Search Results (19)

This study analyzes the performance and strategic implications of multi-brand kitchen restaurants from a supply chain perspective. Multi-brand kitchens are increasingly adopted in franchise systems as they enhance resilience by pooling demand risks and enabling substitution across brands. They also promote environmental sustainability by integrating operations and reducing land use. However, limited research has examined how such models perform under different supply chain structures and contract types. To address this gap, we develop analytical models comparing five configurations that vary by brand scope (single- vs. multi-brand) and integration level (centralized vs. decentralized). We examine how optimal pricing, brand portfolio, and royalty structures influence profits across franchisors, franchisees, and the overall chain under diverse market environments. Our findings reveal that multi-brand strategies improve profitability, particularly under high demand and favorable market potential. However, decentralized systems show greater profit fluctuations, highlighting the need for alignment between contracts and operations. Theoretically, this study contributes to the restaurant supply chain literature by modeling coordination across organizational boundaries. Practically, it offers actionable insights for franchisors and restaurant operators on when and how to implement multi-brand kitchen strategies for resilient and sustainable supply chain operations. Full article

Franchising operates as a proven business model that drives substantial growth for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) worldwide. The franchise ecosystem in Saudi Arabia lacks sufficient research, despite established frameworks for success in markets such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. This research investigates the elements that lead to franchise success in Saudi Arabia through a combination of qualitative and quantitative data. This research evaluates franchise performance through metrics such as Average Revenue Per Unit (ARPU), Return on Investment (ROI), Franchise Success Rate, Time to Break Even, and Market Growth Rate, comparing Saudi Arabia with the U.S., the U.K., and India to identify essential success determinants. The research reveals that franchise success depends on regulatory frameworks, cultural alignment, economic diversification, and supply chain efficiency. The U.S. and U.K. enjoy established legal protections, whereas Saudi Arabia faces regulatory complexities and resource limitations. The research proposes three strategic recommendations: government incentives, locally adapted business models, and carefully selected locations to boost franchise success. The analysis provides essential information to policymakers, franchisors, and entrepreneurs seeking to expand their businesses in Saudi Arabia. The implementation of Vision 2030 growth barrier solutions and market opportunities will enable Saudi Arabia to build up its franchising sector and enhance market performance. This research adds new knowledge to the franchising literature in emerging markets and its impact on sustainable business growth. Full article

Digital franchising is increasingly recognized as a technological advancement and a specialized subset of e-commerce, yet its unique entrepreneurial dynamics remain insufficiently explored in the existing literature. Previous studies have primarily focused on platform usability or general e-commerce adoption, often overlooking the motivational, contextual, and capability-based factors that influence individuals’ willingness to engage in digital franchising as either entrepreneurs or consumers. To address this research gap, the present study applies the Motivation-Opportunity-Ability (MOA) framework to examine how personal motivations (e.g., self-expression, financial rewards), perceived platform opportunities (e.g., support, attractiveness), and individual capabilities (e.g., digital literacy, self-efficacy) shape entrepreneurial intention and, in turn, influence consumption adoption intention in digital franchising environments. An online survey was conducted using a non-probability purposive sampling method. The final sample consisted of 491 respondents from Taiwan, all of whom were either entrepreneurs operating digital franchises in the fashion industry or consumers who had purchased fashion products through digital franchising platforms, thereby ensuring contextual relevance to the study’s focus. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results indicate that expected external rewards (β = 0.456, p < 0.001) and platform support (β = 0.315, p < 0.001) are the most influential factors in shaping entrepreneurial intention. Furthermore, entrepreneurial intention significantly mediates the relationship between MOA antecedents and consumption adoption intention (β = 0.176, p < 0.001), highlighting its role as a key behavioral mechanism. These findings extend the MOA framework to a new empirical setting and offer practical implications for platform developers, franchisors, and policymakers seeking to promote participation in digital franchising. Future research is encouraged to explore cross-industry comparisons, generational differences, and longitudinal approaches to further enrich the understanding of digital franchising adoption dynamics. Full article

