Franchising is expected to be the leading method of doing business in the new century. It is thus important to identify the motivational drives and characteristics of franchisees underlying the creation and management of franchising relationships which contribute to the success of franchising. To understand more fully the franchisees' purchase behaviour, the Fishbein and Ajzen theory of reasoned behaviour (TRA) was adopted to explore the important variables of Thailand's potential franchisees. In this study, the relationship between attitude toward purchasing a franchise based on perceived advantages of franchising, subjective norms with respect to purchase, personality traits (the Big Five model of personality dimensions), demographics and prospective franchisees' purchase intention were explored. / Data were collected at the national franchise exposition in Bangkok during 23-26 June, 2005. Questionnaires were given to 520 potential franchisees; however the number of valid questionnaires was 390. A descriptive correlational design was employed. Data were analysed using T-tests, ANOVA, and correlation analyses. Most of the respondents were female (53.9%) owing to the majority of female attendees to the franchise fair, 26-40 years old (64%), had graduated with a bachelor's degree and higher (81%), and were currently employed (89.6%). They also had prior self-employment experience (53.9%). Training provided by the franchiser, well known name, start-up and on-going support were found to be the greatest advantages perceived by the respondents. However, the fifth perceived advantage pertaining to job satisfaction indicates that potential franchisees also care about their job satisfaction which is internal rather than external. In terms of gathering information, the respondents would be more motivated by franchise consultants, franchise fairs, and existing franchisees respectively. As for personality traits, they were rated highly on Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Intellect and Extraversion, while rating low on Neuroticism. / The findings showed a difference between age and intention to become a franchisee, and a difference between occupation and intention to become a franchisee. There was no difference between respondents with and without self-employment history, and intention to become a franchisee. Franchise applicants with different educational levels evidenced no difference in their intention to purchase a franchise. / Pearson's Correlation analysis showed attitude and subjective norms had the most significant correlation with purchase intention, followed by personality traits. Based on the likelihood of becoming a franchisee, the target group of prospective franchisees were retirees and individuals with the age range of 51 years and older, who had a favourable attitude towards franchising. They had professional advice from expert referents, especially from existing franchisees and franchise fairs, and were higher in Conscientiousness, Intellect, Extraversion, and Agreeableness. / The Fishbein and Ajzen theory of reasoned action was effective in explaining prospective franchisees' purchase intention. Enhancing positive attitudes toward franchising, incorporating appeals via expert references, such as existing franchisees, management consultants, franchise consultants, and other opinion leaders, targeting prospective franchisees with the age range of 51 years and older, who are retirees, possessing personal characteristics of Conscientiousness, Intellect, Extraversion and Agreeableness, may prove to be fruitful strategies to promote franchising in Thailand. / Thesis (DBA(DoctorateofBusinessAdministration))--University of South Australia, 2007.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1992.

Thesis (D.Com.(Business Management)) -- University of Pretoria, 2005. / Summary in English and Afrikaans. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 34-36). Also available in electronic version. Access restricted to campus users.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1975. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1972. / Typescript. Vita. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

M.Com. (Financial Management) / The growth in the retail sector has forced property management teams to start focusing on financial benchmarking of formats when expanding operations. The purpose of this study is to investigate and compare the profitability of three different retail formats, with specific focus on the occupancy cost components. Size was identified as an important determinant of rent and this relationship is also investigated. Data from a large South African retailer, with stores in various formats was obtained. The profitability was calculated - using an adjusted profitability model - for three retail formats; large shopping centres, small shopping centres and stand-alone outlets. All data, including size details were obtained for a period of five years. The expectation of a negative relationship between store size and rent was rejected for individual stores as well as format groupings. The profitability analyses delivered mixed results between „rand value‟ and „percentage to sales‟ outcomes, but concluded that large shopping centres were the least profitable of the retail formats under review.

