Search results

International retail companies, and fashion retailers in particular, are increasingly moving into international markets through the franchise mode of operation. Supporting franchisees is a fundamental aspect of the international retail franchise process and is crucial to its success, yet it remains significantly under‐researched. The current work aims to address this research gap.

A qualitative case study analysis of UK‐based fashion retailers' international franchise support mechanisms is provided.

The paper determines that international retail franchise support mechanisms can be classified on two levels, that is, strategic franchise management support and operational franchise support. The franchise manual, development plans and the monitoring of financial data are identified as the main strategic level support mechanisms, with operational support mechanisms identified as support for initial store opening, visits, merchandise range reviews, marketing and advertising and training. Two factors that facilitate the implementation of support, that is, the size of the international Franchise Division and international franchising experience, are also identified in the conceptual framework offered.

The paper offers very practical guidance to managers of those retail firms considering franchising as an international entry method and those already operating in the international environment. Franchisees can also glean insights on the support they should expect from franchisors.

While support is fundamental to the success of an international retail franchise venture, academic research on the topic is minimal. This paper therefore makes an original contribution to the developing literature on international retail franchising but also takes a very practical perspective on a pivotal element of the international retail franchise process.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: to investigate the impact of franchisor support on quick service restaurant (QSR) users’ intranet acceptance; and to examine the technology acceptance model (TAM) to explain QSR users’ attitude toward the franchise intranet usage. Franchisors are building intranet systems as a communication tool to assist their franchisees in performing their jobs better. However, there is a little available literature that discusses in detail the use of the intranet by franchise systems.

This study adopted the TAM to investigate the acceptance of the intranet in the context of QSR franchise systems. The original TAM was modified to include an external variable, franchise support. A total of 161 returned and completed responses were examined. Descriptive analysis, validity, principal component factor analysis and regression analysis were used to estimate the relationships between constructs.

The key finding of this study is that franchise support is a key in the decision for users to use intranet systems in the QSR franchise systems. This study also confirmed that there are positive and significant relationships among key variables: franchise support, perceived usefulness of intranet, perceived ease of use of intranet, attitude toward using intranet and behavioral intentions to use intranet. Regression analysis revealed that TAM is a valid model in predicting intranet adoption in restaurant franchise systems.

This study pursued franchise support, which was not included in the original TAM, to see how it affects perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and intention to use. In addition, a list of recommendations for improving the situation in that franchise organization is provided.

The purpose of this paper is to understand the relationship between franchisee support and brand value in micro-franchise chains. This study aims to understand the importance of value delivery in support to the micro-franchisee aiming at increasing brand value.

The sample was composed of 148 micro-franchisees belonging to 70 chains located in Brazil. The questionnaire aimed to verify the franchisee’s degree of concordance with the support and brand value provided by the franchisor through a Likert scale. The questionnaire structure comprised of ten metrics associated with franchisee support, four metrics associated with the brand value perception and four potentially intervenient metrics. A regression analysis was carried out to confirm the results for the factor analysis, assuming that the three factors associated with support as independent variables and the brand factor as a dependent variable.

The three factors related to franchisee support were found to be significant predictors of brand value. Based on the values of the coefficients, it is possible to infer the positive nature of the association. An increase in franchisee support leads to an increase in the franchisee perception about brand value. The positive effect of training and franchisor’s support in prospection and installation improvement on the brand value evaluation by franchisees was supported by the statistical analyses conducted.

This research complements the studies on brand citizenship behavior and franchisee brand commitment; the greater the support provided to the micro-franchisee, the greater its commitment to the brand values of the chain. This contribution is critical because we deal with micro-enterprises in a business environment with an intense resource scarcity. These aspects place restrictions on the delivery of support and brand value in these franchise chains.

Structured support plans and greater approximation with franchisees seem to be alternatives for this perception of value to be increased in micro-franchise chains. The attractiveness of a micro-franchise chain can be enhanced if the franchisor is able to show to its potential micro-franchisees that it offers adequate support for its business; and also for the capture of new micro-franchisees.

The social implications aimed at entrepreneurs with low financial expenditure. The sustainability of these businesses is highly relevant in the case of emerging markets given the high rates of unemployment and informality. Hence, micro-franchises become one of the means for micro-entrepreneurs to enter the job market.

When dealing with micro-franchises, there is an intensification of this scarcity of resources due to the smaller amount captured by the franchisor, as well as the lower technical level found in the franchisees. The relationship between brand value and the perceived level of support and the consequent franchise satisfaction with the chain in franchises, symbolized by brand citizenship behavior, is still little studied, and there are promising new studies, especially on the different types of franchises.

As international retailers continue to employ franchising as a major method of market entry, the control of these international retail franchise networks becomes of significant importance. The aim of this paper is to examine the methods by which UK‐based international fashion franchisors control franchisees and their international franchise businesses.

The paper employs a qualitative methodology and a multiple case design. Six UK‐based fashion retailers with international franchise operations form the empirical basis of the study.

The franchise contract, support mechanisms, franchise partner selection, the franchise relationship and the use of master/area franchising were found to be the major methods by which international retail franchisors exert control over their franchise networks. While coercive and non‐coercive sources of power were identified in the form of the franchise contract and support mechanisms, the paper also identifies sources of relationship power and organisational power.

The paper provides practical information to existing international franchisors and those firms considering the move into the international marketplace via the franchise mode of operation. By highlighting additional sources of power in the form of organisational and relationship power, franchisors are offered further means by which to control their international businesses than hitherto identified in the international franchise literature.

