65 if purchased in-
store.
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Some other underlying challenge surrounding the Food delivery service is the
lack of control over the delivery service. Many food businesses claim that bad service
during delivery affects their reputation more than the public image of the delivery service
and that the time it takes to deal with customer complaints and refunds is more
complicated than it sounds. Consumers' impressions of a restaurant may be damaged if
their meal is delivered cold or poorly handled after a long drive. Due to the lack of face-
to-face interaction, the business may also have fewer chances to recover a negative
complaint when customers consume their product (McCan, 2020).
As stated by Kumar (2022), another challenge would be order errors and delays.
Orders might be delayed because of preparation time, traffic, and other circumstances.
Similarly, orders are occasionally delivered incorrectly. In this situation, consumers
might raise complaints and leave negative feedback on the business's profile. As the
demand increases because people enjoy ordering online, the rise of high competition can
also be observed. Several applications and websites meet people's choices and food
demands resulting in the competition of different food businesses and delivery sites
The food delivery industry is now leading the online market and expanding
rapidly. Every day, a large number of new customers join the ranks of online food
ordering customers. Because of customer demand and future opportunities, most
entrepreneurs, especially small food businesses, have recently entered this industry. Since
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION xxii
business cannot avoid issues or challenges especially when investing, certain situations
may create difficulties to the business operation. Companies must therefore develop more
effective solutions to these issues in order to remain competitive and grow. Before
entering the online food delivery market, entrepreneurs should be aware of the challenges
that may arise at any time in their operations. (Business Process Incubator, 2021)
According to the Info Entrepreneurs Organization (2021), The solution to several
problems is resource management. Managing resources can aid a business in performing
its tasks effectively and efficiently. It leads to the development of a customer base. And
since investing requires capital and it requires monetary issues to be considered,
Developing a budgeting process is the most effective way to keep your company's
finances on track. Planning in a structured manner can greatly influence the growth of the
business. Entrepreneurs needs to focus their efforts on boosting revenue, cutting
expenses, and boosting returns on investment.
INCREASE IN SALES AND CUSTOMER LOYALTY
According to Frost and Sullivan (2018) and Morgan Stanley Research (2020), On
demand food delivery services are expected to be worth $82 billion in gross sales by
2018 and will account for approximately 6% of the food business industry in 2020. As
the businesses accept the conceptualization of utilizing Online Food Deliveries, some
have seen a boost in their incremental sales. According to Collison (2020), as per the
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION xxiv
difference-in-differences approach, 30-50 cents of every dollar spent on online food
delivery services is incremental, while the remaining is diverted from brick-and mortar
revenues.
Collison (2020) claimed that, online food delivery services aim to increase
business profits. As shown in a study of thousands of restaurant owners, providing online
delivery services has increased revenues for 60% of restaurant owners. Online food
delivery services generate significantly larger additional revenue for people who rarely
eat at restaurants. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley predicts that food delivery services will
ultimately account for 40% of restaurant revenues. In an article released by McCarthy
(2021), DoorDash partner and co-owner of PizzaCo in Kokomo, Indiana, Bethan Johnson
quoted, "We are seeing the app. Even Dashers are coming back to order their dinner after
completing a delivery." According to McCarthy (2021), food delivery services offer
convenience. Consumers who order food delivery save the time and effort necessary to
go out and purchase food or make one regardless of where they are. People stuck in their
homes or workplaces prefer accessibility to tasty and healthy meals that can be served
quickly and easily.
Another advantage is building Customer Relationships. Neuburger (2020) quoted,
"Partnering with delivery platforms can enable restaurants to gain access and forge
relationships with a new, broader customer base." Aside from this, during busy days,
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION xxv
restaurants can extend their delivery area, increase the size of their workforce, and reach
more customers (Neuburger, 2020). Food delivery services also offer efficiency for food
businesses. It streamlines digital transactions in a timely manner, allowing for the most
efficient workflow in the kitchen (McCarthy, 2021). Unlike the traditional way of taking
orders, where staff receives orders from calls and lists them on paper. Like the American
Food delivery platform DoorDash, explicitly developed for the highest efficiency. It
implies that the service handles all the mechanics of online purchases, from placing and
preparing an order to updating the delivery riders, also called Dashers, to pick it up and
deliver it.
Reaching new customers and the significance of the food business's online
presence are two variables that contribute to the incremental revenue. Consumers browse
online for restaurants to order from 90% of the time. Thus, accessing this captive
audience should be a priority for every restaurant owner (McCarthy, 2021). Possessing a
food delivery service presence is a great way to connect with customers who would not
normally eat at your restaurant. According to Sandra (2021), a business can reach new
clients outside regulars and area customers by offering online purchasing through a food
delivery app. It can increase sales from both new and existing customers by boosting
your brand's online presence in the marketplace.

