Acts of hidden franchisee innovation and innovation adoption within franchise systems

Watson, Anna; Senyard, Julienne; Dada, Olufunmilola

doi:10.1016/j.indmarman.2020.03.005

Cited by 19 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 97 publications

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“…In the absence of consumers using their persuasive power or coercive authority to influence franchisors (or indeed franchisees) to improve their waste management practices, many franchisors do not view compliance with regulations as an urgent issue. The franchisors' detachment from their customers means they are heavily reliant on their franchisees for customer insights and engagement, given it is they who sit at the coalface of customer centric activities (Watson et al, 2020), making it more challenging for franchisors to understand how to approach and implement sustainable practices. Whilst most franchisors believe that the majority of consumers are not significantly motivated by environmental issues, of course for some consumers this is a concern.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A qualitative approach was adopted, based on in-depth interviews with fast-food chain franchisors and their head office staff operating in France. Qualitative approaches are increasingly being used in franchising studies (Doherty, 2009;Watson et al, 2020) and studies of green practices (Bondy, 2008;Lin et al, 2019;Roome and Wijen, 2006). A qualitative research method was believed to be the most appropriate, as it enables data to be gathered that is grounded in the real-life experiences of people (Altinay et al, 2013).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Our sample of 19 franchisors and their head office staff (representing 17 different chains) was selected through a combination of purposive and snowball sampling, an approach often used in qualitative franchise studies (Doherty, 2009;Watson et al, 2020).…”

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Franchisors can codify their know-how on waste management practices in their operational manuals, and transfer this set of know-how to their franchisees through initial and continuous training sessions, including webinars on their intranet system for franchisees' employees. Knowledge-sharing structures which encourage social exchanges (such as Franchisee Advisory Councils) and regional and national meetings could be used to promote social capital (Watson et al, 2020), given its importance in mobilizing stakeholder engagement in sustainability activities (Maak, 2007).…”

Section: Practical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sustainability and green practices: the role of stakeholder power in fast-food franchise chains

Perrigot

Watson

Dada

2021

IJCHM

Self Cite

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Purpose This paper aims to explore how the power of salient stakeholders involved in the green waste management of franchise chains can impact the ability of the chains to change their green practices. Design/methodology/approach This qualitative study is based on interview data from 19 franchisors and their head office staff operating in the fast-food sector in France where franchise chains have been ‘named and shamed’ as continuing to ignore waste management regulation. Findings The findings suggest that both the form and bases of power of different stakeholder groups have important implications for the implementation of green practices, even those required by law. The authors find that the franchisees’ central network position alters the ability of franchisors to directly engage in dialog, consult with, and educate key stakeholders, creating additional challenges for franchisors in the implementation process. Research limitations/implications The qualitative nature of the study limits the extent to which the findings can be generalized. Future studies could develop an instrument to assess franchisor perceptions of stakeholder power. Practical implications The findings suggest that franchisors should consider carefully how they communicate changes to green practices to their franchisees to ensure not only their compliance but also their motivation to engage with those stakeholders with whom they have regular interactions. The findings can also help governments to better understand how to involve other stakeholders to ensure effective environmental legislation. Originality/value The study is the first, to the authors’ knowledge, to consider the role of stakeholders in the implementation of green practices in franchise chains. By examining franchise chains, this paper provides new insights into the role of an additional stakeholder, the franchisee and enriches the literature on green practices in the hospitality sector.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Practical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sustainability and green practices: the role of stakeholder power in fast-food franchise chains

Perrigot

Watson

Dada

2021

IJCHM

Self Cite

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“…Second, the study contributes to the extension of business marketing research using social capital theory through an empirical investigation of referencing behaviors. The accumulation of social capital has been demonstrated as important for a firm’s success, for instance, in the context of corporate social responsibility (Ferguson et al , 2019) or franchise systems (Watson et al , 2020). This study demonstrates the bridging function of references through signaling that help to close structural holes in the network.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The strategic role of corporate online references: building social capital through signaling in business networks

Tóth

Naudé

Henneberg

et al. 2020

JBIM

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Purpose This paper aims to conceptualize corporate reference management as a strategic signaling activity in business networks. While research has extensively outlined how firms develop and maintain social capital through business-to-business (B2B) relationships, less is known about how they signal their participation in business networks to develop this social capital. Therefore, this paper conceptualizes B2B references, in particular corporate online references (COR), as a tool through which firms “borrow” attractiveness from their business network. Through the lens of structural social capital theory, COR is shown to capture advantages related to interconnectedness between firms. Design/methodology/approach The paper reports on a two-step qualitative and quantitative research design. First, the authors undertook a qualitative study that reports on the COR practices of senior business managers. A quantitative study then uses social network analysis (SNA) to audit a digital business network comprising 1,098 firms in a metropolitan area of the UK, referencing to each other through their corporate websites using COR. Findings The analyses find that COR practices contribute to building structural social capital in networks through strategic signaling. Firms do so by managing B2B references to craft strategic signals, using five steps: requesting, granting, curating, coding and decoding references. While the existing literature on business marketing portrays reference management as a routine and operational management practice, this investigation conceptualizes reference management, in particular COR, as a strategic activity. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to use SNA to represent B2B references in the form of COR as a network, which overlaps with (but is not entirely identical to) the business network. Further, the study re-conceptualizes reference management as a strategic signaling activity that leverages the firm’s participation in business networks to build structural social capital by borrowing attractiveness of prestigious business partners that leverages existing structural social capital. Finally, the paper coins and conceptualizes COR as an exemplar of referencing management and offers propositions for further research.

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Influential factors of pro‐environmental behaviors among franchisees in the fast‐food sector

Dada,

Perrigot,

Watson

2023

Bus Strat Env

Self Cite

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In spite of the increasing attention on environmental sustainability, there is a dearth of knowledge about franchisees' pro‐environmental behaviors. This study aims to understand the factors that influence the extent to which franchisees engage in pro‐environmental behaviors in the fast‐food sector. The research is based on in‐depth interviews with franchisees operating restaurants in the fast‐food sector in France. The empirical evidence in this qualitative study shows how franchisees' pro‐environmental behaviors can be explained as a result of organizational and personal factors, thereby extending the theory of planned behavior, norm‐activation‐model and organizational support theory within the franchising context. This study offers avenues for more research on green practices in franchising, as well as in the hospitality sector and other sectors such as retailing. It provides important implications for franchise practitioners in the fast‐food sector on how to create a more environmentally sustainable business model. The findings offer the first known model of pro‐environmental behaviors of franchisees.

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Acts of hidden franchisee innovation and innovation adoption within franchise systems

Cited by 19 publications

References 97 publications

Sustainability and green practices: the role of stakeholder power in fast-food franchise chains

Sustainability and green practices: the role of stakeholder power in fast-food franchise chains

The strategic role of corporate online references: building social capital through signaling in business networks

Influential factors of pro‐environmental behaviors among franchisees in the fast‐food sector

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