Services Vs. Retail Networks: Are There Any Differences? An Empirical Look At The French Franchised Networks
Abstract
Even if franchising is now everywhere, there are still some differences, for instance according to the geographic area or according to the sector of activities. Several multi-countries studies have already highlighted some of these differences. Nevertheless, as far as the sector of activities is concerned, researchers have not focused on the differences between different kinds of networks. In this paper, I focus on the differences between services and retail networks in terms of age, size, plural form, internationalization, and contracts terms. The empirical study concerns more than 500 networks located in the French territory. Results could help the prospective franchisees to better understand these two kinds of networks before choosing one particular sector of activities, and the franchisors to take into account these differences in the creation and management of his/her network.