Customer loyalty is beneficial to the food business as it increases profitability and
opens new market segments (Gupta, 2019). In a study by Suhartanto et al. (2018), e-
service quality is one of the factors influencing customer loyalty towards OFD service.
The customer experience in accessing online platforms, simple ordering, and delivery
service has a significant effect on customer perception of better service quality. In
addition, food quality is another factor that influences customer loyalty towards OFD
service. According to Rica (2018), quality food has consistency in terms of size,
color, and shape like the pictures provided and products must be properly packed and
sealed. High quality food influences customers to repurchase and recommend the same
OFD service that satisfies the customers’ perception of food quality (Suhartanto et al.,
2018).
Food quality of food business and e-service quality of OFD service both have
significant effects on customer loyalty. A food business that provides high quality food,
and innovated food according to customer demands and preferences retain customers
while also attracting potential and new customers (Suhartanto et al., 2018). Furthermore,
food businesses that do not provide delivery service and do not own a delivery service,
investing in third-party delivery services that have excellent delivering services and good
reputation is an advantage to food businesses.
Synthesis
The unexpected lockdowns have greatly affected food businesses since the
beginning of the pandemic; they have lost sales and profit (Fairlie & Fossen, 2020).
Millions of people are forced to stay at home during the quarantine period, making online
food delivery services a significant food industry player (Lattanzi, 2020). In these
difficult economic times, online food delivery services have emerged as an alternative for
reaching clients, offering them higher quality options (Alawan, 2020). The study by
McCarthy (2021) found that since the start of the COVID19 crisis, more customers have
relied on online food delivery as it offers convenience. Investing in online food delivery
has become beneficial to food businesses as it aims to increase business profit (Collison,
2020) and efficiency (McCarthy, 2021). Additionally, it enables restaurants to gain access
and form relationships with a new, broader customer base (Neuburger, 2020), allowing
food providers to remain open (Li, Mirosa, and Bremer, 2020).
The related literature proves that pandemic significantly impact food businesses,
as the current study claims. The advantages that have been mentioned by different
authors above regarding the usage of food delivery services that become relevant and
prominent in times of a pandemic are related to the current study as researchers aim to
determine the live experiences of business owners in third-party partnerships.
Furthermore, online food delivery services are becoming one of the factors or strategies
that food business owners have used to continue operating, connecting with customers,
and, most importantly, generating profit, which researchers aim to criticize and
investigate.
Regardless of the benefits food delivery services contribute to the food industry, it
is critical to remember that they are also a disadvantage. The discounts and free delivery
that attract customers (Stanley, 2020) and the commission fee charged by food delivery
services have a disadvantage to food business profitability. Furthermore, food delivery
services lack control over the delivery services (McCan, 2020), and order errors and
delays negatively impact the customer (Kumar, 2022). The study by McCan (2020) stated
that competition between different food businesses and delivery sites is inevitable as
various apps and websites cater to people's preferences and food demands.
These challenges that have been found by different authors regarding the
utilization of food delivery services are related to the current study as challenges and
struggles of food business owners regarding investing in third-party services or food
delivery services.
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION xxix
Chapter 3
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter discusses the research design, the selection of the respondents as
well as the instrumentation and validation, data gathering procedures and treatment and
analysis of data.
Research Design
For the purpose of describing the meaning of people’s lived experiences of a
concept or phenomenon, the researcher will employ phenomenological research design
under Qualitative research which focuses on identifying and analyzing what all the
participants have in common as they experience a phenomenon. This is to be done by
reducing individual experiences with a phenomenon to a description of the universal
essence (a “grasp of the very nature of the thing”, Van Manen, 1990 as cited by Creswell,
2014). The researchers aim to identify the lived experience of the food business owners
in Cabuyao Laguna.
Research Locale
The study was conducted at Cabuyao City Laguna. Business owners operating
inside the vicinity. All the chosen respondents reside in the following barangays in the
City of Cabuyao: Brgy. Uno, Dos, Banay Banay, Pulo and Niugan.
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION xxx
Population and Sampling
Purposive sampling will be used in this study. The wide number of food business
owners of the study, which is the population of the study, this sampling technique will
narrow down the number of respondents that will be used in the better understanding of
the study. The study will be conducted in Cabuyao City Laguna which is part of Region
IV-A Calabarzon. The researchers chose purposive sampling because it can obtain a
representative sample by relying on researcher judgement, which can also save time and
money (Black k., 2020). In this study, the researchers selected ten (10) food business
owners that voluntarily share their lived experience on Third-party investing. These
participants are in partnership with the local food delivery service (third-party partner),
Cabuyao Menus, which is part of the criteria that will be further explained in the next part
of this study.
Participants of the Study
Before determining the chosen (10) respondents, criteria must be established.
Eligibility criteria specify the characteristics that people in the population must possess
characteristics needed in the study in order to be included on it. In this study, a participant
should be a food business owner that operates within Cabuyao City Laguna; Has
partnership with Cabuyao Menus for at least (1) year; and the respondent’s business
should be locally owned. With criteria, the researchers will have ideal characteristics that
will be effective in analyzing the perception of food business owners.
Research Instrument
This study will utilize traditional and modern in-depth interviews using a
predesigned protocol containing the research questions comprising 5 WHAT (Textual)
and 5 HOW (Structural) questions capturing the lived experience of the participants,
which are general and open-ended following the guidelines of Moustakas (2004) as
reinitiated by Creswell (2017). The interview format is a semi structured interview that
enables the participants to answer freely. The participants can give a wider answer and
explanations to the questions asked. They can express their thoughts wider and that can
help the researchers to have a better theme. Their answers in open-ended questions are
expressed more than the usual yes or no answer using the format of semi structured
interview.
Validation of the Instrument
The in-depth interview of this study will be semi-constructed and not standardized,
it will be presented to school administrators, faculty members with knowledge about the
study, and some experts in the field of qualitative research who will provide comments
and recommendations to ensure content validity. Through the protocol, the researcher
will be able to take notes during the interview about the responses of the participants.
Data Gathering Procedure
After the validation of the research instrument, the researcher will follow the data
gathering procedure.
1. The researchers will select the participants who are food business owners who
invested in food delivery services located in Cabuyao City, Laguna.
2. After gaining permission and building rapport with the food business owners, the
interview schedules will be set.
3. Finally, the actual face to face or online interviews will be conducted.
Ethical Considerations
The researcher will complete the study bearing in mind ethical considerations
especially in terms of informing and seeking permission from the participants.
Prior to the video-recorded and audio recorded interview, every participant will be
assured of absolute confidentiality and asked to sign a consent form informing him or her
right to withdraw from the study at any time.

