Managerial franchise: a study of the characteristics in the relationship between franchisor and franchisee in Brazil

Abstract

Nowadays, in Brazil, franchising is an option frequently taken in the goods and services consumption market. A complex relationship is established between two different companies. The franchisor control over the potential sources of conflict within the franchise relationship seems to be a relevant factor for its continuity in the long term. Therefore, the objectives of the study are to identify characteristics of franchising in Brazil and to analyze relevant aspects of the franchisor-franchisee relationship, identifying critical factors in the management of the franchise system and the relationship among the level of satisfaction, the duration of operation and the industry. This research was divided in two parts. At first, the franchisors were selected and interviewed and, after that, the franchisees were chosen and asked to answer to an online questionnaire. In total, the sample included 41 franchisors and 270 franchisees of six different business segments. The data analyses revealed characteristics of the franchisor-franchisee relationship, especially those related to brand value, marketing management, communication inside the franchise system and satisfaction with franchising. After all, by the use of the multivariate technique of correspondence analysis, it was possible to verify the relative association between the kind of industry and the level of satisfaction of the franchisee, but the inexistence of any relation between this and the duration of the business operation.