Traditional franchise research suggests that there is a dichotomy in the sources of power available to franchisors, that is, coercive or non‐coercive sources of power. While acknowledging the existence and importance of these sources of power and their related methods of control, this paper adds further dimensions to the academic debate by introducing relationship power and organisational power. Therefore, franchise partner selection, the franchise relationship and the use of master/area franchising emerge from the qualitative findings as further control mechanisms available to international retail franchisors.

This paper aims to outline different signals that franchisors can use to communicate their value proposition to prospective franchisees. It also tests whether these signals can enable franchisors to charge a premium from their franchisees.

This paper uses a mixed-methods approach to arrive at the findings. It uses a combination of open-ended survey and archival data to arrive at the findings.

Franchisees consider franchisor’s characteristics such as its “capability,” “support offered” and “franchisee membership criteria” significant while buying into their franchises. The results suggest that franchisors can leverage some of their capability signals to obtain a higher franchise fee if they use the right signals as desired by franchisees.

Signals identified in this study are specific to this study. The relationship between the signals and franchise fee is applicable for high-performing franchises operating in the American context only. Future research can address this limitation by collecting more data, testing additional signals and using alternative methods to verify the findings.

Franchisors can take cues from the evaluative criteria used by franchisees to design their signaling strategies. Franchisors can leverage some of their capabilities to extract higher fees from their franchisees. Prospective franchisees should engage in due diligence before purchasing a franchise unit and avoid franchises with higher support fees and loose franchisee recruitment criteria.

This study contributes to research on the evaluative criteria used by franchisees. It contributes to the signaling theory by offering insights into the performance outcomes of signals in the franchising context. It also contributes to our understanding of franchising by adopting a mixed-methods approach that includes information about franchisors and franchisees.

This paper compares the use of flat continuing franchise fees or royalties with percentage‐based continuing franchise fees in Australian franchises. The population of Australian franchisors is surveyed to investigate why some franchisors choose a flat continuing fee structure. It is found that franchises using flat continuing fees offer their franchisees similar types of ongoing support throughout the life of the franchise agreement, but provide less ongoing support than franchises characterised by percentage fees. The flat fee franchises also conduct less monitoring of their franchisees, grow at a faster rate, and are less costly to enter than percentage fee franchises. The results suggest that whereas percentage fee franchisors can improve their ongoing income by helping franchisees to increase their sales, the flat fee franchisors are motivated to improve their ongoing income by increasing the size of their systems.

The primary purpose of this research is to investigate franchisees' satisfaction based on franchisors' pre‐opening support, central purchasing, congeniality and ongoing business support.

The sample was drawn from ice cream franchising operations in Seoul, South Korea, and its vicinity. Personal interviews were conducted, followed by a self‐administered questionnaire.

The franchisees learned about their business opportunities through friends and relatives. The brand recognition by the consumer is the major motive for franchisees to engage in franchising. While franchisees are least satisfied with their franchisors' ongoing business support, they are most satisfied with central purchasing support from the franchisor.

The study offers valuable insights for strategic management as to recruitment, selection, and ongoing support provided by franchisors.

This research is particularly valuable to franchisors who are contemplating expanding their franchising business internationally.

A major gap in the international marketing literature is the nature of the international franchise relationship and, in particular, the mechanisms used to control and co‐ordinate the international franchise network. Discusses the findings arising from an ethnographic study of the internationalisation activity of one franchise company. Explores how the company in question attempted to control and direct its international franchise network. Illustrates the importance of non‐coercive sources of power, or the support function, in controlling international franchisee behaviour. Furthermore, it describes the development of the support function within the company over a longitudinal time period and highlights the impact of various organisational factors on the company’s ability to provide effective support to its international franchisees.

This paper describes the status quo of the Austrian franchise situation. Judging from current trends, the future of franchising seems to have a bright outlook in Austria. The growth in franchising is a result not only of the increasing number of homegrown systems, but also of the influx of foreign franchise systems. Recently, there has been an increase in information and consulting activities as a result of the growing demand. Owing to the fact that little research on franchising in Austria has been done so far, there is a wide area for further investigation on this subject.

The purpose of this paper is to understand the franchisor's perception of the role of entrepreneurial strategic orientation (EO) – innovative, risk‐taking, and proactive actions – within the special case of franchised firms, given the opposing forces for standardisation/uniformity and system innovation/adaptation.

A cross‐sectional research design, involving a mail questionnaire survey, was employed to collect data from a sample of franchisors operating in the UK. The hypotheses specified in the study were tested using a path model.

The results show that for franchise organisations, EO is positively related to performance. The recent meta‐analysis conducted by Rauch et al. also demonstrated that the correlation of EO with performance is fairly large (r=0.242). This correlation is consistent with the significant value reported in the study of 0.234. In addition, franchise system support structures were found to be important in fostering EO within the organisation.

Future studies may consider including other dimensions of EO, notably competitive aggressiveness and autonomy, in exploring the relevance of EO to the franchise system. It would be interesting to also use a longitudinal analysis to examine the long‐term effect of EO on the performance of franchised firms.

The study extends knowledge of the EO‐performance outcomes relationship to the franchising context where the role of EO is presently under‐explored. This could be attributed to the fact that the franchise concept is built on standardisation and uniformity, notions that run counter to the flexible strategies involved in fostering EO.