The participants will be given a privacy consideration to decide if they want to
hide their identity. And researchers ensure confidentiality of the data gathered and
collected and will only be used for academic and research purposes. Any information that
will affect the business’ reputation was not stated.
Treatment of Data
The following are the qualitative data treatments applied in the study connected to
the problems stated in Chapter 1:
1. The researchers will conduct an interview for (10) participants. It will be recorded
using audio recording and it will be typed verbatim in a word document.
2. The researchers will examine and analyze the recorded interviews using thematic
analysis to identify, analyze, and report repeated patterns (Braun and Clarke 2006)
and themes that represent all of the participants’ responses to certain questions
that will be asked. The researchers will assess it and describe the themes that
arose from all the participants' responses.
3. The researchers will make reflections and recommendations based on the results
of the study.
Chapter 4
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
This chapter presents how the researcher completed the process of bracketing,
horizonalization, theme clustering, constructing the textural and structural descriptions,
writing the overall essence, and verification of the lived experiences of the Cabuyao City
food business owner in Investing.
Theme clustering was done by analyzing, outlining and grouping the significant
statements into themes or meaningful units. It was able to identify seven theme clusters
divided into two. The first group of theme clusters was formulated to answer the central
questions of the study: What are the lived experiences of Cabuyao City food business
owners in Investing (textural description). The second group of themes answered the
second central question: How do the Cabuyao City food business owners face the
demands and challenges in Investing (structural description). Table 1 presents the
groupings of clustered themes based on the significant statements and their relative ideas.
Table 1
Theme Clusters Divided into Two Groups
Group A: Textural Themes
Theme 1. Pandemic Experiences
Theme 2. Factors in Investing
Theme 3. Investing Experiences
Improve Customer Experience
Increased Customer Reach
Brand Awareness
Theme 4. Boost in Incremental Sales
Group B: Structural Themes
Theme 5. Budgeting and Planning
Theme 6. Investment Planning and Decision
Risk-taking
Background Check
Investment Decision
Theme 7. Strategic Management

The participants have shared their experience as food business owners in Cabuyao
City. The Covid 19 Pandemic was a notable experience that affected their businesses at
that time. Since it became a trend and a way of coping up for most businesses, they
decided to invest in a Food Delivery Services. They also share their sentiments on how
they decided to invest in Cabuyao Menus, a local food delivery service provider in
Cabuyao. Moreover, most of them share that their investing experiences have helped
them as a food business owner and also their business as well. Furthermore, they
indicated that the Food Delivery Service provider, specifically Cabuyao Menus, has
helped them to increase and boost their sales, which is in their perspective the overall
benefit of their investment.
The researchers classified seven (7) themes to answer the central questions in the
study: What are the lived experiences of Cabuyao City food business owners in Investing?
(Textural description); and how do the Cabuyao City food business owners face the
demands and challenges in Investing (Structural description).
What are the lived experiences of Cabuyao City food business owners in Investing?
Theme 1. Pandemic Experiences
During the pandemic, all industries have been affected, especially the food business
industry. Before the pandemic happened, most local food businesses offered only dine-in
and take-out. To sustain the business, they decided to invest in a food delivery service to
generate revenue and stop the possible business loss. Participants of the study share
common experiences during the pandemic that pushed them to invest in a Food Delivery
Service. According to them:
(P1) Tsaka naging trend talaga siya nung pandemic. Kasi gawa ng pandemic di
makalabas kaya malaking tulong sya sa mga ganyan yung mga ano lang solo store, yung
ikaw lang.. Business na di naman katulad ng mga bigating fast food.. Malaking tulong
sya.
(P3) The pandemic pushed us to have delivery services because it is the only way
to bring our products to the customers who availed it.
(P6) needed din naman kasi yun for rise ng sales namin for that certain period of
time lalo na nung medyo konti yung nakakalabas
(P7) good ano malaking advantage lalo na sa pandemic na nangyari kasi unang
una yung tao takot makipag halubilo sa…sa…ibang tao, then yung delivery kasi mas uh..
Convenient
(P9) since nagkaron ng pandemic may mga businesses talaga na humina dahil
sa nagkaron tayo ng..ng pandemic and then with food delivery service like Cabuyao
Menus…sobrang uhmm helpful nila kasi parang ano sya eh imbis na lumabas pa
papadeliver ka na lang kasi diba sayang effort and time kung kaya naman ding ipadeliver
These claims tend to support the inquiry of Lattanzi (2020), according to him
because millions of people were required to remain at home to manage the health crisis,
online food delivery services have become one of the primary actors during quarantine.
In another study of Alawan (2020) he also stated that online food delivery services have
emerged as an alternative for reaching clients, offering them higher-quality options in
these difficult economic times. As stated by the participants, because of the Covid 19
crisis they are pushed to invest in food delivery services to keep their business running
and let the customers still be able to reach them. Furthermore, the COVID-19 crisis
marks a new era, with a poll recently revealing that more than 51 percent of customers
rely on online food delivery (McCarthy,2021).
Theme 2. Factors in Investing
Given the restrictions during the pandemic, food businesses decided to invest in a
Food delivery service because of some factors that pushed them to collaborate with them.
Participants shared some common experiences that reveal the factors that make business
owner decide to invest in a Food Delivery Service:

