International retail franchising: a conceptual framework

Franchising has become a major driving force in the globalisation of service businesses. Likewise, international retailing has become an important feature of global distribution systems. This has been brought about through changing socio‐economic patterns, favourable political and cultural environments, and a shift from manufacturing to service based economies. Both developments have contributed to the globalisation of marketing activity. However, there remain fundamental conceptual inconsistencies in the literatures that explain the development of international retailing and the internationalisation of franchise operations. This paper considers the use of franchising in the internationalisation of retail operations and places the experience of retail operations that use the market entry strategy within the context of other franchising activity. The paper evaluates the literature on the internationalisation of retailing alongside the literature on franchising. It identifies the different perspectives that have emerged within the two literatures and conceptually reconciles the contradictions that exist.