Franchise Networks Research Articles

Institutions and training: A case of social franchising in Africa

ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to explore two questions: how do institutions affect knowledge transfer in social franchises in Africa, and does training help social franchises respond to these challenges? Despite advances in the knowledge management literature, our understanding of the role of training in social franchising remains inadequate. Using the qualitative induction methodology, we examine a social franchise network operating in Africa. Our findings suggest that differences in formal and informal institutions affect knowledge transfer within the social franchise network. However, social franchises that understand the institutional environment have been successful in adapting their training strategies to scale up their social impact across African countries. We provide valuable insights into the expansion of a rapidly growing business model within social entrepreneurship, social franchising, and show how a successful social franchise managed to replicate its knowledge across different institutional frameworks in Africa.

Achieving Institutional Isomorphism in International Franchising through Knowledge Transfer: Evidence from the Food and Beverage Industry in Cambodia

ABSTRACT This study evaluates franchising decisions in the food and beverage industry by incorporating an institutional perspective and an organizational learning perspective to account for both economic and social factors. Adopting a qualitative approach, multiple-case-study analysis is conducted on international franchise brands in the food and beverage industry. The results indicate how each type of franchise network – underdeveloped, developing, and developed – achieves coercive and mimetic isomorphism and how that leads to distinctive implications for both the franchisor and the franchisee. This research fills the gap in the franchising literature by providing insights into knowledge-transfer practices and institutional isomorphism.

Digitalization Strategy for Consignment, Franchising, and Partnership Networks Through the Implementation of e-KOlab (Electronics for Consignments, Franchising, Organizational Networks) (Study on MSMEs member of DPD IWAPI Bali Association)

The province of Bali as a tourism area is feeling the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic. The indicator is the decline in the number of MSMEs. IWAPI (Indonesian Women Entrepreneurs Association) Bali Province which fosters MSMEs and Cooperatives as partners in this research requires a strategy that moves many elements to collaborate and co-optise together. The purpose of this study is: to bring together institutions, capital and MSME actors through digitalization or applications. The purpose of developing the application is to encourage MSMEs owned by Balinese women to operate locally with global quality. The research method used in this study is the OODA (Observe, Orient, Decide and Act) method. The first step is observation by collecting and observing primary data and secondary data of SMEs/IWAPI assisted. The second step is orientation by conducting root causal analysis with fishbone, SWOT and analysis of service policies towards MSMEs/IWAPI assisted, especially during pandemic recovery. The third step is Decide, namely developing e-collaborations. The last step is Act: implementation of e-collaboration, readiness testing there is application of e-collaboration. The e-Kolab application is a strategy for SMEs Scale Up and can be a Model Business Continuity Plan (BCP) in conducting business collaborations to apply the principle of local wisdom "PangPadePayu". The short-term strategy of this application will provide a digital service boost for MSME actors. While the long-term strategy is to build digital technology as a platform in MSME business processes; and the development of modern MSME business models.

Franchise network relationships and word of mouth communication in social media networks

Franchisor efforts to increase brand value by connecting and interacting with current and potential customers on social media platforms benefit the franchisor as well as franchisees in a franchise network and strengthen franchisor-franchisee relationships by stimulating customer-to-customer interaction, word of mouth (WOM) communication, and co-creation of value in social media networks. This study examines how the size of a franchise network impacts WOM communication in social media networks. It empirically investigates hypotheses linking franchise network size to WOM in social media networks via two types of customer engagement behavior: (1) loyalty to the brand, and (2) liking of the brand. Structural equation models are estimated for franchise networks in the top 200 U.S. restaurants with data from Twitter for two samples: restaurants with tweets during a fixed time period, and restaurants with a fixed number of tweets. The results indicate that loyalty and liking mediate the relationship between franchise network size and WOM in social media networks. Franchise network sales has a positive relationship with loyalty, which has a positive relationship with liking, which has a positive relationship with WOM communication. Split-sample analysis indicates that franchise network units matters only when the proportion of restaurants in the network owned by franchisees exceeds 75%. Growing the franchise network enhances loyalty and provides an opportunity for bespoke communications that customers like and spread, generating buzz about the brand.