(P1) Yung sa Cabuyao Menus parang ano pa yon… Napapansin ko dun sa mga
restaurant may karatulang nakalagay.
(P3) Cabuyao Menus reached us out to partner with them, I considered it because
during that time our in house riders were not enough to cater all our deliveries so I
agreed so that there will be another courier for us.
(P10) Nung time na nga yon na sa facebook nakikita namin na si Cabuyao Menus
ang sikat dito sa Cabuyao.
The findings of this study supports the inquiry of (McCarthy, 2021) which shows
that the COVID-19 crisis marks a new era, with a poll recently revealing that more than
51 percent of customers rely on online food delivery. The rapid rise in popularity of food
delivery services like Uber Eats, Doordash and Deliveroo (to name a few) shows people
love the convenience of getting their meals delivered. In fact, a Statista report (2020)
shows 8.7 million Aussies have ordered food online or through an app in 2020, compared
with 5.6 million in 2017. According to Curry (2022), As the world went into lockdown in
February and March, Uber Eats, Deliveroo, and DoorDash all reported a sharp increase in
orders.
Theme 3. Investing Experiences

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION xl
While some of the participants shared that investing in a Food Delivery Service
like Cabuyao Menus helped them during the Covid crisis, they can recall the actual
benefit and value of their investment based on their lived experiences. To measure the
worthiness of their investment, they look into some benefits they receive by paying some
amount of their financial cost that they consider affected the business. The participants in
the study shared and recalled:
● Improve Customer Experience
According to the participants, food delivery services improved their customer’s
experience in purchasing the foods they offer.
(P1) sa Cabuyao Menus may actual talaga na person na sumasagot sayo hindi
yung sa app lang, kaya mas convenient sya like kapag may request yung mga
customer..ayan..mas nabibigay yung..as a merchant mas nabibigay namin yung
kailangan na quality.
(P3) Delivery services for me provides convenience to the people who wants to
eat your products at the same time gives people jobs, like what happened during the
pandemic.
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION xli
(P7) kaya mas ano sa amin na mas..halimbawa na lang maulan yung panahon
may mga taong tinatamad lumabas ng bahay gagamit na lang silang app paraideliver
yung gusto nilang foods, drinks ganon
● Increased Customer Reach
Food business owners were able to increase their customers as they partnered with
food delivery services. It helped them reach people that were not able to leave their
homes and people who are unaware of their business.
(P6) yun, people who are restricted to go out like yung senior, with comorbidities
tsaka yung medyo out of di ba may restricted areas lang yun, out of the area natin, sakop,
narereach namin so you’re able to expand available customers namin through delivery.
(P7) And oo mas nakilala kami ng customers siguro let’s say 20% ng customer
nakilala kami…
(P9) Para mas maraming mareach na customers
● Brand Awareness
Food delivery service helped food business owners to promote and make their
business known to the market. As they use social media platforms and promotional
materials, people are intrigued and are able to acknowledge their businesses.
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION xlii
(P5) then meron pa nga silang mga..parang may pa ano pa sila popromote pa sa
facebook page..uhmm nagbibigay pa ng flyers si Cabuyao Menus..
(P8) hindi lang service nila yung naooffer nila pati napo-promote na den yung
mismong business namin.
(P9) it's a matter of..parang ano ba yung promotion na lang din sa business
namin dahil uhmm first time din nman naming nagventure ng (business) kaya ayun
parang pinaka advertisement na rin namin..para mas makilala yung business
(P10) malaking tulong din yung Cabuyao Menus dahil prinopromote din naman
nila yung mga naka ano sa kanila naka tie up partners na mga business
Furthermore, this reflects the inquiry of McCarthy (2021) that shows food
delivery services offer convenience to people who prefer accessibility to tasty and healthy
meals that can be served quickly and easily at their respective places. As stated by the
participants, food delivery services offered convenience to their customers. Another
claim as stated by (Neuburger, 2020) is that the other advantage of utilizing food delivery
service is building customer relationships and reaching more customers, which is evident
on the participants' claim where they were able to expand and reach new customers. In
addition, According to Sandra (2021) you may increase sales from both new and existing
customers by boosting your brand's online presence in the marketplace. Also evident in
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION xliii
the participant’s answer where they stated that food delivery service helped them to
promote their business and make their business known to other people they never reached
before.
Theme 4. Boost in Incremental Sales
Investing in food delivery services offer advantages that food business owners can
benefit from. One of them is an increase in sales. As to what have the participants shared,
they noticed the increase in their sales while partnering with food delivery services.
These statements is recognized in the following responses:
(P2) It was good and right because that we are making money (because of food
delivery)
(P5) Siguro ganon den..more income..mas malaki yung kinikita namin…mas
nadadagdagan yung sales namin sa araw-araw.
(P7) Ahh..syempre unang una para makapagdagdag pa ng sales…syempre bukod
sa walk-in,dine-in..so malaking bagay yung delivery lalo na kapag mga may celebration
sa mga customers namin sa bahay nila.. much better na magpadeliver na lang sila…so
malai yung add ng sales sa delivery…
(P8) so delivery is add sales talaga sya kung tutuusin

