<p>Abstract</p><p>The landscape of socially oriented NGOs – a study of how they are created and established in</p><p>a local Swedish context.</p><p>This thesis is an inquiry into local, socially oriented non-governmental organizations (NGOs)</p><p>in Swedish municipalities. Previous research has indicated that changes in the monitoring and</p><p>steering of financial support during the 1990s altered the conditions for and practices of</p><p>NGOs. The inquiry – based on archival material and interviews with organization</p><p>representatives from the twelve NGOs receiving financial support from the social welfare</p><p>board in Växjö municipality – showed instead that the organizations were unaffected by the</p><p>changes, and that the set of recipient organizations had been stable over time. A comparison</p><p>with four other communities reveals that the same pattern is repeated in other municipalities</p><p>of similar size. The purpose of the thesis is to develop a theoretical framework to account for</p><p>stability in sets of recipient organizations. It is argued that set stability is explained by</p><p>affiliations with well-known national organizations, in conjunction with the boundary-work of</p><p>the local organizations.</p>

Kontroll och relation är två vanligt förekommande ämnen som ofta diskuteras och behandlas inom franchisinglitteraturen. Tidigare teori visar att kontroll och övervakning av franchisetagare är den mest centrala aspekt för att lyckas bedriva en franchiseorganisation. Samtidigt finns det teori och studier som tyder på att den personliga relationen mellan franchisegivare och franchisetagare är avgörande för om franchiseorganisationen kommer att lyckas eller inte. Då både kontroll och relation två är viktiga faktorer för att en franchiseorganisation ska kunna fungera ställer vi oss frågan vad som händer om den ena faktorn bedrivs för mycket, kommer den andra faktorn då bli lidande? Vi menar att det existerar en paradox mellan kontroll och relation där exempelvis en bra relation mellan parterna i sin tur innebär en reducerad kontroll. Studiens syfte går således ut på att stärka och utveckla tidigare forskningen inom området genom att empiriskt belysa paradoxen mellan kontroll och relation i en franchiseorganisation. Baserat på detta ämnar studien vidare till att bidra med en ökad förståelse för hur franchisegivaren kan hantera denna paradox. För att svara på syftet har vi använt oss av en kvalitativ metod där ett utvalt fallföretag legat i fokus för det empiriska underlaget. Den teoretiska referensramen som har använts består av olika teorier med koppling till kontroll och relation inom franchising. Studien visar på att det existerar en paradox mellan kontroll och relation vilket i sin tur kan hanteras genom en förbättrad kommunikation mellan parterna.

The building industry in South Africa especially in the sector of smaller operators in the residential alterations and additions market is subject to poor perception in the market place. The low barriers to entry and the attractiveness of the market make it susceptible to a large number of new entrants. The concomitant extreme rivalry has led to many cost cutting measures, creating an overall impression of lack of quality and poor standards. The ease of exit in this market has often left dissatisfied clients with no recourse or redress in rectifying poor workmanship and subject to an additional cost of hiring another builder to repair problems. As a growth strategy, franchising has shown great potential over various types of industries. However, the building industry, and in particular the residential alterations and additions market has not been explored in this light. The most attractive feature of franchising as a growth option is the lack of capital required for the franchisor. The least attractive option is overcoming the seemingly fixed mindset of the public on price as the overriding factor when considering a contractor. Experience in the industry has shown that advertising in the form of word of mouth is the most effective means of gaining new clients, however with the nature of franchising being more pervasive, it is envisaged that client awareness of the franchise will increase exponentially with each exposure in the form of building contracts. To introduce a standard of quality and excellence in this market in a cost effective manner may be achievable through the introduction of franchising with its benefits of economies of scale, high management standards and, most importantly, the franchisee's will to succeed. This work will investigate fully the ramifications of the franchising option, test the feasibility, acceptability and suitability of the strategy, making a final recommendation on the franchising model to be adopted, should the research validate the strategic option. / Thesis (MBA)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

