IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/iburev/v12y2003i3p329-348.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

International multi-unit franchising: an agency theoretic explanation

Author

Listed:
  • Garg, Viany K.
  • Rasheed, Abdul A.

Abstract

In spite of its considerable popularity, multi-unit franchising has been considered an anomaly from an agency theory perspective. This paper addresses this anomaly by attempting a comprehensive agency theoretic explanation of international multi-unit franchising. Although past agency theoretic examinations have mostly focused on single-unit franchising, a closer examination of the international context, which is characterized by significant geographic and cultural distance between franchisors and franchisees, suggests that multi-unit franchising may be more appropriate. This paper examines several agency problems inherent in multi-unit franchising. These include: bonding, adverse selection, information flow, shirking, inefficient risk-bearing, free-riding, and quasi-rent appropriation. Consideration of each of these problems using agency theory perspective leads to the suggestion that multi-unit franchising might address agency problems better than single-unit franchising in the international context.

Suggested Citation

  • Garg, Viany K. & Rasheed, Abdul A., 2003. "International multi-unit franchising: an agency theoretic explanation," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 329-348, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:iburev:v:12:y:2003:i:3:p:329-348
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969593103000192
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bates, Timothy, 1998. "Survival patterns among newcomers to franchising," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 113-130, March.
    2. Brickley, James A. & Dark, Frederick H., 1987. "The choice of organizational form The case of franchising," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 401-420, June.
    3. Norton, Seth W, 1988. "An Empirical Look at Franchising as an Organizational Form," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 61(2), pages 197-218, April.
    4. Anderson, Evan E., 1984. "The growth and performance of franchise systems: Company versus franchisee ownership," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 421-431, December.
    5. Dant, Rajiv P. & Nasr, Nada I., 1998. "Control techniques and upward flow of information in franchising in distant markets: conceptualization and preliminary evidence," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 3-28, January.
    6. Karin Fladmoe-Lindquist & Laurent L. Jacque, 1995. "Control Modes in International Service Operations: The Propensity to Franchise," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 41(7), pages 1238-1249, July.
    7. Mick Carney & Eric Gedajlovic, 1991. "Vertical integration in Franchise systems: Agency theory and resource explanations," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 12(8), pages 607-629, November.
    8. Kaufmann, Patrick J. & Dant, Rajiv P., 1996. "Multi-unit franchising: Growth and management issues," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 11(5), pages 343-358, September.
    9. Oliver E. Williamson, 1967. "Hierarchical Control and Optimum Firm Size," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 75, pages 123-123.
    10. Alchian, Armen A & Demsetz, Harold, 1972. "Production , Information Costs, and Economic Organization," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 62(5), pages 777-795, December.
    11. McNaughton, Rod B., 1996. "Foreign market channel integration decisions of Canadian computer software firms," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 23-52, February.
    12. Shane, Scott A., 1996. "Why franchise companies expand overseas," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 11(2), pages 73-88, March.
    13. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
    14. Mathewson, G Frank & Winter, Ralph A, 1985. "The Economics of Franchise Contracts," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 28(3), pages 503-526, October.
    15. Fama, Eugene F & Jensen, Michael C, 1983. "Separation of Ownership and Control," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 26(2), pages 301-325, June.
    16. Martin, Robert E, 1988. "Franchising and Risk Management," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(5), pages 954-968, December.
    17. Levinthal, Daniel, 1988. "A survey of agency models of organizations," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 9(2), pages 153-185, March.
    18. Rubin, Paul H, 1978. "The Theory of the Firm and the Structure of the Franchise Contract," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 21(1), pages 223-233, April.
    19. Seth W. Norton, 1988. "Franchising, brand name capital, and the entrepreneurial capacity problem," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(S1), pages 105-114, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Griessmair, Michele & Hussain, Dildar & Windsperger, Josef, 2014. "Trust and the tendency towards multi-unit franchising: A relational governance view," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(11), pages 2337-2345.
    2. Jell-Ojobor, Maria & Alon, Ilan & Windsperger, Josef, 2022. "The choice of master international franchising – A modified transaction cost model," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(2).
    3. Vinay K. Garg & Benjamin D. Goss & Philip C. Rothschild, 2021. "A Process Study of the Development of Capabilities for Replication in an Evolving Franchise Chain," Business and Economic Research, Macrothink Institute, vol. 11(2), pages 227-251, June.