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION xliv
(P9) at the same time yung parang..give and take process na lang yung
nangyayari so..we’re gaining naman din
The findings show how the participants' statements are related to the study of
Frost and Sullivan (2018) and Morgan Stanley Research (2020), wherein as the
businesses accept the conceptualization of utilizing food delivery services, some have
seen a boost in their incremental sales. Collison (2020) claimed that online food delivery
services aim to increase business profits. It can be said that online ordering systems help
the restaurants to boost their sales as overall sales in the delivery industry are expected to
increase up to $320 billion by 2029 (Curry, 2022). Through the participant’s responses
the researchers were able to conclude that a boost in sales is one of the common
advantages that food delivery services can offer to the food business owners.
2. How do the Cabuyao City food business owners face the demands and challenges
in Investing?
Theme 5. Budgeting and Planning
One of the challenges in investing in Food delivery services takes adjustments
when it comes to budgeting. It is important as their business decisions may affect their
profitability which may affect the entire business. Budgeting and Planning can also be co-
related to the pricing and profit in regards to investing in a Food delivery service. The
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION xlv
participants commonly reveal that taking adjustments on their budget is how they handle
challenges during their investment in a food delivery service.
Many of the participants’ statements may be similar to each other when it comes
to investing. These statements is recognized in the following responses:
(P1) Ayun nga syempre mag aadjust ka…nung…nung..budget mo
(P2) kung maaari maghanap ka ng ibang resources para mapunan yung
mawawala sayo ng week nayon bago dumating
(P3) you have to really estimate the value that you will gain
(P8) ayon kapag mga gantong mga ano kailangan talaga syang pag isipan kung
kaya ba ng sales ng business..yung bago kami pumasok sa isang partnership with food
delivery service..ayon
(P9) Yes..nagaano din kami nagbubudget..nagpaplano muna
These claims tend to support the study of Info Entrepreneurs Organization (2021)
that shows developing a budgeting process is the most effective way to keep your
company's finances on track. Managing resources can aid a business in performing its
tasks effectively and efficiently. It leads to the development of a customer base. As stated
by the participants, adjustments with budgeting have to take place as well as planning and
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION xlvi
decision making must be considered seriously as they need to cope with situations
wherein it can affect the business operation.
Theme 6. Investment Planning and Decision
It is a challenge for business owners to invest in food delivery services that are
convenient for their business. Therefore, choosing the right delivery services includes
risk-taking, background check, and good investment decisions. Participants stated:
● Risk-taking
Participants claimed that investing in food delivery service is a risky move as you
can win or lose.
(P1) syempre mag tatake ka ng risk sa kanila gaya nyan kasi hindi naman
automatic magbabayad sila sayo
(P4) Nung sinimulan yung business, risk taker talaga kami. Business yan, paano
malalaman kung di natin susubukan.
(P7) ang investment kasi risky 50/50 pwede ka manalo pwede ka matalo.
(P8) Pagka mag-iinvest ka sa mga Food Delivery Service dapat ready ka ..kung
kaya mo imark-up or kaya mong stay as much as possible yung price mo para..yung
kita..mo is..alam m kung kumikita ka ba or hindi..tapos syempre dapat alam mo sa sarili
mo na..ano..kung worth itpa ba sya na..magstay sa partnership ng food delivery service
● Background check
Food business owners shared that they performed background checking before
investing in food delivery service.
(P4) Wala kasi medyo alanganin kasi 30% ang hinihingi nila sa amin. kasi yung
kind of business namin na nakafocus lang sa isang menu kasi pinasok na rin namin yung
food packages, catering. kaya mahirap sila makatie up kasi more on na mabilisang order
sila. kasi ngayon di kami nagaaccept ng dine in, online kami and delivery lang at walkin.
(P5) Hindi sa namahalan eh, naano ako bago ako mag bayad sa kanila, nag ano
kami nag sumali ako sa mga gc ng mga ganyan tapos marami yung negative, tsaka ano
kasi marami yung ano mga nag s-scam, Panalo sa may Customer pero yung merchant
yung kawawa .
(P10) Yes po kasi naghanap din naman kami ng feedback about kay Cabuyao
Menus. Considered na kasi nga hindi naman sya nung time na yun ha nung time na
kumoha kami kay Cabuyao Menus na hindi sya ganun sikat katulad ni Food Panda or ni
Grab kaya naghanap kami ng feedback nagtanong din kami sa ibang ano na nila tie up
na business… okay naman