Multi-Period Channel Coordination in Franchise Networks: The Necessity of Internal Inventory Trading and Franchiser Involvement

Multi-Period Channel Coordination in Franchise Networks: The Necessity of Internal Inventory Trading and Franchiser Involvement

Le rôle de l’expérience dans la création de nouvelles connaissances communes dans les entreprises en réseau : quels enseignements tirer du cas des réseaux de franchise ?

The role of experience in the production of new common knowledge in network companies: lessons from franchise networksThe competitive advantage of franchise networks is based on the common and shared knowledge (know-how) of the different entities in the network. New knowledge must be generated in order to anticipate changes in the environment and ensure the sustainability of the network. This article focuses on the role of direct and indirect experiences in knowledge creation. The results show different trajectories, articulating cognitive and experiential learning processes. They also identify the functions of the shared repertoire and places of identification of common knowledge according to the trajectory.

The Brazilian way of international franchising development

The Latin American market has become one of the few "new" directions in the geography of international franchising development. Much of Latin American countries only in recent years have begun to realize the benefits of franchising for the economic growth and job creation, and some governments are offering financial support to brands which wish to franchise with them. Brazil among the entire Latin American region is undoubtedly the leading market in many areas, including the development of franchising. The article focuses on the analysis of the franchising development in Brazil from an economic point of view, provides statistical and graphical data on the state of this type of business in the country. In addition, cornerstones are identified that may hinder the development of the internationalization of the activities of foreign franchise networks in the Brazilian market.

Recognizing and mediating bureaucratic barriers: increasing access to care through small and medium-sized private providers in Kenya

Background: Equitable access to health services can be constrained in countries where private practitioners make up a large portion of primary care providers. Expanding purchasing arrangements has helped many countries integrate private providers into government-supported payment schemes, reducing financial barriers to care. However, private providers often must go through an onerous accreditation process to enroll in these schemes. The difficulties of this process are exacerbated where health policy is changed often and low-level bureaucrats must navigate these shifts at their own discretion. This paper analyzes one initiative to increase private provider accreditation with social health insurance (SHI) in Kenya by creating an intermediary between providers and “street-level” SHI bureaucrats. Methods: This paper draws on 126 semi-structured interviews about SHI accreditation experience with private providers who were members of a franchise network in Kenya. It also draws on four focus group discussions conducted with franchise representatives who provided accreditation support to the providers and served as liaisons between the franchised providers and local SHI offices. There was a total of 20 participants across all four focus groups. Results: In a governance environment where regulations are weak and impermanent, street-level bureaucrats often created an accreditation process that was inconsistent and opaque. Support from the implementing organizations increased communication between SHI officials and providers, which clarified rules and increased providers’ confidence in the system. The intermediaries also reduced bureaucrats’ ability to apply regulations at will and helped to standardize the accreditation process for both providers and bureaucrats. Conclusions: We conclude that intermediary organizations can mitigate institutional weaknesses and facilitate process efficiency. However, intermediaries only have a temporary role to play where there is potential to: 1) directly increase private providers’ power in a complex regulatory system; 2) reform the system itself to be more responsive to the limitations of on-the-ground implementation.

FRANCHISING AS BOTH A NETWORK PHENOMENON AND AN INSTRUMENT FOR THE DISSEMINATION OF KNOWLEDGE AND KNOW-HOW

This article aims to present the specifics of franchise networks, which are playing an increasingly important role in the Polish economy. We shall also look to characterize such networks as an instrument for the transfer and dissemination of knowledge and know-how among the participants of a given distribution system or client base. We shall also draw attention to the fact that although franchising is a network phenomenon, it also exhibits specific characteristics that distinguish it from the classical organizational network model. This applies in particular to the management of the transfer of the body of knowledge possessed by the network organizer under this type of system. Such knowledge management serves both to provide participants with an idea for their own business, and to possibly modify the ways of conducting or running it. This article shall endeavor to indicate that the growing popularity of franchising is determining the specific features of this form of economic cooperation among entrepreneurs.