    4. Ece ZEYBEK YILMAZ & Göksel ATAMAN BERK, 2020. "Vekâlet Kuramına Göre Türkiye’deki Otellerin Pazara Giriş Stratejilerinin Değerlendirilmesi," Istanbul Management Journal, Istanbul University Business School, vol. 0(88), pages 145-168, June.
    5. Dildar Hussain & Marijana Sreckovic & Josef Windsperger, 2018. "An organizational capability perspective on multi-unit franchising," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 50(4), pages 717-727, April.
    6. Hadjielias, Elias & Dada, Olufunmilola (Lola) & Eliades, Kostas, 2021. "Entrepreneurial process in international multiunit franchise outlets: A social capital perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 13-28.
    7. Dildar Hussain & Josef Windsperger, 2013. "A property rights view of multi-unit franchising," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 35(2), pages 169-185, April.
    8. Vinay Kumar Garg, 2019. "An Examination of the Persistent Effects of Franchising Strategy on Large Chains," Business and Economic Research, Macrothink Institute, vol. 9(1), pages 33-44, March.
    9. Pankaj C. Patel & John A. Pearce II, 2020. "Franchisees and Loan Default on Third-Party Guarantee Loans: Evidence From the United States," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 44(5), pages 861-877, September.
    10. Josef Windsperger, 2013. "The governance of franchising networks," Chapters, in: Anna Grandori (ed.), Handbook of Economic Organization, chapter 27, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    11. Rosado-Serrano, Alexander & Paul, Justin & Dikova, Desislava, 2018. "International franchising: A literature review and research agenda," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 238-257.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jell-Ojobor, Maria & Windsperger, Josef, 2014. "The Choice of Governance Modes of International Franchise Firms — Development of an Integrative Model," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 153-187.
    2. Fladmoe-Lindquist, Karin, 1996. "International franchising: Capabilities and development," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 11(5), pages 419-438, September.
    3. Falbe, Cecilia M. & Welsh, Dianne H. B., 1998. "NAFTA and franchising: A comparison of franchisor perceptions of characteristics associated with franchisee success and failure in Canada, Mexico, and the United States," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 151-171, March.
    4. Guo, Shiau-Ling, 2023. "The governance implication of the geographic concentration of franchise activities for franchise relationships," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    5. Francine Lafontaine & Margaret E. Slade, 1998. "Incentive Contracting and the Franchise Decision," NBER Working Papers 6544, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Norton, Seth W., 1995. "Is franchising a capital structure issue?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 2(1-2), pages 75-101, October.
    7. Barthelemy, Jerome, 2004. "The administrative productivity of U.S. franchisors: an empirical investigation," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 83(1), pages 115-121, April.
    8. Francine Lafontaine & Kathryn L. Shaw, 2005. "Targeting Managerial Control: Evidence from Franchising," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 36(1), pages 131-150, Spring.
    9. Francine Lafontaine & Joanne Oxley, 2001. "International Franchising: Evidence from US and Canadian Franchisors in Mexico," NBER Working Papers 8179, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Michael, Steven C., 1996. "To franchise or not to franchise: An analysis of decision rights and organizational form shares," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 11(1), pages 57-71, January.
    11. Shane, Scott A., 1996. "Why franchise companies expand overseas," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 11(2), pages 73-88, March.
    12. Frédéric Perdreau & Anne-Laure Le Nadant & Gérard Cliquet, 2010. "Plural Form and Franchisors Performance : Early Empirical Findings From Europe," Post-Print halshs-00522601, HAL.
    13. Dandridge, Thomas C. & Falbe, Cecilia M. & Dupuis, E. Melanie, 1993. "Franchising and Rural Economic Development: Perspectives on Possible Effects," Staff Reports 278686, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    14. Jindal, Rupinder, 2011. "Reducing the Size of Internal Hierarchy: The Case of Multi-Unit Franchising," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 87(4), pages 549-562.
    15. Cliquet, Gérard & Pénard, Thierry, 2012. "Plural form franchise networks: A test of Bradach’s model," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 159-167.
    16. Cozzarin, Brian P. & Barry, Peter J., 1998. "Organizational Structure In Agricultural Production Alliances," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 1(2), pages 1-17.
    17. González-Díaz, Manuel & Montoro-Sánchez, Ángeles, 2011. "Some lessons from incentive theory: Promoting quality in bus transport," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 18(2), pages 299-306, March.
    18. Antonio Navarro García & Enrique Carlos Díez de Castro & Francisco Javier Rondán Cataluña, 2006. "Franchisor Types In Portuguese Franchising," Portuguese Journal of Management Studies, ISEG, Universidade de Lisboa, vol. 0(2), pages 97-114.
    19. Michael, Steven C., 2000. "The effect of organizational form on quality: the case of franchising," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 43(3), pages 295-318, November.
    20. Scott Shane, 2001. "Organizational Incentives and Organizational Mortality," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 12(2), pages 136-160, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:iburev:v:12:y:2003:i:3:p:329-348. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/133/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.