Antecedents and effects of free riding in the franchisor–franchisee relationship

This field study investigated contextual antecedents of free riding by franchisees on franchisor brand reputation and effects of free riding on performance in a multinational corporation's franchising network. Structural elements (increased formalization, decentralized decision-making), interactions between franchisor representatives and franchisee dealers, and market-related factors (external competition) were associated with lower levels of franchisee free riding. The findings also indicated that free riding has deleterious effects on franchisee performance. The results support theoretical arguments that both economic and social exchange perspectives are valuable in examining free riding and provide important practical guidance in designing and managing franchise systems.     

Antecedents of early terminations in franchising: franchisor versus franchisee cancelations

Franchisors capitalize on franchisee entrepreneurial capacity to grow. However, enabling franchisees to develop their ventures may damage system consistency. This dilemma makes conflict particularly prevalent in the field of franchising. Nevertheless, prior research has reported an incomplete picture of factors leading to serious disagreement and premature termination in franchise partnerships. We address this gap, first, by adding the entrepreneurial autonomy of franchisees as a relevant but underexplored source of conflict and, second, by providing a more fine-grained analysis of franchisors’ versus franchisees’ drivers of termination. Specifically, we focus on the controversial issues of pricing and local advertising policies and analyze how expanding franchisees’ entrepreneurial autonomy in these decision areas is related to contract terminations depending on who ended the relationship (the franchisor or a franchisee). The study also highlights less controversial requirements and conditions (e.g., upfront investments, franchisor experience …) that may reduce early terminations. Our empirical objectives are met by using survey data from a sample of franchisor companies. The results show how the performance outcomes of entrepreneurial autonomy differ depending on the decision area in which it is exercised. Results also throw light on the consequences of various critical franchise policies that may be masked if both types of termination (franchisors vs. franchisees) are considered together.     

The importance of personal characteristics in franchisee selection

Despite franchising's ubiquity, little is known about how franchisors and franchisees choose one another. In this study, we focused on six evaluation criteria used by franchisors to evaluate prospective franchisees. Using secondary data from a survey of 1043 franchisors, each of six criteria was measured and ranked in terms of their importance to the franchisee selection process. The analysis revealed that becoming a franchisee involves more than being financially or professionally qualified, and that franchisors assigned the highest level of importance to a prospective franchisee's personal characteristics. Recommendations for future research are offered.     

NAFTA and franchising: A comparison of franchisor perceptions of characteristics associated with franchisee success and failure in Canada,Mexico, and the United States

Business-format franchising, which includes the product or service, the brand name or trademark, and the operating system developed by a franchisor, has experienced significant growth over the past few decades. International franchising also is growing at a rapid pace, in part, because of market opportunities that include new trade agreements. The debate over North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) increased the focus on North American franchising. In spite of this attention, there are few, if any, comparative studies of franchising in Canada, Mexico, and the U.S.At the same time that international franchising growth is extolled, there is an argument over the extent to which franchising increases business success. A number of studies support the success thesis, however, recently critics claim that franchising does not significantly increase survival rates of franchisee-owned units.The objectives of this study are, first, to extend the study of franchisee success and failure by analyzing franchise executives' perceptions of the importance of a number of characteristics associated with franchisee success and failure, and second, to examine differences among the executives' perceptions of these characteristics based on the location of the franchisor—Canada, Mexico, or the United States. We also analyze the effects of franchise strategy, type of franchise business, and size of the franchise on executive perceptions of the characteristics associated with franchisee success and failure.Franchisor executives rated the relative importance of 39 statements, taken from previous research, that are associated with perceptions of success. Results from a factor analysis indicate that 30 of the variables load on 5 significant factors. Examination of the content of the factors indicates that the first factor (system quality), and the second factor (brand name) consist of variables that directly relate to the core of business-format franchising, the quality of the operating system and the brand name of the franchise. The third factor (local environment) consists of statements that represent general characteristics of the local franchise environment. The fourth factor (communication) consists of variables that link the franchisee with the franchisor and other franchisees. The fifth factor (franchise activities) consists of variables that represent idiosyncratic characteristics or activities of a franchisee. Franchise executives also rated the relative importance of 16 statements associated with franchisee failure. Of these, 6 statements, associated with franchisor activities, are combined to form a scale of franchisor failure, and 10 statements, associated with franchisee activities, are combined to form a scale of franchisee failure.The findings indicate that there are significant differences in most of the scales of success and failure among franchisor executives' perceptions based on country location. In addition, there is also a significant effect of franchise strategy on perceptions. There are no significant differences by type of franchise business or size of the franchisor.This research contributes to two important areas of research in franchising; the study of perceptions of the characteristics associated with franchisee success and failure, and international franchising research. The study also has practical applications. Knowledge about country differences in perceived characteristics of success and failure will help franchisors to identify aspects of the business system that require increased monitoring and investment. Awareness of country differences will also influence the selection of relevant training and development. Finally, knowledge of differences in perceptions may assist franchisors in adapting systems and policies that are likely to increase the success of their international sites.     