Background – The franchising industry in Sweden has experienced a vast growth in the recent years, and it makes up a significant part of the Swedish economy. The restaurant industry accounts for a large amount of the Swedish franchises. Due to the dynamic business environment today, companies need to increasingly strive for improvement in order to sustain their competitive advantage and to enhance their performance. Innovation may be required, and franchises are no exceptions. However, due to the nature of the franchise systems, with the franchisor imposing particular policies on the individual franchisees, the position of innovation in this context is not clear. On one hand, a franchise should act innovatively in order to remain competitive in the marketplace, but on the other hand, the franchisor limits the activities of the franchisee to ensure system uniformity through brand and quality management. The position of innovation in the franchise context is ambiguous, since very little research has been conducted on the topic. Purpose – The purpose of this thesis is to examine Swedish franchises within the restaurant industry and to determine the position of innovation in the franchise context from the perspective of the franchisee. Method – A case study with semi-structured interviews with five franchisees in a specific region in Sweden were conducted to gain empirical material on the topic of innovation within restaurant franchises. The obtained data was then analyzed with the help of existing literature on innovation and franchise systems. Conclusion – It was discovered that Swedish franchises within the restaurant industry pursue product and marketing innovation. The innovation is mostly incremental, rather than radical. Several different factors contribute to why franchisees pursue innovation. It was also identified that some Swedish franchisors take an active role in encouraging innovation in the franchises, while other franchisors have a more passive, or even discouraging stance towards franchise innovation.

Purpose- The purpose of this paper is to examine franchise relationships by using an interaction approach which involves several exchanges or actor bonds between a franchisor and franchisee, such as information, social, and cooperative exchanges, which create a long-term relationship. The objective is to provide a conceptual framework to investigate the relationship from the franchisee’s point of view since little research has been conducted from this perspective. Design/methodology/approach- This study is based on a web survey directed towards franchisees in Sweden. A total of 191 survey responses were obtained from a wide range of industries, representing a 16.2% response rate. A Pearson Correlation test was performed for the hypotheses. Findings- The findings supported all five hypotheses. The results show that 160 firms exchange information with the franchisor through an IT system. It is also evident that the majority who use IT systems are small businesses, however, this is due to the fact that the largest sample of this study consists of small firms (n=180). Research limitations/implications- Limitations of this study involve the somewhat difficulty to obtain access to a large sample of franchisees because of franchisors´ unwillingness to provide contact and email information (in some cases due to confidentiality). The majority of firms participating in the study are categorized as small organizations, a desired comparison of results from larger firms is, consequently, limited. Originality/value- The paper contributes to filling the gap within franchise relationship literature by applying an interaction approach in contrast to prior economic theories in this field of study.

This business plan provides detailed information and includes the basic business plan information that is necessary for initial establishment and operation of Tun Huang Music (THMC). With its current business location in Taipei and Taoyuan, the company is seeking for further business opportunity of continuous market growth and size. The franchising business will focus on the musical lesson and instrument retail selling as its main business operation. Since the business is simply an extension of the head company, it requires only a moderate space for business operation. Rental costs will not be as expensive as the head company. Several business areas are considered to ensure the success of this plan. The branching location will be picked based on the population and density of the district. Competition analysis is also been considered. As the newly established branch will has greater competitive edge in terms of product selection and professional skill support received from the head company comparing against with other local competitors. It is very likely for the branches to success and require greater local market share. Risk factors which THMC needs to consider:  What will be the market trend in the next few years.  What are some of the possible actions that competitors will make.  What are the backup plans if the number does not turn out as planned. Keys to success  Degree of Standardization of each every branch  Focused and well-defined long term objective of the company. Never has any company within this industry has any sort of long term plan.  Timely stock replacement plan and sufficient technical support from the head company.  Previous successful business experience to be shared with new onboard franchising owners. Every business faces difficulties from time to time, for the status of economy, the company can only make assumptions as to what are more likely to happen during its business life period. What if the business does not turn out as planned. According to the sensitivity analysis, it is still profitable despite 30% drop in revenue income. Based on the current pricing strategy and sales promotion, the new branch will be able to breakeven in the late Year 3 including all the Year 0 investment such as renovation costs and pre-opening stock purchase. Based on the past experience and information from other competitors, a typical musical store should have a maximum sales of $1 million per month. If the plan is deemed as a 10 years business project, the branch should at least be able to reach $1 million revenue per month in Year 10. With all the information analyzed and gathered, it is very likely that the new branching business will be profitable. With the support from the head company, the newly established branches will benefit from customer referral and better product pricing. With an initial $2 million investment (renovation and product purchasing), the new branch owner can breakeven in three to five years of operation.

