Franchisor’s Tendency to Use Multi-Unit Franchising: A Conceptual Model

Abstract

Franchising is the fastest growing form of retailing and almost half of the good in USA are distributed through franchise systems. A multi-unit franchisee can be defined as a person or a firm that owns two or more franchised outlets in the same franchise system. The prominent researchers in franchising argue that the recent growth in franchising business can be attributed to the emergence of multi-unit franchising. Existing empirical research shows that more than a half of the total franchised outlets in USA are being operated by multi-unit franchisees. It is argued that the major focus of franchising research has been the single-unit franchising and that the single franchising is the exception, not the rule. Therefore, the research gap requires the investigations that distinguish between the multi-unit franchising and single-unit franchising.