Franchise businesses have demonstrated resilience before, through, and after the circumstances of COVID-19. This can be attributed to the inherent appeal of rapid success and risk mitigation for investors. Therefore, investors are attached to engaging in a franchise business model. Fierce competition exists among franchise businesses, with numerous brands within the same industry, especially the cosmetic and dietary supplement franchise category, which has garnered significant popularity in Southeast Asia, particularly Thailand. The expansion of this franchise category has accelerated, surpassing the growth rates observed in other countries. Investment decisions across various investor levels are influenced by diverse factors, including intense competition, contributing to the rapid expansion. Therefore, a comprehensive study and understanding of the investment behavior of cosmetic and dietary supplement franchise businesses has become imperative. The success of a franchise business hinges on different factors encompassing decisions made before, during, and after investments. This study delves into the decision-making behaviors preceding and following investments across different investor levels in the cosmetics and dietary supplement franchise industry, utilizing fundamental aspects derived from rational choice theory (RCT) and additional variables. The researcher gathered responses through questionnaires from 490 respondents with investment experience in the cosmetics and dietary supplement franchise business. The study revealed that factors postulated in this study significantly influenced investment choices within cosmetics and dietary supplement franchises. When segmented based on investor levels, distinct considerations emerged for each group. Furthermore, there is a compelling need for cosmetic and dietary supplement franchise owners to implement enhancements in services to uphold and expand investor bases, representing an intense challenge in the cosmetics and dietary supplement franchise business nowadays. This study is intended only for individuals with prior investment experience in the cosmetics and dietary supplement franchise industry. It focuses on examining the factors that influence investment decisions both before and after the initial investment, particularly with regard to dietary supplement and cosmetics franchises. Full article

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically impacted the beverage industry. It directly causes job losses, reduced income, and changes in customer preferences, and it influences the relationship between franchisors and franchisees. COVID-19 has spread rapidly around the world in the past two years. Meanwhile, the impact has reverberated from abroad to the headquarters of companies in Taiwan. Eight Taiwanese food and beverage brands saw steep drops in sales as the pandemic grew in severity. Thus, it is important to identify the critical elements of running a franchise store. Collected with Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) technology, the results show that the five key factors in franchises are going direct-to-consumer, establishing a B2B portal for distributors, assessing supply chain elastic limit, optimizing inventory, and streamlining e-commerce to meet changing customer needs. Guidelines and directions are provided for decision-makers through this study to design mobile applications in the simplest platform. Full article

This study explores how a state-based franchisee association of a multinational quick-service restaurant franchisor introduced three world-first innovations through the activation of the five dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation (EO). The antecedents to this activation were also explored. A historical extended case study focusing on a revelatory case was undertaken. In-depth analysis using a rigorous qualitative methodology was facilitated by the triangulation of informant interviews, publicly available data, archival data, and artefacts. The three innovations explored involved the apparent activation of all five dimensions of EO by the franchisee association. The franchisee association’s structure and the provenance of its franchisee members, in being either externally recruited or internally recruited, appeared to have a bearing on whether product or process innovations were pursued. Five antecedents that enhance the propensity of franchisee associations to activate the dimensions of EO were also identified, and a preliminary model was constructed. Whilst the EO of franchisors and franchisees has previously been examined, this study is the first to explore franchisee associations as a vehicle for EO. With around 75% of franchisors incorporating some form of franchisee association, better understanding how to harness their innovative potential could bestow a competitive advantage upon those franchise systems able to do so. Full article

Franchising is a widely adopted business format in both product-based and service-based industries. Particularly, the concept of multi-unit franchising has become increasingly prominent as a favored expansion strategy for both franchisors and franchisees. To sustain a competitive advantage, it is crucial for franchisees to establish a network of local outlets. This study delves into the strategies employed by multi-unit franchisees in the Taiwanese estate agency sector, using the theory of sustainable competitive advantage as a framework. The research design for this study is qualitative, employing in-depth interviews as the primary method of data collection, with grounded theory used for analysis. The findings reveal that ownership patterns play a crucial role in determining sustainable competitive advantage. Furthermore, the existence of both explorative and exploitative capabilities was identified as the foundation for establishing local leadership and ensuring a sustainable advantage. Importantly, sustainable competitive advantage is achieved through the local leader determinant. As a result, four propositions have been developed, which hold essential practical implications for top managers. Especially in the digital era, information asymmetry is diminishing, and cooperation becomes the key to creating synergies. Full article

