Micro-Franchising in the Bottom of the Pyramid Market: Rwanda

Abstract

This study examines how a mission-driven shared identification can help mitigate the failure of a micro-franchise in Rwanda, a bottom of the pyramid market. A single case study was adopted following Gioia's established analytical process. Interviews, semistructured interviews and observations were conducted between the period of 2018 and 2019. It was found that, a mission-driven shared identification can be achieved if a micro-franchisor promotes a culture of sharing and perceived organisational support among micro-franchisees. Also, an alliance with the government or its endorsement is necessary in encouraging franchisees to identify with a micro-franchisor. Furthermore, in a collectivist culture, if a micro-franchisor succeeds in establishing shared identification, the franchisees are very likely to remain loyal in times of crisis.

Social franchise chains operating in African countries: are their social goals aligned with the 2030 United Nations sustainable development goals?

“…Second, our research also enriches the literature on franchising in developing countries (Alon and Welsh, 2002;Kaufmann and Leibenstein, 1988;Lanfranchi et al, 2021;Welsh et al, 2006) that has mostly focused on Brazil (e.g., Bitti et al, 2019) or China (e.g., Jeon et al, 2016). Papers on franchising in Africa (e.g., Naatu et al, 2020;Perrigot, 2017Perrigot, , 2018 remain scarce despite franchising's potential for development. Third, this paper builds on the research dealing with CSR and CSD in franchise chains (Meiseberg and Ehrmann, 2012;Perrigot et al, 2015;Le Bot et al, 2022) by focusing on several dimensions of the SDGs, including, for instance, the social aspects (e.g., gender equality).…”

“…She concluded that social franchising seems to work no differently from franchising in more traditional sectors, at least in terms of know-how management, assistance, brand name, and franchisor/franchisee and franchisee/franchisee relationships. Naatu et al (2022) showed, through a case study conducted on an anonymous micro-franchising chain in the healthcare sector in Rwanda, the importance of relying on a public-private partnership or having a governmental endorsement to succeed. Other papers included in this limited literature on franchising in African countries have dealt with dairy products, and more specifically the case of Fan Milk, which sells ice cream and yogurt in western African countries through micro-franchised street vendors in addition to supermarkets (Christensen et al, 2010;Gbetchi and Perrigot, 2020), as well as drinking water with the case of the Jibu franchise system in eastern African countries (Perrigot, 2022).…”

“…Indeed, recent academic papers (e.g. Aliouche and Schlentrich, 2015;Asemota and Chahine, 2017;Crawford-Spencer, 2015;Crawford-Spencer and Cantatore, 2016;Kistruck et al, 2011;Naatu and Alon, 2019;Naatu et al, 2022;Perrigot, 2018Perrigot, , 2022, as well as trade papers, have addressed the emergence, development, and operations of social franchise chains, particularly in African countries (Naatu and Alon, 2019;Naatu et al, 2022;Perrigot, 2018Perrigot, , 2022.…”

“…While, in terms of research, there is a growing stream of literature dealing with social franchising (e.g. Naatu and Alon, 2019;Naatu et al, 2022;Perrigot, 2018Perrigot, , 2022 as far as we know, there are no papers published on the subject of SDGs in conjunction with social franchise chains. However, franchising provides a specific and relevant context with which to examine SDGs and disclosures of SDGs.…”

Impact of perceived value on the online purchase intention of base of the pyramid consumers

“…Moreover, the weak legal systems in BOP locations encourage crime (De Beule et al, 2020; Naatu et al, 2020). Especially in Bijnor, most BOP consumers did not have bank accounts or credit cards, so they kept cash in their homes and made cash transactions with the neighbourhood retailers (Navarro, 2020).…”