Date of Award
2025
Document Type
Thesis - ECU Access Only
Publisher
Edith Cowan University
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (Integrated)
School
School of Business and Law
First Supervisor
Claire Lambert
Second Supervisor
Marie Ryan
Abstract
A shortfall of appropriately qualified franchisees has long plagued the franchise industry. Consequently, to meet growth needs the industry has segmented and developed new categories of franchisees including multi-unit franchisees, a category of franchisees now extensively researched. This doctoral thesis identifies, defines, and explores a further new category of franchisees that also developed in response to this franchisee shortage, that of internally recruited franchisees, who prior to their franchise recruitment were employees of the franchisor. A paradox exists between the apparent widespread practice of recruiting franchisees internally and its almost complete absence as a research topic. Indeed, despite some estimates placing the proportion of internally recruited franchisees in excess of 40%, this franchisee category has essentially been disregarded in the franchise literature suggesting a significant research void.
This research begins the task of filling this gap using a three-stage thesis design that addresses the preconditions, decision processes, and outcomes of the internal recruitment of franchisees. This three stage research design effectively mirrors the sequence of phases in the franchising process: with Stage 1 involving one study which addresses the franchisors’ decision to franchise to an internally recruited franchisee; Stage 2 involving a second study which explores the buyer decision processes employed by internally recruited franchisees and externally recruited franchisees in acquiring their franchisees; and Stage 3 involving a third and fourth study, one exploring the resultant entrepreneurial network outcomes and another exploring the resultant strategic outcomes both through the context of a franchisee association.
Due to the paucity of understanding of the internally recruited franchisee phenomena all studies are exploratory and utilise a mostly inductive approach. Consequently, qualitative research involving in-depth semi-structured interviews with different sets of purposively selected key informants was appropriate to gain the rich insights required to address each thesis stage.
Among the findings, seven drivers of internal recruitment of franchisees were identified which enabled the construction of a preliminary model of factors influencing the propensity of franchise systems to recruit internally. In acquiring their franchises, internally recruited franchisees expressed a strong desire to be their own boss while engaging in limited, bordering on habitual decision-making processes with negligible information search. This was in stark contrast to externally recruited franchisees and may prove important for franchisors seeking to enhance their internal franchisee recruitment efforts. Five antecedents that enhance the propensity of franchisee associations to activate the dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation were also identified, with member franchisees’ provenance appearing influential in the pursuit of either product or process innovations. Finally, franchise organisations facing challenges that are beyond the scope of their corporate history to address should consider tapping the bottom-up strategic insights provided through the diverse backgrounds of their franchisees, including internally recruited franchisees, as a potential antidote for their strategic dilemmas.
This research represents the first contributions to the franchise literature on the apparently ubiquitous but previously unresearched practise of internally recruiting franchisees. In a practical sense, this research also serves to inform the recruitment decisions of franchisors in relation to the internal recruitment of franchisees.
DOI
10.25958/ygy9-5k03
Access Note
Access to this thesis is embargoed until 11th January 2030
Recommended Citation
Balsarini, P. (2025). Internally recruited franchisees: Preconditions, decision processes, and outcomes. Edith Cowan University. https://doi.org/10.25958/ygy9-5k03