● Investment decision
Investment decision as claimed by the participants was done to assess whether the
food delivery service they invested in is worth it and does their part correctly to decide if
they will continue the partnership or not.
(P4) pinagisipan muna namin yun bago namin tinanggap yung offer.
(P7) pipili ka muna ng brand na pag iinvestan mo..yung uhmm systematic tapos
(R7) kilala na para hindi naman masasayang yung investment mo..kailangan uh
practical ka
(P8) tapos syempre dapat alam mo sa sarili mo na..ano..kung worth it pa ba sya
na..magstay sa partnership ng food delivery service ..ayun..sobrang hirap
(P7) Usually naman ang mga deliveries merong contract…so…ang system sa
ganyan pag ka maganda yung ambag sayo ng deliveries.. Sa transaction tutuloy-tuloy mo
yung contract.. Pero kapag nakita mo naman na hindi naman nag iincrease yung sales…
so you have to decide na icut na sya or tapusin na lang yung contract
The findings of this study tends to support Allen (2022) inquiry that shows
investors should evaluate several different functional areas of the food delivery service
business in order to prepare for a potential transaction. Businesses' due diligence includes
examining the prospective food delivery partner's operational performance, food and
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION xlix
labor cost analysis, potential guest experience improvements, capacity, and market
analysis in order to identify risks and estimate the potential return on investment more
precisely. A responsible restaurant owner must have understanding in both the internal
and external issues that may affect their business.
According to Callahan (2021), it is important to know your financial position by
assessing your financial status before investing. By becoming aware of financial
conditions, you can make the best choices about when to start investing. Furthermore,
assessing the tolerance for risk is essential as any investment carries some risk, but being
aware of how much risk you are prepared to face will help you choose the investing
approach that is ideal for you.
Theme 7. Strategic Management
The business owners are facing challenges such as how to keep products in good
condition while estimating the time riders will arrive at their destinations and promoting
products when there are no customers in the store because people are at home. Most of
the participants stated that they use techniques when it comes to preparing products.
Furthermore, they market their products to gain customers. They stated:
(P2) What we do is we promote our product and we only made our product.
When will the rider arrive

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION l
(P5) Meron naman sinabing ganun sila pero parang tingin ko natabunan na ng
natabunan kasi nga parang sa Facebook na ad lang naman sya so gumagawa rin ako ng
sarili ko
(P6) pati dapat yung pagdating sa customer is ano pa sya mag a- at peak pa
yung ano nya yung product mo. Kumabaga may time kasi yan diba so ayon dapat ganon.
(P9) meron kaming certain na..na..certain na amount of time for the food
preparation na para atlis marating sya sa customer ng di sya natutunaw
The findings from the participant’s answers supports (Suhartanto et al., 2018)
study that shows a food business that provides high quality food, and innovated food
according to customer demands and preferences retain customers while also attracting
potential and new customers. Akshay (2021), stated maintaining the food quality while
meeting client expectations and happiness is the most difficult challenge for food delivery
services. For instance, certain things like ice cream and cold beverages need to be
refrigerated or packaged in particular containers to keep the ice cream from melting .
Similar to this, some foods need to be stored at a particular temperature to assure the
quality and flavor. According to Worth (2022), A make-to-order strategy is that food
preparation only begins when an order has been received. This is to make sure that the
food to be delivered to the customer will stay in good condition.

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION li
Textural Description. The first four theme clusters answered the first core question:
What are the lived experiences of Cabuyao City food business owners in Investing. The
first theme cluster describes how the participants decided to invest in food delivery
services as Covid 19 crisis emerged, which proved the statements of Alawan (2020)
where it is stated that food business owners are pushed to invest in food delivery services
to keep their business running and let the customers still be able to reach them. The
second theme cluster explains the factors that led food business owners to invest in food
delivery service. They shared that they notice how Cabuyao Menus is popular and how
they saw their promotion in social media. Their statements can be connected to
(McCarthy,2021) where it is stated that the rapid rise in popularity of food delivery
services shows people love the convenience of getting their meals delivered. The third
theme cluster enumerates the participants’ investing experiences with food delivery
services. They stated that it improved their Customer’s Experience, increased customer
reach, as well as gave awareness to their brand. Their statements about their experiences
supports McCarthy (2021) study where food delivery services offer convenience,
Building Customer Relationships as claimed by Neuberger (2020) and Sandra (2021)
study where she claimed that business owners may increase sales from both new and
existing customers by boosting their brand's online presence in the marketplace. The
fourth theme reveals that participants noticed the increase in their sales while partnering
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION lii
with food delivery services. Their statements support Frost and Sullivan (2018) and
Morgan Stanley Research (2020) where they claimed that as the businesses accept the
conceptualization of utilizing Online food deliveries, some have seen a boost in their
incremental sales.
Structural Description. The three (3) theme clusters answered the second statement of
the problem: How does the Cabuyao City food business owner face the demands and
challenges in investing. The first theme reveals that budgeting and planning is how the
participants face the challenges occurring while investing. It is supported by related
literature of the Info Entrepreneurs Organization (2022) which states that the best method
to maintain the financial stability of your business is to establish a budgeting plan. The
second theme cluster extracted from the answers of the participants is the investment
planning and decision where they revealed how their responsibilities as business owners
help them improve their skills on how they handle their investment. As stated by Allen
(2022), Businesses' due diligence includes examining the prospective food delivery
partner's operational performance, food and labor cost analysis, potential guest
experience improvements, capacity, and market analysis in order to identify risks and
estimate the potential return on investment more precisely. The third theme cluster is
strategic management where it shows how food business owners formulate a strategy for
the business to deal with some challenges they experience during the investment. As the
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION liii
participants’ commonly stated that they are focusing on the food standard so it can
produce an excellent customer experience, it is then supported by the statement: A food
business that provides high quality food, and innovated food according to customer
demands and preferences retain customers while also attracting potential and new
customers (Suhartanto et al., 2018).
Essence. After a conscientious analysis of the structural and textural descriptions of the
experiences shared by the participants, it is proven that the pandemic greatly affects most
businesses in Cabuyao City, which drives them to adopt and utilize the emerging food
delivery services. Through food delivery services, food businesses are able to reach
customers, promote products, and increase sales.
Furthermore, it reveals that budgeting and investment planning are beneficial for business
owners in managing business and financial decisions. In addition, strategic management
is another significant skill that food business owners must have to overcome the
challenges and demands of investing.
The main challenge as the business owner who invests in a third-party food
delivery who does the delivery of their product, is that they do not have full control of the
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION liv
service. As they are just a partner of their business, they cannot control entire
management policies regarding delivery instances. Additionally, investing in food
delivery gives the food business non-full control of customer experience. In conclusion,
establishing an in-house delivery system for the business is this study’s action plan.
TITLE OF THE ACTION PLAN
“Enhanced Small Business Budget Management”
NAME OF THE RESEARCHERS
This action plan is provided by Me Ann A. Mahinay, Rhaine Aira O. Parala, and
Cher Angeline R. Rodriguez from Pamantasan ng Cabuyao.
RATIONALE
The objective of this proposed action plan is to help the Cabuyao City food
business owner the proper handling and planning of budget that is important when
dealing and investing to food delivery service provider. It will also help owners how to
take control of their food business so they can make better financial decisions and grow
their business.
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION lv
COURSE RELEVANCE
Based on the lived experiences of the Cabuyao City food business owner, the
main challenge they experience in investing is budget management and planning. At
some time, food business owners have difficulties in spending control that leads them to
just enter an investment without prior planning their budget and finances. It is important
that businesses especially start-ups take a look at a clearer picture of not just amount of
money they are working with but also how it flows in and out of their business.
BUDGET MANAGEMENT
Budget management includes skills, abilities, and knowledge business owners use when
planning and regulating spending. There are many benefits of preparing budget for food
business especially when investing to delivery service provider. The ability to foresee
operating costs, spend less than you earn, and use earnings to expand the business is
foremost among these advantages.
Without proper budget management, business owners will not have full control of their
spending that is crucial for cash flow of their business. Budget for a food business, even
a very simple one, can help owners to move in the correct direction and toward its
objective: a profitable business.

