Determinants of Corporate Social Disclosure in the Franchising Sector: Insights from French Franchisors' Websites

Abstract

This paper focuses on the notion of corporate social responsibility (CSR) within the franchising sector. More specifically, a set of research hypotheses derived from Regulation Theory and Transaction Cost Analysis addresses the relationships first between the chain size and the extent of corporate social disclosure (CSD) on franchisors' websites, and then between the percentage of company-owned units within the chain and the extent of corporate social disclosure (CSD) on franchisors' websites. The empirical study encompasses a total of 136 French franchise chains. Findings reveal that 86.03% of these franchisors communicate about their CSR activities on their website. Moreover, a significant relationship exists between chain size (respectively, the percentage of company-owned units within the chain) and the extent of CSD provided on franchisors' websites.