In this paper, we examine ownership structures of franchise chains and evaluate their impact on franchisor profit. Specifically we compare pure forms of franchising with those that use both company-owned and franchised outlets within one chain - a phenomenon termed the plural form. Theoretically...

Early research work theorized franchising to exist because Hybridal Form Benefits (HFB) are achieved by the franchisor. Compared to the full hierarchy, franchising was held to reduce agency costs, to overcome resource scarcity and to enable risk sharing. Lately, the focus has shifted to an...

Typical contracts assign both coercive and non-coercive means of power to the principal's side, providing the agent with a comparably small range of countervailing anti-power. Initially agents are therefore vulnerable to opportunistic principal behavior and will rationally anticipate this threat...