Two important topics often explored in the franchising literature are network
internationalization and plural form. Nevertheless, these two research streams have not
converged so far. The purpose of this paper is therefore to explore if there is any significant
link between the plural form and the internationalization of the franchising networks. And if
the response is positive, “is the influence of the plural form on network internationalization
positive or negative?”. The empirical study involving 898 US and French networks among
which 42.1% are international networks highlights the existence of significant differences
between international networks and purely domestic networks in terms of plural form. Indeed,
the plural form rate for networks having operations abroad is lower than this for domestic
networks when combining the two samples of networks and also in the French market.
Moreover, in these two cases, the results of the logistic regression models underline the
significant and negative impact of the plural form on internationalization. The results are
nevertheless insignificant in the US context. Some elements of explanations of the findings
are presented.