How passive ownership restrictions affect the rate of franchisee failure

What variables influence the adoption of passive ownership restrictions in franchise systems and what are the effects of these restrictions on the rate of franchisee failure of such systems? This article shows how standard performance models that do not account for self-selection of these contractual decisions can improperly suggest a negative relationship between the adoption of passive ownership restrictions and a performance outcome of franchise systems – the rate of franchisee failure. However, models that do account for self-selection of these restrictions indicate that these contractual decisions per se do not affect such a performance outcome. The findings also show that franchise systems with misaligned passive ownership restrictions show a higher rate of franchisee failure than their better-aligned counterparts.     

Comparing the patronage selection criteria of the elderly: chronological age versus dependency

This study investigates the impact of the degree of retailer international involvement (DRII), which we define as the number of geographic regions in which a retailer operates, on retailer performance. The data cover 16 international retailers over the period 1996–2012. The findings of the study show that DRII is negatively related to retailer performance. We also find that the cultural distance between the home and host country moderates the relationship between DRII and retailer performance.     

Physicians' perceptions of consumers' attitudes: satisfaction,quality and selection criteria

A mail survey of physicians from Sacramento, California, elicited information on perceptions of consumer satisfaction, service quality for 10 types of service providers including physicians and the importance ratings of 12 choice criteria for the selection of a physician by consumers. The two most important selection criteria for physicians as perceived for consumers by physicians were ‘consumer's previous experience with provider’ and ‘reputation/recommendation’. The results are compared with an earlier consumer survey.     

When sergeants can outrank generals: Person-organization fit and the performance of franchisees as agents of their franchisor

We introduce a person-organization fit perspective to explain how franchise organization characteristics shape the link between franchisees' individual attributes and their performance as agents of their franchisor. Showcasing this idea, we develop arguments to suggest why the links between franchisees' agent performance and their prior industry and educational experiences are contingent upon the franchise organization's entrepreneurial orientation, centralization, and formalization. The results from multilevel analyses using the data of 276 franchisees from 47 franchise organizations largely support our ideas. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our study for franchising and beyond.     

Motives and partner selection criteria in international strategic alliances: Perspectives of Chinese firms

We examine the strategic motivation for international strategic alliance (ISA) formation and partner selection criteria in a sample of 203 Chinese ISAs using questionnaire data obtained from Chinese partners. The highest ranked strategic motives of the Chinese firms are maintaining market position, international expansion, and technology exchange. In contrast, the major strategic motives for alliance formation of the foreign firms are characterised by market penetration and learning how to operate successfully in China. As anticipated the relative importance of strategic motives for ISA formation is found to vary between Chinese firms and foreign firms. We also examine aspects of partner selection criteria for ISA formation from the perspective of Chinese partners. Findings show that the task-related selection criteria are determined more by the strategic motives for ISA formation than are the partner-related selection criteria. This confirms that task-related selection criteria tend to be specific to the alliance whereas partner-related selection criteria are more general in nature.     

Influence of opinion leadership identification criteria: The purchase of smartphones

The role of opinion leaders in disseminating information on technology-type products in the market, such as smartphones, is of great interest to tech sector companies. From a survey conducted among young university students, the main distinguishing features of opinion leaders in smartphone purchases are analysed through alternative identification criteria. The results show that some of the distinguishing traits include greater expenditure in the acquisition of smartphones, lower frequency of replacement, having owned a large number of these devices, and showing a more positive emotional bond when purchasing smartphones. Moreover, the criterion used in identification of the opinion leader is relevant.     