Recognizing and mediating bureaucratic barriers: increasing access to care through small and medium-sized private providers in Kenya

Background: Equitable access to health services can be constrained in countries where private practitioners make up a large portion of primary care providers. Expanding purchasing arrangements has helped many countries integrate private providers into government-supported payment schemes, reducing financial barriers to care. However, private providers often must go through an onerous accreditation process to enroll in these schemes. The difficulties of this process are exacerbated where health policy is changed often and low-level bureaucrats must navigate these shifts at their own discretion. This paper analyzes one initiative to increase private provider accreditation with social health insurance (SHI) in Kenya by creating an intermediary between providers and "street-level" SHI bureaucrats. Methods: This paper draws on 126 semi-structured interviews about SHI accreditation experience with private providers who were members of a franchise network in Kenya. It also draws on four focus group discussions conducted with franchise representatives who provided accreditation support to the providers and served as liaisons between the franchised providers and local SHI offices. There was a total of 20 participants across all four focus groups. Results: In a governance environment where regulations are weak and impermanent, street-level bureaucrats often created an accreditation process that was inconsistent and opaque. Support from the implementing organizations increased communication between SHI officials and providers, which clarified rules and increased providers' confidence in the system. The intermediaries also reduced bureaucrats' ability to apply regulations at will and helped to standardize the accreditation process for both providers and bureaucrats. Conclusions: We conclude that intermediary organizations can mitigate institutional weaknesses and facilitate process efficiency. However, intermediaries only have a temporary role to play where there is potential to: 1) directly increase private providers' power in a complex regulatory system; 2) reform the system itself to be more responsive to the limitations of on-the-ground implementation.

Governance of international franchise networks: Combining value creation and value appropriation perspectives

This study develops a new perspective on the franchisor’s choice of international governance modes as a value creation and value appropriation mechanism. Value creation refers to knowledge creation from the joint use of the franchisor’s intangible system-specific knowhow and foreign partners’ intangible local market knowhow; value appropriation refers to efficient knowledge exploitation based on transaction cost savings under conditions of uncertainty and transaction-specific investments. Based on primary data from 162 international franchise systems headquartered in eight countries, the results highlight the importance of intangible knowledge-based resources (franchisor’s system-specific knowhow and franchise partners’ local market knowhow) and transaction cost factors (transaction-specific investments, environmental uncertainty, and cultural uncertainty) for the franchisor’s choice between equity modes, such as wholly-owned subsidiaries, and joint venture franchising, and non-equity modes, such as single-unit franchising, area development franchising, and master franchising.

O impacto da meritocracia em empresas de logística durante crises econômicas

Purpose: meritocracy and incentives for innovation are instruments in the search for efficiency and increased productivity. The objective of this work is to demonstrate the correlation between meritocracy and productivity gains that a franchise network presented in a year of economic crisis in Brazil. Design/methodology/approach: the method of qualitative and quantitative approach of this research used experimentation, based on interviews, observation and data analysis. Two groups of companies, which totalized 92 companies and 746 professionals participated of the research. Findings: management based on recognition and reward for employees of a group of companies has shown an increase in productivity of up to 25% in a year of economic recession. In the same period, another group of companies in the same business, but without a meritocracy-based compensation system, achieved a 9% drop. Research limitations/implications: this work suffered from limitations as to the influence of the local economy of each franchise on the results, impacting the comparisons of the groups that participated in the experimental research. Practical implications: logistics companies can use this work to define a meritocratic model that encourages employees to seek innovation in processes and contribute to better operational performance. Social implications: logistics has a strong impact on the competitiveness of companies, from industry to commerce. This work offers visibility of the influence of productivity in logistics companies in the supply chain. Originality/value: this work contributes to the analysis of the influence of meritocracy in people management, especially in times of economic crisis.

Learning, contractual capabilities, and contract duration changes in franchise networks

Research has shown that although franchise contract duration tends to be stable, it does change from time to time; yet few studies have focused on such changes in contract duration. We propose hypotheses regarding changes in contract duration based on transaction cost theory and learning arguments, and test these hypotheses using panel data from the French Franchise Federation for the period 2009–2017. The results show that the issue of control remains central to the adjustment of contract duration. We also demonstrate that experienced franchisors tend to adjust the contract duration more frequently. These results point to a conception of learning that goes beyond simple foresight, and refers instead to the routines used in the management of the network.

