An Ounce of Prevention Is Worth a Pound of Cure

Abstract The paper examines franchise owners' satisfaction with their businesses. Job satisfaction, its antecedents and outcomes have been a popular topic in organizational studies whereas very few investigations have focused on entrepreneurial satisfaction. This is rather surprising since satisfaction has been emphasized as a fundamental measure for individual entrepreneurs (Cooper & Artz 1993). Especially in franchising, satisfaction is a key concept in understanding channel member behavior (Robicheaux & El-Ansary 1975–1976). A six-page questionnaire was mailed to 815 franchisees representing thirty-six retail, service, restaurant, cafe and fast food franchises. This nationwide sample rep…

Franchisee Discontinuance and Failure Empirical Findings from Finland

The present study focuses on franchisee discontinuances and failures during 1999–2001. The paper deals with notions relating to discontinuance and failure. Franchising is approached from entrepreneurs hip viewpoint and taken as a form of starting and conducting entrepreneurship and business. The study was carried out in 2002 in Finland. The 46 member franchisors of the Finnish Franchising Association (FFA) were surveyed. Altogether 33 responses were received, adding up to a response rate of 72%. The results were parallel with the findings of the previous international studies. The results indicate that the average annual franchisee turnover rate was 11% in 1999–2001 in the studied franchise…

New Developments in the Theory of Networks: Introduction

The theory of networks aims at developing theoretical views on the design and management of alliances, franchise chains, licensing, joint ventures, cooperatives, and venture capital relations. It has become a very important research field in organizational economics, organization theory and strategic management in the last decade.

Exploring the Anatomy of Franchising: A Cross-National Examination of US and Finnish Franchise Contract Provisions

The present study focuses on describing and comparing the provisions of the franchise contracts and pre-sale disclosures to prospective franchisees in the USA and Finland. A fact that makes the investigation especially interesting is that no franchising specific legislation exists in Finland. Whereas in the USA franchisors are by a directive of the Federal Trade Commission required to publicly disclose key information on their franchise systems. The information is of paramount importance for potential franchisees who need to analyze franchise offering(s) before their buying decision. Two separate samples were developed for the study. The member franchisors of the International Franchise Ass…

Franchising in Russia

Essays on franchising in Finland : empirical findings on franchisors and franchisees, and their relationships

A Comparison of Finnish and United States Franchisee Satisfaction

This paper investigates, using a multi-dimensional model, differences between franchisee satisfaction in Finland and the United States. Comparison of Finnish and American franchisee satisfaction levels is made across eight dimensions of franchisee satisfaction. Data was collected using a postal survey of Quick Service Restaurant (Hamburger) franchisees in Finland and the United States. Results show franchisees in Finland and the United States are overall equally satisfied. Data analysis revealed that for four of the eight dimensions, franchisees in both countries have statistically equal levels of satisfaction. However, for the other four dimensions, a statistical difference exists between …