Please read the abstract (Summary) in the section, 00front of this document / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Marketing Management / MCom / Unrestricted

Contractual arrangements have been the subject of a substantial body of economic research. In particular, economists have sought an explanation for the existence of share contracts. Under this kind of contract, two or more parties share in the output of the production process. These contracts present a problem to economists because they imply more than one residual claimant. Thus incentives are diluted and inefficiency is expected to result. But this type of contract has existed for centuries and continues to be used today. Why is that if they are inefficient? The answer is that under conditions of uncertainty and imperfect information, share contracts can be preferable to fixed-wage (vertical integration) or fixed-rent (market transaction) agreements. In fact, many explanations for the existence of share contracts and their coexistence with fixed-wage and rental arrangements are found in the theoretical literature. While the theoretical literature on the subject of share contracts has flourished over the last decade, empirical analyses of these models has lagged behind. This thesis aims to rectify the situation somewhat. More precisely, recent advances in the theoretical literature are applied to the analysis of franchise contracts. An empirical model of franchising based on profit-maximizing behavior is developed which makes it possible to examine whether the factors theorists have suggested as potential explanations for share contracts are relevant when it comes to explaining what one observes in the context of franchising, and whether their effects are consistent with predictions from the various theories. Both the contract mix, i.e. franchisors' decisions concerning the proportion of stores they want to operate and franchise, and the terms of the franchise contract, fixed and variable fees, are examined. In order to carry out the analysis, data on a cross-section of 548 individual franchisors in 1986 were gathered. These franchisors are involved in a variety of business activities in the U.S., such as Fast-food Restaurants, Business Aids and Services, Construction and Maintenance, and Non-food Retailing. Censoring problems arise from the fact that a number of franchisors in the sample franchise all of their outlets. Also, some firms require no variable or no fixed fee. For these reasons, the maximum likelihood Tobit estimator is used. Empirical work in an area such as this, where theories rely on concepts that are not easily quantifiable, can hardly provide unambiguous answers about the validity of the theories. Nevertheless, the following results emerge from the empirical analysis. First, the effect of risk, measured either by the proportion of discontinued outlets or by the variance of sales in the sector, is found to be the opposite of what pure risk-sharing and one-sided hidden-action models would predict. Second, firms resort to franchising more often when monitoring downstream operators becomes costlier, and use it proportionately less when the value of the inputs they themselves provide increases. This is consistent with two-sided hidden-action models. Results with respect to capital-market-imperfection arguments are rather inconclusive. It appears that franchising relaxes some form of constraint franchisors face in trying to expand their operations, since they use it more when they are growing faster, but whether this is a financial constraint remains unclear. The explanatory power of the model is greater with respect to the proportion of franchised stores than it is for any of the two fees. Thus, in response to changes in the exogenous variables considered here, franchisors, who have a choice between modifying the terms of their franchise contract or changing the proportion of stores they want to franchise, tend to do mostly the latter. Contrary to what one would have expected on a theoretical basis, the observed royalty rates and franchise fees are not negatively correlated in this data set. Combined with the fact that the model is less satisfactory relative to the fees, this suggests that there are considerations in the determination of the royalty rate and the franchise fee that have not been taken into account in the theories. One possibility in the case of the fixed fee is that it may include the price of services provided by the franchisors. It also appears that franchisors use input sales as another means to extract rent from franchisees. This may contribute to the lack of correlation between the two fees. Finally, the equation for the franchise fee was derived under the assumption that all remaining surplus at the downstream level, given the royalty rate, should be extracted through the franchise fee. The lack of relationship between the fees could be an indication that this assumption is incorrect, and that there are in fact rents left at the downstream level. This would be consistent with the existence of queues of potential franchisees in many franchise chains. / Arts, Faculty of / Vancouver School of Economics / Graduate

Franchising has become the latest trend in business expansion and business acquisition and with the South African franchising market estimated at being around 12% and growing rapidly, enormous potential for future growth is indicated. Companies both local and international are seeking franchise expansion opportunities in Africa despite the higher risks. The significance of implementing franchises into Africa is the filtering down of business opportunities to the small and medium enterprise sector. It can be said that franchising promotes business growth and private ownership, while improving the quality of life of the poor through its impact on income and employment. A franchise organisation that grows too quickly might not have the necessary ‘factors’ in place to support all of the units properly. In the survey conducted, it was indicated that the franchise business practice echoed the literature reviewed. All the steps necessary to establish a franchise are important but not necessarily as equal. The more matured franchisee needed less guidance from the franchisor and relied more on the business concept and location. Potential franchisors need to take the necessary steps to establish a franchise and treat each step as an important part of the franchise process.