Retail bank selection in developed and developing countries: A cross‐national study of students' bank‐selection criteria

This exploratory research article is concerned with students' selection of retail banks in the United States and Ghana. It is a comparative cross‐national study aimed at revealing the factors determining retail bank selection among students in different environmental settings. The key objective is to establish if there are any significant differences and/or similarities in students' selection of retail banks in developed and developing economies. A similar data‐collection method was employed in the United States and Ghana to facilitate constructive comparison. The results identified four key factors—convenience, competence, recommendation by parents, and free banking and/or no bank charges—to be consistent across the two economies. The recommendation of the study is that in the context of an open and liberalized market environment, retail bank marketing strategies should be standardized irrespective of the national development stage. It concludes that retail bank managers particularly in developing countries should learn to provide consistent and good customer care. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Influence of lifestyle and evaluative criteria for apparel on information search among non-employed female consumers

This study was designed to investigate the influence of lifestyle and apparel evaluative criteria on information search in apparel purchasing decisions among non-employed female consumers. A random sample of non-employed female consumers (n = 476) was collected via a self-administered questionnaire mailed across the nation. Principal Components Factor Analysis with Varimax Rotation was used to reduce the number of lifestyle, evaluative criteria, and information search activity items. As a result of Stepwise Multiple Regression Analyses, it was found that relationships existed among evaluative criteria, lifestyle, and informarion search patterns. Search profiles were developed to describe the four consumer information search patterns in terms of their lifestyle and evaluative criteria. Results will benefit consumers, marketers, and legislators because an understanding of consumer information seeking activities is essential in the design of efficient communication among these three groups.     

经济环境及其对零售业态的影响

经济环境指企业营销活动所面临的外部社会条件，其运行状况及发展趋势会直接或间接地对企业营销活动产生影响。     

低频干扰电流探头中磁芯材料的选择对其检测性能的影响

本文通过分别对采用铁氧体和铁基非晶合金为磁芯材料的低频干扰电流探头的测试性能的比较分析，讨论了由于铁基非晶合金自身良好的磁性能，使得电流探头在测试低频干扰电流时的测试性能大大提高，从而对于解决目前国内所设计制作的干扰电流探头在测试低频干扰电流时探头灵敏度低、测试不准确这一问题提供了实验依据。     

Playing by the rules: ethical criteria at an ethical investment fund

Although ethical investment is a growing phenonenon which attracts a signficant amount of media interest, relatively little has been written about the internal operations of ethical investment funds. Using a variety of sources, including interviews with a fund manager and participant observation at meetings of the fund's ethical advisory committee, this paper examines the decision making of one ethical unit trust operating in the United Kingdom. In particular, it describes the development of the ethical criteria and the ways in which their implementation was monitored. Several significant parallels between publicly stated ethical investment criteria and corporate codes of ethics are then discusssed.     

顾客满意水平对顾客行为影响研究的评述

企业界和理论界对顾客满意度及影响顾客满意的因素进行了大量的研究 ,但对于不同满意水平对顾客行为影响的研究却涉足较少。本文对欧美等西方国家在此方面的研究进行了较详实的总结和概括 ,并进行了评述 ,提出应将顾客满意水平当成一个连续变量来考虑顾客行为 ,同时也应当考虑中介变量在顾客满意水平与顾客行为间的调节或控制作用。     

浅议对外投资的扩大对就业的影响

加入WTO后，我国对外开放正进入一个新的发展阶段。其中一个重要方面就是我国对外开放不仅要继续重视“引进来”而且更重视“走出去”，特别是加大对外投资的力度，我国企业的对外投资起步较晚，在改革开放后，经过20多年的发展，已经初具规模。据外经贸部的统计，截至2002年底，我国设立境外中资企业总数6960家，中外双方协议投资总额137．8亿     

跨国公司对我国工业结构升级的影响——基于要素密集型产业划分

在文献划分基础上,本文建立计算FDI企业对技术密集型、资本密集型和劳动密集型工业的贡献指标体系,并以此分析了FDI企业对我国近期工业部门结构的影响。结果表明,FDI主要是通过进入我国技术密集型工业群,以提升我国工业结构;但也应看到跨国公司控制了我国技术密集型工业会导致我国工业竞争力空心化的潜在危险,为此,我国应采取相应的措施。     

Satisfaction with current commuting expense as related to the relative fuel efficiency of a desired car purchase

Although projecting the demand for cars in North America has been the subject of research for almost half a century,^1–6 increases in the price of petroleum and petroleum products during the 1970s prompted an interest in projecting the demand for fuel-efficient cars. The purpose of this paper is to assess factors affecting the relative fuel efficiency of a desired car purchase among households with at least one individual employed outside the home. In addition to socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the household, sex of the worker, distance to work and satisfaction with the expense involved in the journey to work are used to predict relative efficiency of a potential car purchase. The analysis is not intended to follow the lines of a traditional economic analysis. Rather, its purpose is to add other dimensions to such analyses.