Franchise,innovation and entrepreneurship

Since franchise business can be an alternative to independent business, it seems interesting to look at those factors that encourage individuals to choose franchise rather than independent business. It is also relevant to consider the role of innovation because it is generally accepted that independent business facilitates innovations to a greater degree than does franchise. The main goal of this paper is to determine the factors that encourage individuals to choose franchise activity and what role plays innovation in their decision.     

地区教育非均衡发展实证研究

我国地区教育发展水平存在一定的差距，研究地区教育发展水平的影响因素，有利于解释地区教育发展水平的差异，有利于制定正确的教育发展政策。提高地区教育发展水平，缩小地区间教育水平的差距。本文研究发现，地区教育水平增长受教育资源供给和需求两方面因素的影响，如人均GDP，人均教育事业费、人均可支配收入、教育办学体制改革等．     

Retail Marketing Channel Franchise Failure

Abstract

The retail franchising channel is significant and growing rapidly in the U.S., U.K. and other countries. This paper presents a new retail strategic management perspective and provides new, more reliable U.S. longitudinal retail franchise government furnished data, covering over 800 franchise systems and over 250,000 franchise units.

A strategic management failure perspective and more accurate retail franchisee channel failure data facilitate understanding and mitigating failure. Retail franchisee channel failure is an important topic that merits further research and franchise system management attention.     

Does franchising pay? Evidence from the restaurant industry

Franchising has taken a prominent position in service industries for several decades, but little is known about how franchising affects financial performance. Thus, we addressed the question of whether chains that franchise to some extent outperform those that are wholly owned. Then, among chains that franchise, we also addressed the question of whether more franchising is better – that is, whether the proportion of a chain's units that are franchised is associated with superior financial performance. To answer these questions, our study first compares the risk-adjusted performance of franchising vs. non-franchising restaurant firms. Second, it investigates the relationship between franchising propensity and firm financial performance. We considered five different measures of firm financial performance: the Sharpe ratio, the Treynor ratio, the Jensen index, the Sortino ratio, and the upside potential ratio. On comparison of franchising and wholly owned firms, all five measures indicated that franchising firms outperformed their non-franchising counterparts. When we focussed on just the franchising firms, however, the results were less clear. Among firms that franchise, the franchising–performance relationship was positive and significant only with respect to the Jensen index. Thus, we provide very robust evidence that franchising pays – that is, that some franchising is good – but among firms that franchise, it is unclear whether more franchising is better.     

A study on the key factors influencing international franchisors�� choice of entry modes into China

This paper examines factors associated with international franchising firms’ entry modes when they enter the Chinese market. To this end, a survey was conducted to investigate the linkage between entry modes and characteristics of franchising firms. The logit model and regression analysis were used to test the hypotheses. Findings reveal four factors that significantly influence international franchisors’ entry mode choices including cultural and geographic distance, international market experience, risk spreading, and maturity of the franchising system.     

The Post-Promotion Dip Puzzle: What do the Data Have to Say?

One of the puzzles of store-level scanner data is the lack of a dip in quantity sold in the weeks following a promotion. Such a dip is predicted by a consumer inventory model. During a promotion consumers buy more, not only for current consumption, but stockpile for future consumption. The predictions of such a model have been confirmed by household-level data yet seem harder to find in aggregate brand- or category-level data. We re-examine this puzzle and reach two conclusions. First, the effects at the household-level are present, but are much smaller than previously found. Our estimates are different because we control for household heterogeneity in a more general way than most previous work. This suggests that since the effects are small they might be harder to spot in aggregate data. Second, we show that the dip is present in the aggregate data, once we control for additional promotional activity, like feature and display. The latter has an opposing dynamic effect that masks the existence of the post-promotion dip.     

The choice of master international franchising – A modified transaction cost model

This study develops and tests a novel transaction cost model of master international franchising. Based on data from international franchise firms headquartered in six countries, we show that master international franchising is the franchisor’s preferred governance mode under the following conditions: large bilateral franchisor’s and franchisees’ transaction-specific investments, high institutional uncertainty and high behavioral uncertainty. Our model extends the literature by presenting a modified transaction cost model of master international franchising that investigates the bonding effect of bilateral transaction-specific investments and environmental uncertainty as determinants of the franchisor’s choice of international governance mode. In addition, by using primary data from international franchise companies, our study contributes to the transaction cost literature in international business and international franchising that is mainly based on secondary data.     