The Needs of the Precariat and How They Might Be Satisfied: The Polish Experience and Challenges Faced in This Area

Purpose: The cognitive purpose of this article is to define the specificity of the Polish precariat and their needs, as well as the degree to which they are realised in the context of the current policy that supports employment as well as the social policy of the Polish government. Its utilitarian purpose is to define a set of actions that may be undertaken by governments to meet the needs of the precariat and to reduce the size of this social group. Design/Methodology/Approach: In order to determine to what extent the current government in Poland meets the needs of the precariat, a questionnaire was devised and delivered via the Internet to a research panel of respondents. The study used a stratified-quota sample selection, corresponding to the proportions of people in Poland working on various fixed-term contracts or as self-employed. 1,000 respondents who work with flexible forms of employment participated in the study. The research was carried out at the end of March/ beginning of April 2021. The basis for determining the main types of needs felt by the Polish precariat was shaped by sociological research in this area conducted in Poland. Practical Implications: Taking into account the opinions of the Polish precariat, one should consider the need for governments (including the Polish government) to create tools for effective communication with members of the precariat. One potential solution to this problem may be the creation of a government portal that provides an accessible means of discovering the available tools and programs that promote employment, including the conditions for their eligibility, and offer know-how on entrepreneurship. A practical solution presented in this study is also a new approach to subsidies granted by employment offices to start one’s first business, a form of support that incorporates the possibility that members of the precariat might participate in businesses run within franchising networks. Originality/Value: In terms of value, this study aims to enrich knowledge about the precariat, their needs and life aspirations. It also provides suggestions on action that can be taken by governments and their agendas to scale back this phenomenon.

The Franchise Agreement in International Trade: its Advantages and Disadvantages

The aim of the article is to analyze the implications of the franchise agreement in international trade. One of the contracts that is usually registered after the appearance and registration of property rights, and especially after the development of trademark rights, is the franchise agreement. A franchise agreement is a contract entered into between the franchisor and the franchisee as the owner of the intellectual property rights. In other words, the franchisee often uses trademark rights and intellectual property rights owned by the franchisor, which have a limited duration. It is concluded that, in franchise agreement, there is a right to enforce the franchisor's business method, which is implemented within the network (this method includes the use of intellectual property rights and know-how). This contract has detailed terms and is closely related to intellectual property rights and competition rights. The franchise must be distinguished from the distribution contract, the concessionaire, and the license. Under this agreement, the franchisee enters the franchise network and agrees to use the franchisor's method of negotiation and pay royalty-free payments instead.

A methodology to develop a regional franchising strategy

Subject. This article discusses the strategy-related patterns concerning the development of the franchising system as an effective tool for business development. Objectives. The article aims to organize approaches to the evaluation of regional brands and trademarks promising for development under the franchise model, and develop a regional franchising strategy. Methods. For the study, I used analysis and synthesis, logical and systems approaches, and the theoretical generalization method. Results. The article offers an original rating of the subjects of the Russian Federation promising for the development and implementation of franchise offers, and a pattern of the company's development strategy based on the model of franchising. Conclusions. For the franchise network to be successful, it is necessary to carefully develop a strategy for regional franchising development.

Location of Franchise Networks in the United States

Location of Franchise Networks in the United States

Multi-Period Inventory Coordination in Franchise Networks: the Necessity of Trading Platform and Franchisor Involvement