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION lvi
This guide will help food business owners to create an effective small business budget,
and how they will plan, prepare, and manage their finances.
1. Reviewing revenue
The first step in creating a budget is to list all the money sources you have at your
disposal to support your business operations (usually on a monthly basis). Add up
all of your income sources after you have gathered and described each one to
determine your real monthly income. The actual phrase is crucial since budgets
should be created using revenue rather than profit, which is the amount of money
left over after all expenses have been covered.
2. Set a contingency fund
A prepared contingency fund works well with extra sources of funding, such
small business loans or additional contributions from any investors you may have.
Your contingency/emergency fund, in contrast to the latter two alternatives, is
liquid, accessible right away, and doesn't accrue further debt in the form of
incurred interest (although growing it with interest from a savings account is
always a good idea).
3. Create and map your budget

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION lvii
The objective is to visualize the ups and downs of revenue entering your business
and expenses leaving it. Then, you may start making modifications based on
baseline estimates for both revenue and expenses.
For instance, it makes sense to make sure you'll have extra money on hand for
seasonal personnel and marketing materials during certain months if your
company has a "busy season." Saving a percentage of the larger revenue earned
during your busy months will help you stay afloat and avoid cash shortages if you
have a "lean season."
4. Compare business sales and costs
Here is where the strength of a restaurant budget really starts to show. You can
get a decent understanding of your company's financial situation by comparing
your costs for the month with your sales for the month.
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION lviii
Table 2: Action Plan Proposal
AGENDA ACTION PEOPLE PEOPLE TO BUDGET TIME

TO BE INVOLVED CONDUCT HORIZON
TAKEN
Online Create the Cabuyao Financial P5,000 – 1-day
seminar seminar Food Experts P 10,000 seminar
about budget program. Business
management, Owner These are the
finance List all the people who
handling, Cabuyao They will be will share
and proper City food the their
cost business participants knowledge,
management. owners and of this experience,
let them seminar and and expertise
know if this someone to the food
seminar from them business
interests will initiate owners.
them. It is this seminar.
suggested
that prior Local
contacting Government
food
business
owners, the These are the
seminar has people who
already will initiate
agendas and the webinar/
objectives seminar.
so they will
know how it
will benefit
them as
well as their
business.
Create the
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION lix
possible
participants.
Have a
credible
resource
people that
will share
their
expertise in
the entire
seminar.
Execute the
online
seminar.
RESOURCES PURPOSE FOR WHOM
NEEDED
Invitation for It will be used to announce the online ALL BUSINESS
participants of the seminar to the food business owners. It is PROPRIETORS
online seminar proposed that the invitation should be
send through email so they can avoid
paper works and hassle in sending in-

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION lx
person invitation.
Invitation for the It will be used to contact and deal with the For online seminar
resource people resource person. participants/ Food
business owner
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION lxi
Chapter 5
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
This chapter presents the summary of findings, conclusions and the future
directions of the study to further enhance the concepts and the facts discussed in the
preceding chapters as provided by the results of analysis of data.
Summary
The study focused on describing and understanding the lived experiences of
cabuyao city food business owners in investing.
To solve the problem of the study, the researcher worked out the following central
questions:
1. What are the lived experiences of Cabuyao City food business owners in
Investing?
2. How do the Cabuyao City food business owners face the demands and challenges
in Investing?
The significant findings of the study are as follows:

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION lxii
1. As to the lived experiences of Cabuyao City food business owners in
Investing.
After reading, re-reading, analyzing, and reflecting on the verbatim
interview transcriptions, four themes emerged describing the experiences of food
business owners in investing. Theme 1: Pandemic Experiences. Theme 2 :Factors
in Investing. Theme 3: Investing Experiences. Theme 4: Boost in Incremental
Sales.
2. As to how the Cabuyao City food business owners face the demands and
challenges in Investing.
The second group of themes consists of three essential themes explaining
in detail how the Cabuyao City food business owners face the demands and
challenges in Investing. Theme 5: Budgeting and Planning. Theme 6: Investment
Planning and Decision. Theme 7: Strategic Management.
Conclusions
The researcher came up with the following conclusions based on the textural and
structural descriptions:
1. The food business owners describe their experience in deciding to invest in food
delivery services due to the COVID-19 crisis, which decreased their business
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION lxiii
sales. However, they became aware of food delivery service product promotions
on social media, which prompted them to invest in food delivery services. The
participants recognized that investing in food delivery services improved their
customers' experiences, increased their customer reach, and raised awareness of
their brand. Additionally, food business owners noticed an increase in sales after
partnering with food delivery services.
2. The participants agreed that budgeting and planning to ensure the financial
stability of the business, investment planning and decision-making to properly
manage their investment, and strategic management to develop a strategy for the
business to deal with some challenges encountered during the investment are all
necessary to facilitate a successful investing.
Recommendations
The researcher offered the following recommendations for possible actions:
1. Local governments are recommended to establish relationships between their
local businesses, the Cabuyao city food business owners, to provide them proper
management of the business that may include budgeting, risk management, etc.
2. Food business owners should invest in expanding their knowledge, to ensure they
are handling good investment. They should do this by receiving advanced training,
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION lxiv
or attending Webinars that will educate them on the strategies for business that
will be beneficial in their daily operation.
3. Food business owners should continue to use strategic management to face the
demand and challenges of food delivery services. Providing quality food and
services helps retain customers. Furthermore, satisfied customers may contribute
through word-of-mouth marketing, promoting the business's products and
increasing sales.
4. Food delivery service providers should improve their delivery services as well as
the platform or application they use, as scams are prevalent. Having a proper
platform where there is no sudden cancellation of orders by riders could avoid
miscommunications between customers and food businesses. Furthermore, being
a good service provider attracts more customers that will use the applications or
platform, as well as more food businesses that will get the services.
5. Future researchers are encouraged to validate the findings or explore more the
implications of this study. They are also encouraged to further study about other
food delivery services and how they affect the financial status of the business.
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION lxv
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reopening-of-restaurants-2020-insights-from-100-operators-and-managers

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Pamantasan ng Cabuyao

Katapatan Subd. Banay-Banay, City of Cabuyao, Laguna

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION i

THIRD-PARTY: UNDERSTANDING THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF

CABUYAO CITY FOOD BUSINESS OWNERS IN INVESTING

A Thesis Presented to the College of Business Administration and Accountancy

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the

BAC107A: Feasibility Study

Parala, Rhaine Aira O.

Rodriguez, Cher Angeline R.

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION ii

would like to express our profound gratitude to everyone.

mentally throughout writing this study.

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION iii

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION iv

utilize a food delivery system in the business process.

Food delivery is a long-term investment, so it is necessary to make research first

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION v

usability of Third-Party Partnership by analyzing how valuable it is as an investment as

perceived by the lived experiences of Cabuyao food business owner. It is significant

investment, budget management, decision-making, and risk management decisions, all of

lived experiences of business owners in Investing, operating particularly in Cabuyao City

Technology Acceptance Model (1989)

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION vi

communication are highly recommended. As a result, customers are influenced to use

Figure 1. The Conceptual Framework

existing relevant studies. As a theoretical framework, the research utilizes the

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION vii

will use them to make improvements and suggestions.

Statement of the Problem

It is crucial for businesses not to take advantage of technology nowadays. In a

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION viii

action plan can be developed?

Scope and Delimitations

Furthermore, participants will be purposely selected from a list of Cabuyao Menus

Significance of the Study

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION ix

handling business in a pandemic.

industry, food delivery services and investing.

services, their effects, benefits, and advantages.

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION x

analyze, and understand.

Future researchers. The study presented will be used as reference data in

will be covered in the study:

Brick-and-mortar Revenues. The profit or revenue generated from the physical

store of the business.

from rendering services.

at a distance of 6 feet from an infected person, as well as through respiratory droplets.

COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, ACCOUNTANCY AND ADMINISTRATION xi

ECQ. Enhanced Community Quarantine is the government protocol during Covid

pandemic, wherein people stay at home to avoid spreading the virus.

Food Delivery App. Is an application that can be installed in customers' mobile

with food business and rendering delivery services to customers.

COVID 19 related cases.

Investing. It is another way to diversify money. Investing to generate a return,

whether an income or the ability to grow.

Platform-to-Consumer Delivery. The food business uses online food delivery