Australian Franchisor Websites: Moving towards Network Behaviour

Abstract

Australia is one of the leading nations using the internet in both business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-tobusiness (B2B) settings (ABS 2004). However, little academic attention has been paid to the adoption of internetbased technology in the Australian franchising sector. Thus this paper addresses the problem of how Australian franchise organisations use internet-based technologies in their franchise systems. This research examines the websites of a sample of 202 Australian franchisors to determine their function as a communication and marketing tool within the franchise network. The aim is to document the web activities undertaken by Australian franchisors to provide an exploratory and descriptive snapshot that can be used as a platform for theoretical efforts The analysis reveals that adoption of internet technologies is still in its infancy in Australian franchise systems with the major uses of franchisor websites being providing information to consumers and as a means of attracting potential franchisees. There is evidence that franchise organisations are moving towards network behaviour through the internet.

The Effects of E-Commerce on Franchising: Practical Implications and Models

“…Purposeful sampling was used (Eisenhardt, 1989; Huberman and Miles, 1994) to select participants that would represent a larger population, more specifically franchise organisations in Australia employing or considering employing e-commerce strategies in their traditional service or retail business. The interview script was relatively structured, with questions focussing on e-commerce strategies and practices, using criteria elaborated by previous research (Cedrola and Memmo, 2009; Dixon and Quinn, 2004; Rao and Frazer, 2006). The questions asked focussed on, first, the current state of development of their e-commerce strategy, the results and expectations from their online sales, and impediments to venturing into e-commerce.…”

“…Last, the franchisors were asked about their perceived impact of e-commerce on their business and the main challenges they encountered in this area. In preparing for these interviews, we reviewed the websites of the participating companies to better appreciate the nature of their business as well as their state of e-commerce development, referring to a set of questions elaborated by other researchers (Cedrola and Memmo, 2009; Dixon and Quinn, 2004; Rao and Frazer, 2006). This preparation phase also enabled us to probe for specifics when asking questions.…”

“…The latter body of research reveals some insight into the problem being investigated. In their study of 202 Australian franchisors, Rao and Frazer (2006) found that only 11.4% of franchisors' websites allowed consumers to perform their transactions online. These results are compared with another study undertaken in the UK, where 17% of 364 franchisors' websites were found to offer an e-commerce facility ( Dixon and Quinn, 2004 ).…”

“…Firstly, there is a lack of research into the effect that e-commerce will have on franchising, and the opportunities and threats that it represents for franchisors and franchisees (Dixon and Quinn, 2004; Weltevreden et al, 2005). While implementing e-commerce in franchise systems may potentially improve profitability, reduce costs, and enhance communication and customer service (Pires and Aisbett, 2003), little is known about how to strategically leverage its capabilities (Rao and Frazer, 2006). It is especially worth considering the business-to-consumer implications of e-commerce as the effects of this phenomenon hold most controversy for the future of the franchising sector (Watson et al, 2002).…”

“…During the past decade, several studies have addressed the issue of e-commerce in franchising; most of them considered franchisors’ use of the Internet and its general role in the franchise system (Cedrola and Memmo, 2009; Dixon and Quinn, 2004; Floriani and Lindsey, 2002; Plave and Amolsch, 2000; Rao and Frazer, 2006, 2010), while others specifically focussed on e-commerce engagement (Abell and Scott, 2000; Plave and Miller, 2001; Perrigot et al, 2017; Terry, 2002; Watson et al, 2002).…”