Geographical Pressures To Deviate From Franchise Formats: Some Evidence From The UK
JULIET COX* and COLIN MASON**
Abstract. There is a tension in business format franchising between, on the one hand, standardisation and uniformity and, on the other hand, geographical variations in market conditions and resource availability. Previous research has demonstrated in the case of independent small firms that local geographical conditions influence business strategy. This paper examines whether variations in the local geographical environment, notably in terms of demand and supply side conditions, affect format implementation and whether franchisors permit franchisees to make local adaptations of the format in response to local environmental conditions. The study is based on interviews with 40 UK-based franchisors, all of whom were at the later stages of roll-out or in the consolidation stage of network development. Local variations in the business environment do create a conflict with the need to maintain the uniformity of the franchise format. Adaptation was restricted to peripheral format components. No changes were made to the core format components. Most franchisors recognise that their franchisees are an important source of new innovation. However, implementation of franchisee ideas across the system is found in only a minority of cases.
Please direct correspondence about this paper to Colin Mason
1. Introduction
Business format franchising operates on the principle of ‘cloning’ a standardised tried and tested business format based around a trade name or trademark product or service, in different locations (Julian and Castrogiovanni, 1995; Kaufmann and Rangan, 1990; Stanworth et al, 1996). Although there are several definitions of franchising, Curran and Stanworth’s
