Resource Scarcity and Agency Theory Predictions Concerning the Continued Use of Franchising in Multi-outlet Networks

A study of 439 franchisors was conducted to identify factors influencing changes in their propensity to franchise. Consistent with agency theory, franchisors with wide multinational scope were increasing their proportion of franchised outlets whereas franchisors with large outlets were emphasizing firm ownership. As predicted by resource scarcity theory, franchisors were decreasing their proportion franchised as they grew in size, although most of the decrease occurred while firms were relatively small. In contrast to resource scarcity theory, franchisors increased their proportion franchised over time. Key implications are that both agency and resource scarcity theories are needed to explain franchising, but perhaps future research should look beyond resource scarcities toward resource-based capabilities to better explain franchising decisions.     

Farming System Analysis of an Alternative Production System for Peasant Farming in Morogoro,Tanzania

This paper presents an examination and evaluation of traditional and alternative production systems in Morogoro District, Tanzania. The research employed the Farming Systems Research (FSR) framework to identify an alternative production system. The traditional and alternative systems were field tested and evaluated. Cet article examine et évalue deux systèmes agricoles de production, ?un traditionnel, ?autre alternatif, dans la région de Morogoro en Tanzanie. Ce dernier systéme a été identifié en utilisant la méthodologie de recherche appelée “Farming Systems Research”. Une évaluation économique et sur le terrain de ces deux systèmes a été entreprise.     

Income instability,terms of trade,and the choice of exchange rate regime

In this article terms of trade fluctuations, which constitute an important source of income instability in many LDC's, are decomposed into three principal components: (a) shifts in world market conditions, (b) shifts in home market conditions and (c) changes in exchange rates. The appropriateness of a ‘basket peg’ is then analyzed in terms of a country's net export-side market power and a weighting formula is derived which would offset variations in third countries' exchange rates on the home country's terms of trade. Initial empirical results tend to support the hypothesis that basket pegs are usually adopted by countries with net export-side market power.     

Diversification and the failure of new foreign activities

The paper describes a quantitative investigation into the role of diversification in the failure of new foreign manufacturing activities based upon some of the results of the Harvard/CEI Comparative Multinational Enterprise Project. These results are related to the foreign subsidiaries of 69 of the largest continental European multinationals and show a considerable company-to-company spread in the rate of failure. Nearly half of this spread can be accounted for by the differing diversities of the companies when diversity is measured in relation to the marketing characteristics of the products manufactured and when the balance between the differing marketing categories is taken into account. The rate of foreign subsidiary expansion is also significant.     

Tourism and conservation

Assessing the impact of tourism on environment is notoriously difficult, and is often hindered by emotional factors or considerations of private interest. Further, data on tourist movements and volumes, particularly on internal tourist movements, and on impact itself, are scarce. It is thus difficult to provide any overview of the environmental impacts of tourists, whether in one country or worldwide. This article examines these relationships so far as data allow, largely within the framework of the UK experience.