International audienceThis article examines the impact of human capital intangibles on the governance structure of franchise networks (i.e., proportion of franchised outlets) and the joint impact of human capital intangibles and governance on the performance of franchisors. Agency theory focuses on the free-riding hazard and the costs associated with franchising in the context of high human capital intangibles. The critical resources theory highlights the weakness of company ownership and the advantages of using franchising in this context. Tests of the hypotheses derived from these theoretical Frameworks indicate that these complementarily explain the governance structure and financial performance of franchise networks

When establishing a new business, entrepreneurs can decide to join a network of independent business partners rather than choose the alternative of independent business ownership. In this study, we use a probit model on a large database to study the human, social, and financial capital of French entrepreneurs who join franchising and comparable forms of networks. Results confirm that initial levels of human and social capital are significant determinants of network membership. We also show that an increase in the proportion of the project financed by debt increases the probability of joining a network. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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The aim of this paper is to analyse one paradox of creativity that involves balancing novelty and conformity. Using a social identity perspective, we differentiate between organizational and expertise identities to understand how different types of identities impact the creative process in terms of novelty generation as well as conformity in the context of franchising. Franchise systems are a specific organizational context in which tensions between different identities may arise and ideas are selected by multiple audiences. Furthermore, because franchising is based on standardization, franchisors need to find a balance between maintaining the uniformity of the system through conformity and enhancing new idea deployment in the network for the purpose of adaptation. We conduct a comparative case study analysis of 17 franchise systems based on 20 narrations. The findings from our qualitative empirical study show that identification plays a major role in the creative process. Social control, which may be exerted by manipulating the group identity, is an efficient lever to increase both the diffusion of an idea and its variation from existing standards, which leads to important managerial implications. Networks of individuals can promote both idea generation and a uniform diffusion of those ideas by enhancing organizational identity with a strong entrepreneurship orientation or expertise identity based on occupation‐specific knowledge acquired through experience.

Le crowdfunding a été, à l'origine, présenté comme un modèle alternatif permettant de financer des projets risqués grâce à la foule. Les auteurs étudient l'évolution récente de la réglementation et le développement des multiples partenariats noués entre les plates-formes et les banques qui conduisent à la re-financiarisation du modèle initial. Leur analyse montre que le développement du crowdfunding ne conduit pas à un mouvement de désintermédiation mais, au contraire, qu'il généralise l'intermédiation de marché en proposant un outil de finance de marché adapté au non coté. Classification JEL : G21, G24, M13.