基于资产价值链的股票定价模型实证研究

从股票价格的形成过程入手提出可交易价值的概念,指出名义股价、流动性和波动性是其可能的影响因素。接着运用面板数据分析法对我国股市的周交易数据进行实证,发现可交易价值对股票的定价行为具有解释能力,且在不同市场环境下的表现形式不同:上涨行情中投资者偏好低价格、高流动和高波动的股票组合,下跌行情中则相反;走势平稳的市场中名义股价因子影响力最强,而流动性因子和波动性因子则在急涨急跌背景下更具影响力。     

混业经营下金融发展与经济增长——基于亚洲地区的非稳定面板数据分析

文章使用面板单位根与面板协整方法，实证研究混业经营条件下金融发展与经济增长的关系。研究表明：混业经营条件下金融发展与经济增长存在面板协整关系。即金融发展与经济增长有长期均衡关系；银行发展水平质量的提高与经济增长有显著正相关关系．然而银行发展水平数量的提高，阻碍经济增长；股票市场与经济增长有显著正相关关系，而且这种关系比较稳定。     

Performance in franchising: the effects of different management styles

Various theoretical approaches uphold the relevance of the relationship between the form of management and performance. Different management styles influence the relationships of agencies [Jensen, M.C. (1998). Foundations of organizational strategy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press], the cost of governing transactions [Williamson, O.E. (1985). The economics institutions of capitalism: Firms, markets, relational contracting. New York, NY: Free Press], and the allocation of resources between the exploitation and exploration of activities [March, J.G. (1991). Exploration and exploitation in organizational learning. Organization Science, 2(1), 71–87], and this is manifested in firm performance. In light of these assumptions, this article presents an empirical verification of the relationship between the management of franchises and their performance, examining how different styles of management on the part of franchisers over their franchisees have significant effects on the growth and profits of franchiser firms.     

Interdependencies in the Dynamics of Firm Entry and Exit

This paper investigates the interdependence between firm entry and exit from an industrial dynamics perspective. The paper discusses how entry and exit rates in industrial sectors are affected by previous exit and entry rates. Economic theory presents two different approaches to how entry and exit of firms are interrelated, the multiplier effect and the competition effect. This paper intends to investigate which force is the predominant one, for entry and exit patterns, respectively. The empirical analysis is based on data for 25 Swedish manufacturing industries at the 2-digit SIC level, during the period 1991–2000. In the estimation work the study applies a dynamic panel data approach as suggested by Anderson and Hsiao [Journal of the American Statistical Association, 76:598–606, 1981] and Arellano and Bond [Review of Economic Studies, 58(2):277–297, 1991]. With respect to entry, the empirical results support the multiplier effect such that entry stimulates future entry, but also a competition effect such that past exit induces additional entry. With regard to exit, on the other hand, the competition effect rules, implying that previous entry causes subsequent exit and previous exit reduces subsequent exit.      

企业R&D投入行为的Heckman两阶段分析——基于中国工业企业面板数据的实证研究

文章从企业规模、市场及竞争环境因素、企业财务资源、企业产权制度、行业特征等方面对企业R&D投入进行理论分析,采用中国工业企业数据库提供的制造业60万个观测样本数据,利用Heckman两阶段分析法,对企业R&D投入行为进行实证研究。研究结果表明：企业规模、企业财务资源实力、企业集聚度和产业市场集中度等因素与R&D投入选择和R&D投入程度均存在显著的正相关关系,企业杠杆与R&D投入选择和R&D投入程度存在显著负相关关系。在此基础上提出了相应的政策建议,并对未来的研究方向进行展望。     

对外贸易对就业影响区域差异的实证分析——基于省级面板数据

利用我国1994～2006年的省级面板数据,从全国和区域两个角度分析对外贸易对就业的影响,证实对外贸易的发展对就业量的增加具有一定的促进作用。从区域来看,东、中、西部的外贸就业效应存在着显著差异,其中出口的就业效应均为正,进口的就业效应在东、中部不显著,但在西部则显著为负并在荬证分析的基础上得出相关的结论和建议。