The Prevalence and Performance Impact of Synergies in the Plural Form

Abstract

Using the plural form helps franchised chains cope with the four ‘franchising imperatives’—system growth, chain uniformity, local responsiveness, and systemwide adaptation. Yet, despite the obvious importance of chain composition, empirical research on synergies in the plural form is largely absent, and insights on performance implications of the plural form are equally scarce. Consequently, with detailed data from 122 chains, this paper provides what is ostensibly the first in‐depth examination of the prevalence and performance effects of synergies that franchisors actually achieve by using the plural form. The study concludes with managerial implications for governance design in franchised chains. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Influence of Organizational Form and Customer Type on Online Customer Satisfaction Ratings

“…As discussed by Dant, Grünhagen, and Windsperger ( p. 254), “there continues to be a virtual absence of examining the franchising phenomenon from the perspective of its customers.” Most franchising research is based on empirical studies conducted from a franchisor perspective (Cochet, Dormann, and Ehrmann ; El Akremi, Perrigot, and Piot‐Lepetit ; Solis‐Rodriguez and González‐Díaz ). Specifically in the case of the plural form, most authors have adopted a franchisor perspective, underscoring the synergies created by the coexistence of company‐owned units and franchised units within the same chain (Bradach ; Meiseberg ). Few authors have used a franchisee perspective (Perrigot and Herrbach ).…”

“…Recently, research has focused on franchising in other markets; for instance, France (Perrigot and Herrbach ; Perrigot et al. ; Perrigot, Oxibar, and Dejean ), Germany (Meiseberg ; Mellewigt, Ehrmann, and Decker ), and Spain (González‐Díaz and Solis‐Rodriguez ; Solis‐Rodriguez and González‐Díaz ). We contribute to this body of work.…”

“…Many studies on plural form have been carried out at the chain level. For instance, researchers have focused on the synergistic effects of having company-owned units and franchised units within the same chain (Bradach 1998;Meiseberg 2012). Other scholars have considered various chain characteristics as determinants of the proportion of company-owned units within the chain (Cliquet and Pénard 2012;Shane 1998).…”

Heterogeneity of plural forms: a revised transaction cost approach

“…In this respect, Bradach (1997Bradach ( , 1998 argues (andCliquet andPenard (2012) andMeiseberg (2013) further verify) that both company-owned units and franchised outlets present contrasting advantageous and disadvantageous characteristics, for each of the imperatives.…”

“…The former theory has gained relevance since Bradach (1997), who explicitly and strongly emphasizes -using qualitative evidence -the complementarities gains brought by combining different structures to the four 'franchising imperatives': system growth, chain uniformity, local responsiveness, and systemwide adaptation (Bradach, 1997(Bradach, , 1998Meiseberg, 2013) 17 . 15 They observe that within the first 8 years of experience in franchising, there is a drastic adjustment in the percentages of company-owned and franchised outlets.…”