This deductive-hypothetico research addressed a literature void on the research problem: Impact of Shifts in Strategic Othodoxy on International Enterprise Performance. This study hypothesised: H11: Strategic orientation correlates with superior international performance; H12: Global strategy contributes to superior performance internationally; and, H13: Skills in strategy execution lead to superiior performance internationally. Three hundred and nine variables in three hypotheses were tested with data collected from a 'small,' but highly relevant sample. Ninety-two variables were positively correlated while 217 were negative. Due to the large number of variables for each hypothesis, no hypothesis was fully supported or rejected. Eleven models for superior international performance have been scientifically developed from data analyses. Models are designed to aid robust international franchising stategy development by strategists at varying continuum of international expertise. Significant serendipitous findings include: nullification of conventional wisdom that the larger the sample size, the higher the reliability the research findings; lateral instead of dedicated strategies can be more effective, in this instance, marketing strategy had no positive correlation with dependent marketing variables but correlated positively with financial variables; and, cost of Australian international franchising operations was determined. A cross sectional research in 2007 will degrade with passage of time. Environmental dynamics will affect its relevance. This study concerns Australian international franchisors, hence generalizability outside this dimension may not be appropriate. Contribution of this research to knowledge is significant: outcomes filled a literature void in relation to the research problem; findings of positively correlated variables help franchising strategists develop strategies that achieve superior performance, whereas negatively correlated variables help avoid costly mistakes; and, the research refuted previous postulations that fundamentals of western management were flawed. Culminating from this research, a window of opportunities has been created for further research in various areas such as varying types or research; methodologies; sectoral and geographical variations; and changes in research scope and width.

Univ., Diss.-2004--Bayreuth, 2003. / Literaturverz. S. [304] - 322.

Techn. Univ., Diss.--Darmstadt, 2003.

A concessão de crédito a empresas que participam do mercado consiste na entrega de um ativo em determinado momento, com a promessa de pagamento deste bem ou direito em data futura. Tal situação se configura como um evento incerto, pois existe a possibilidade de que tal obrigação não seja honrada pela promitente compradora, originando desta forma, o risco de crédito. Cabe à parte concessora do ativo que origina o risco de crédito, verificar a capacidade de seu cliente em cumprir o compromisso futuro assumido, analisando as variáveis que sugerem o sucesso da operação de crédito. As empresas que se encontram em fase de implantação caracterizam-se não somente pela ausência de histórico das variáveis acima, como também pelo aumento considerável do risco de continuidade. Tal situação é comprovada por pesquisas realizadas em empresas com até cinco anos de atuação. A impossibilidade na mensuração da capacidade de crédito proporcionada por este cenário, ocasiona severa restrição creditícia às empresas novas, principalmente ao crédito de longo prazo, imprescindível nesta fase de investimentos. Entretanto, esta restrição não se verifica em empresas de franquia, cujo empreendedor tem o privilégio de iniciar seu negócio com linhas de crédito de investimentos já prontas no mercado com esta finalidade. Este estudo objetiva identificar quais as características presentes em empresas franqueadas que permitem a concessão de crédito segura na fase de implantação por parte das instituições financeiras e se tais características podem discriminar variáveis que são determinantes no sucesso da franqueada proponente ao crédito bancário. A aplicação de análise fatorial em banco de dados com empresas de franquia permitiu identificar com sucesso um grupo de sete principais variáveis principais, que serviram de base a um modelo de regressão logística e análise discriminante. O modelo de regressão logística mostrou-se bom para a melhora da probabilidade de acerto de empresas solventes ao passo que a análise discriminante não apresentou melhora nesses resultados. / The credit concession to companies that take part in the market consists in giving an active in a certain moment, with a promise to pay for this possession or right in a future date. Such situation is configured as an uncertain event, as there is the possibility that the obligation is not fulfilled by the promissory buyer, thus originating the credit risk. The concessor of the active that originates the credit risk is the one that should verify the clients capacity of fulfilling the future compromise, analyzing the variables that suggest the credit operations success. The companies that are still being implanted are characterized not only by the absence of the variables mentioned above, but also by the considerable continuity risk increase. This situation is proved by researches made in companies that have been active for up to five years. The impossibility in measuring the credit capacity provided by this scenery, brings out a severe credit restriction to new companies, especially to the long term credit, necessary in this investment phase. However, this restriction is not verified in franchising, as the enterpriser has the privilege of initiating his business with investment credit that are ready in the market for this purpose. This study aims identifying which characteristics present in franchised companies allow the safe credit concession in the implantation phase by the financial institutions and if these characteristics can discriminate variables that are decisive in the success of the proponent franchising to the bank credit. The factorial analysis application in database with franchised companies successfully allowed the identification a group of seven main variables that serves as a basis to a logistic regression model and discriminating analysis. The logistic regression model has shown itself good to improve the probability of success of solvent companies whereas the discriminating analysis did not show any improvement in these results.