As franchising provides several benefits to both corporations and small business owners, a growing number of contracts have been written through which corporations offer the right to use their brand name and business model, and small business owners pay fees for accepting the offers. In this franchisor–franchisee market, the franchise fee plays a pricing role in the exchange between two parties. In this context, we investigate the influence of franchisors’ strategic pricing approaches (i.e., cost- and value-based approaches) on franchise fee decisions. Furthermore, by examining the moderating effect of the competitive condition on the relationships between pricing approaches and franchise fees, we uncover franchisors’ pricing practices in greater detail. The results show that both pricing approaches have significant influences on franchise fee decisions, and the competitive condition moderates the relationship between the value-based approach and franchise fees but does not moderate the relationship between the cost-based approach and franchise fees. The findings contribute to the franchising and pricing literature and to industry practitioners. Full article

The franchising sector demands a high level of assurance and commitment. This is because creating entrepreneurial value is at the core of any franchising strategy. However, little is understood about what causes franchised businesses’ critical success factors, particularly in developing nations like Malaysia. Hence, this study aims to identify the critical success factors in franchising business firms. The characteristics of franchisors and franchisees that can contribute to the franchise system’s success in Malaysia were discovered using a focus group method by inviting franchisors and franchisees who are already running their businesses. In addition, Perbadanan Nasional Berhad (PERNAS) and the Malaysian Franchise Association (MFA), together with academicians, were also invited as a part of the focus group discussion. The findings show that three critical success factors emerged from this study, the franchisor’s capability, interconnection with franchisees, and constant innovation. These three elements demonstrated that there is still room for a more significant expansion. Therefore, anyone considering joining a franchise should know it is an option. Additionally, this research helps produce a valuable model of the franchising business process that regulators, franchisors, and franchisees can use as a guide. Finally, this study also offers directions for further research. Full article

A franchise business is a contractual relationship in which the franchisor and franchisee should cooperate to promote sustainable growth of their franchise entities. However, it is still unclear whether the relationship between franchisees and franchisors is a principal–agent or a business partner sharing a business goal. Thus, this study is a first attempt to investigate the relationship between franchisees and franchises using metafrontier and bootstrap DEA from the perspective of efficiency. We measured the efficiency of coffee franchises in Korea, which have grown rapidly in recent years despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the bootstrap DEA results, there was a statistically significant difference in efficiency between franchisors and franchisees under the variable return-to-scale assumption. While the main cause of inefficiency in premium coffee chains is attributed to scale inefficiency, most franchisees have pure technological inefficiency. Thus, coffee franchisees can improve the operational efficiency by adjusting their business scale and reallocating service resources. This study demonstrates tailored operational plans to improve the operational efficiency of premium and mainstream coffee franchises and offers strategic initiatives to decrease the difference in efficiency between franchisors and franchisees. Full article

Previous literature has acknowledged franchising as a great way for businesses to expand into new areas and opportunities. It has become a popular option for those who are looking to start their businesses by choosing a well-known company’s brand name and a ready-made business operation, or existing entrepreneurs who want to franchise their firms. Franchising a business contributes to the GDP of the countries involved, including Malaysia. However, little is known about what drives the growth of franchised firms, particularly in emerging countries such as Malaysia. Hence, this study aims to identify the growth factors of franchising, from both the franchisors’ and franchisees’ viewpoints. Therefore, from this dyad relationship, the analysis can provide comprehensive views of the growth factors of franchises. Interestingly, as this study was conducted during the pandemic COVID-19, the findings would include the pandemic situation that reflects the business environment. Therefore, the case study method was adopted, which involved semi-structured interviews with five service firms from two different brands, including franchisors and franchisees. The findings show that three growth factors emerged from this study: product and service innovation, franchisor-franchisee tolerance, and government support. This study contributes to obtaining a deeper grasp of the growth factors of franchisors and franchisees. Moreover, this study contributes to developing an effective franchising business process model as guidance for franchisors, franchisees and policymakers. This study also provides avenues for future research. Full article

