System Levers Research Articles

The Franchise Fulcrum: The Legal System's Contributions to Research about Power and Control in Business Format Franchising

Franchisors’ need for power over their franchisees and control of their brands underpins their apparent opportunism. Through Australian and United States examples, we identify how the legal system's levers facilitate examination of opportunism within franchising. We suggest that the balance of power and control within franchising is ever changing. We suggest that all legal systems provide rich and often overlooked data for business researchers investigating franchise relationships. They should be accessed to help franchising stakeholders frame research propositions and to understand and meet twenty-first century challenges such as those posed by Gen Y and online retailing.