International or National Orientation: A Comparative Study of Mexican Franchisors

Abstract

Despite the importance of the franchise system in Latin American countries, few academic studies address the issue of internationalization. To contribute to filling this knowledge gap, this study evaluates the factors that differentiate Mexican franchisor with international orientation from those that only operate in the domestic market. This research was carried out on a sample of 249 franchises operating in the Mexican market in 2016. The research hypotheses are supported in the theoretical approaches of the Agency Theory and the Resource-based Theory. The results reveal that the experience, the size, the monitoring capacity, and the franchise fee significantly predict the adoption of internationalization.