Emerging literature suggests that male leaders guide their companies more towards operations-related (OR) Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and female leaders lead their companies more towards non-operation-related (Non-OR) CSR activities. Nevertheless, very little research has considered intergenerational issues in CSR practices. This study explores this question in a context unexplored to date, the franchise industry. We apply multivariate analysis to explore differences between franchisor leaders. Our results reveal that successor leaders engage their companies more in normative CSR than founding leaders. Contrary to our expectations, they also encourage more instrumental CSR activities compared to the founders. We found that female leaders promote normative CSR practices to a greater extent than their male counterparts. However, gender differences in instrumental CSR were only present for the group of current leaders, where men outperformed women. When we delved into the analyses by looking at the influence of the gender of the previous founder, we found that female heirs engage their companies at the same levels of instrumental CSR as their male heir counterparts. Implications for CSR practices in franchise firms and directions for future research are discussed. Full article

Since the world was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic crisis that began in December 2019, many industries have been affected, including the franchise industry in Malaysia. Thus, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a great impact on business survival. Direct effects can be seen in reduced income, job losses, changes in customer preferences, and business relationships between franchisors and franchisees. Some franchises have had to close their operations, and others still struggled to survive during the pandemic crisis. In addressing this situation, the role of government is crucial in supporting the resilience of these franchisor entrepreneurs in an increasingly worrisome situation around the world. However, the existing literature that focuses on the role of government in developing countries such as Malaysia is still poorly understood. In addition, a study of the Malaysian franchising industry during the pandemic crisis is still inadequate, especially concerning the government’s role in the survival of local franchises during the pandemic era. Therefore, understanding the role of the government in advocating the survival of local Malaysian franchises is worth studying. A qualitative research approach was applied through multiple cases involving twelve (12) franchise business owners and four (4) franchise-related agencies in Malaysia. In-depth interviews were conducted in exploring this topic. Thematic analysis has been used by applying “Atlas.ti” in analysing the data. Hence, the findings have indicated four themes from the grounded data. There are: (i) financial assistance; (ii) virtual franchise exhibition; (iii) training and support; and (iv) business development grants. This study is expected to highlight the role of government as well as agencies involved with the franchising industry in improving policies, strategies, and programs to ensure the viability of the franchise industry during periods of pandemic outbreaks. Full article

In the past decade, franchising has become a well-known platform for business expansion. Various strategies have been employed by franchisors in expanding their business into the global market. However, few studies have assessed the determinants that can be adopted by the franchisors in bringing value as well as opening up opportunities for global market expansion. This study aims to explore the determinants of global expansion based on Malaysian franchisors’ experience. A qualitative research approach was adopted through various case studies with ten franchisors from the food and beverage industry in Malaysia. In-depth interviews were carried out to explore this topic. Thematic analysis was performed through the “Atlas.ti” software package version 9.0, which was also used in analyzing the data. The findings indicated that there are four themes, and nine sub-themes were discovered from the grounded data. The franchisors agreed that franchise brand, business location, product, advertising, and promotion were able to influence franchisors in designing strategies for global expansion. The data were also able to provide an in-depth understanding of the determinants for global expansion that can be undertaken as a guide to prospective franchisors who want to start exploring the global market. These results are expected to assist the government as well as the agencies involved with franchising in improving related policies, strategies and programmes. Thus, it is important to understand these determinants in order to survive in a competitive global market. Full article

Franchising has long been a method by which organizations seek to expand and facilitate local market development. However, franchising as a growth strategy can often be hampered by lack of suitable franchisees. To mitigate this shortage, some franchisors have engaged in recruiting franchisees internally from the ranks of their employees in addition to the traditional approach of recruiting franchisees externally. Predominantly franchisees are individuals rather than corporations and thus purchasing a franchise should most commonly be characterized as a consumer acquisition. To explore the relationship between subjective knowledge, perceived risk, and information search behaviors when purchasing a franchise qualitative interviews were conducted with franchisees from the restaurant industry. Half of these respondents were externally recruited having never worked for the franchisor and half were internally recruited having previously been employees of the franchisor. The external recruits expressed a strong desire to own their own business and engaged in extensive decision-making processes with significant information search when purchasing their franchises. Contrastingly, the internal recruits expressed a strong desire to be their own boss and engaged in limited, bordering on habitual decision-making processes with negligible information search when acquiring their franchises. The results reveal that differences in subjective knowledge and perceived risk appear to significantly impact the extent of information search between these two groups. A model of the relationship between subjective knowledge, perceived risk and information search in the purchasing of a franchise is developed that reconciles these findings. The findings also have practical implications for franchisors’ franchisee recruiting efforts which are integral to their capacity to develop local markets. Full article