The cloud-based OneView Inventory Management (OVIM) platform offers retail franchise companies a competitive edge and disrupts the operations of every party in their networks. In this platform, designed and operated by the brand (franchisor), every retailer (franchisee) can frequently access to all brand inventory virtually as they trade (buy or sell) inventory with each other and the brand, rather than traditionally procure from the brand. This paper studies whether and how the brand should craft the trade rules for such frequent inventory-trading to achieve the coordination (maximize the profit of the entire network). We find that the coordination can be achieved via (1) the use of the coordinating trade prices (CTPs) and (2) shipping cost being split between the buyer and the seller in any proportion. The CTPs we characterize are the same regardless of the source of inventory, state-dependent, and may include a trading-reward to prevent retailers from strategically holding more or less inventory than the system-optimal in the previous period to “manipulate” the trade price. The good news is that these CTPs are quite intuitive (market-clearing) and can be easily calculated and automated into the OVIM platform ex ante. Technically, we are the first to model these multi-period trading as Nash dynamic games between the retailers and prove that the coordination can be achieved under the unique equilibrium. We also provide practical insights that the coordination requires both the existence of the inventory trading platform like the OVIM and the brand’s proactive involvement as the trade rule-maker and market-maker of the platform.

Recognizing and mediating bureaucratic barriers: increasing access to care through small and medium-sized private providers in Kenya

Background: Equitable access to health services can be constrained in countries where private practitioners make up a large portion of primary care providers. Expanding purchasing arrangements has helped many countries integrate private providers into government-supported payment schemes, reducing financial barriers to care. However, private providers often must go through an onerous accreditation process to enroll in these schemes. The difficulties of this process are exacerbated where health policy is changed often and low-level bureaucrats must navigate these shifts at their own discretion. This paper analyzes one initiative to increase private provider accreditation with social health insurance (SHI) in Kenya by creating an intermediary between providers and “street-level” SHI bureaucrats. Methods: This paper draws on 126 semi-structured interviews about SHI accreditation experience with private providers who were members of a franchise network in Kenya. It also draws on four focus group discussions conducted with franchise representatives who provided accreditation support to the providers and served as liaisons between the franchised providers and local SHI offices. There was a total of 20 participants across all four focus groups. Results: In a governance environment where regulations are weak and impermanent, street-level bureaucrats often created an accreditation process that was inconsistent and opaque. Support from the implementing organizations increased communication between SHI officials and providers, which clarified rules and increased providers’ confidence in the system. The intermediaries also reduced bureaucrats’ ability to apply regulations at will and helped to standardize the accreditation process for both providers and bureaucrats. Conclusions: We conclude that intermediary organizations can mitigate institutional weaknesses and facilitate process efficiency. However, intermediaries only have a temporary role to play where there is potential to: 1) directly increase private providers’ power in a complex regulatory system; 2) reform the system itself to be more responsive to the limitations of on-the-ground implementation.

Recognizing and mediating bureaucratic barriers: increasing access to care through small private providers in Kenya

Background: Equitable access to health services can be constrained in countries where private practitioners make up a large portion of primary care providers, making affordability a challenge. Expanding purchasing arrangements in many countries has helped integrate private providers into government-supported payment schemes and reduced financial barriers to care. However, private providers often must go through an onerous accreditation process to enroll in government-supported financing arrangements. The difficulties of this process can be exacerbated where health policy is changed often and low-level bureaucrats must navigate these shifts at their own discretion, effectively re-interpreting or re-making policy in practice. This paper analyzes one initiative to increase private provider accreditation with social health insurance (SHI) in Kenya by creating an intermediary between providers and SHI officials. Methods: This paper draws on 126 semi-structured interviews about SHI accreditation experience with private providers who were members of a franchise network in Kenya. It also draws on four focus group discussions conducted with franchise representatives who provided accreditation support to the providers and served as liaisons between the franchised providers and local SHI offices. There was a total of 20 participants across all four focus groups. Results: In a regulatory environment where regulations are weak and impermanent, officials created an accreditation process that was inconsistent and opaque: applying rules unevenly, requesting bribes, and minimizing communication with providers. The support provided by the implementing organizations clarified rules, reduced the power of local bureaucrats to apply regulations at their own discretion, gave providers greater confidence in the system, and helped to standardize the accreditation process. Conclusions: We conclude that intermediary organizations can mitigate institutional weaknesses, reduce barriers to effective care expansion caused by street-level bureaucrats, and facilitate the adoption of systems which reduce rent-seeking practices that might otherwise delay or derail initiatives to reach universal health coverage.