Opportunistic behaviors in franchise chains: the role of cohesion among franchisees

This paper explores social processes between franchisees as a way to control franchisee opportunism. Based on the literature of socio-psychological and interorganizational relationships, we argue that cohesion among franchisees is negatively associated with opportunistic behaviors that are potential...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Strategic management journal 2011-09, Vol.32 (9), p.930-948
Main Authors: El Akremi, Assâad, Mignonac, Karim, Perrigot, Rozenn
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Business administration
Business organization
Business partnership
Chain stores
cohesion
Corporate strategies
Economic activity
Franchise agreements
Franchisees
Franchises
Franchising
Group performance
Humanities and Social Sciences
Information standards
interorganizational relationships
Management science
Modeling
Multilevel models
Opportunistic behavior
opportunistic behaviors
Organization theory
Organizational behavior
Organizational behaviour
Small and medium sized enterprises
Social control
Studies
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Summary:This paper explores social processes between franchisees as a way to control franchisee opportunism. Based on the literature of socio-psychological and interorganizational relationships, we argue that cohesion among franchisees is negatively associated with opportunistic behaviors that are potentially harmful to the whole chain. We use multilevel and multisource data to show that perceptions of cohesion among franchisees relate both to a) how franchisees apply know-how from franchisors (i.e., deviation from chains standards), and b) whether they transfer or withhold information that could be useful to the franchise system (i.e., information withholding). Our results underscore the importance of relationships among franchisees, an underexplored component of franchising.
ISSN:0143-2095
1097-0266
DOI:10.1002/smj.912