فرایند های انتخاب بازار و شریک در فرانچایزینگ (حق امتیاز دهی) خرده فروشی بین المللی

This paper adopts a qualitative, case study approach to examine the market and partner selection processes of retailers operating internationally via franchising. Despite the increasing prevalence of franchising as an entry mode for international retailers, little research exists that considers how these firms choose franchise markets and franchise partners. The paper proposes a conceptual framework of the market and partner selection process that exhibits opportunistic and strategic behavior. Firms adopting a strategic approach undergo a market screening process before market attractiveness factors ultimately lead to the market selection decision. In the strategic partner selection process that follows, finance, business know-how, local knowledge, a shared understanding of the business and brand, and, ultimately, chemistry between the partners are the key factors influencing partner selection. In the case of an opportunistic approach to market and partner selection, the process reverses, with partner selection directly influencing market selection.

Employing the franchise mode of operation is a central element of internationalization strategy for many retail firms (Alexander and Quinn, 2002, Doherty and Alexander, 2004, Doherty and Alexander, 2006 and Quinn, 1999). Consequently, the past decade bears witness to a growing body of work on various aspects of international retail franchising, specifically motivations (Doherty, 2007), retail franchising in emerging markets (Welsh et al., 2006), control and support (Doherty and Alexander, 2006, Moore et al., 2004, Quinn, 1998a, Quinn, 1999 and Quinn and Doherty, 2000), and the theoretical development of the area (Doherty and Alexander, 2004, Doherty and Quinn, 1999 and Quinn and Doherty, 2000). However, a central element of the process – that is, how retail franchisors choose international markets and franchise partners – remains a crucial but neglected area of research. This is somewhat surprising given the centrality of these aspects of the process to the success or otherwise of an international retail franchise venture. This paper explores the market and partner selection processes in international retail franchising by examining qualitative evidence from six UK-based fashion retailers.

While the current work obviously focuses on the specifics of the retail sector, findings from this work resonate with findings from the market and partner selection literature reviewed earlier. In terms of market selection, Kumar et al. (1993) contend that the process occurs in three stages: screening, identification, and selection. The findings from this study do acknowledge a three-stage process of international market selection for retail firms — market screening, market attractiveness and market selection culmination; however, this is only in the case of strategic market selection. Previous studies such as Kumar et al. (1993) make little room for the opportunistic behavior witnessed by the retail firms in the current work. While the case firms were not asked to rank criteria, they do identify many market selection criteria similar to those criteria revealed in the work of Wood and Robertson (2000), particularly in terms of economic issues and what these authors term market potential and the legal environment. The economic issues are revealed in the current study to be part of the market screening process while the other two factors are identified as market attractiveness factors in the form of retail structure and regulation. In terms of the partner selection literature, both Ulas (2005) and Tatoglu (2000) identify a partner's knowledge of the local market as the major criterion for firms choosing a joint venture partner, a factor that the current work also identifies. This adds weight to the earlier arguments of Doherty (1999) and Doherty and Quinn (1999) on the importance of information asymmetry in international retail franchising. Current findings also support those of Al-Khalifa and Peterson (1999), Salavrakos and Stewart (2006), and Ulas (2005) on joint venture partnerships, with financial status, similar goals and aspirations, and chemistry emerging as important criteria on which to base the partner selection decision. These findings also have strong resonance with Dawson's (2001) work on the role of opportunism in international retailing. By examining five cases of retailers entering and establishing retail networks in Poland, he concludes that developments in international retailing have a “strong opportunistic streak” (Dawson, 2001, p.264). He continues “As more is learnt about retail internationalization through in-depth interviews and company case studies, however, it may become more apparent that opportunism also characterizes foreign retailers' activities more generally” (Dawson, 2001, p.264). Certainly, by employing the case study method, the current work reveals insights into opportunistic behavior that other, more quantitative, positivistic type research methods may not reveal. It also overcomes, to a degree, Lafontaine and Oxley's (2004) concerns that international franchising research is limited due to the lack of large data sets. Employing qualitative case study methodology helps to move international franchise research forward by providing much deeper insights into actual company activity and experiences. While the broader, cross sectional international franchising literature does suggest that a domestic franchise base is essential for the launch of international operations (Preble and Hoffman, 1995 and Welch, 1989), Quinn (1998b), Alexander and Quinn (2002) highlight cases where retail companies employ franchising internationally regardless of the domestic operating mode. The current findings support their assertions with none of the case firms franchising domestically. According to Quinn (1998b), one explanation for this behavior is the importance of foreign partner interest in stimulating the move abroad, which the current work supports. In a linked point, the current study identifies organizational learning as an important issue when choosing markets and particularly when choosing partners. Not only are these firms learning about the key characteristics to look for in a partner, as they do not franchise in the domestic market, they are learning how to franchise as they grow their businesses internationally. Having learned from mistakes, such as Company A's venture in Hong Kong, the case firms become much clearer about the factors they value in franchise partners as their experience of international franchising evolves. Recent work by Palmer, 2005 and Palmer, 2006 and Palmer and Quinn (2005) highlights the importance of the issue of learning by international retail firms, more specifically Tesco and Ahold. In the case of Tesco, the lessons the firm has learned enhance the adaptability and responsiveness of the retailer (Palmer, 2005). For the firms in the current study, with experience and learning comes a much greater strategic orientation to the market and partner choice processes. While finance, business, or retail expertise; shared understanding of the brand; and local market knowledge are crucial in partner choice, ultimately the deciding factor is chemistry and the potential of the franchise relationship to be sustainable in the long-term for both parties. Realizing the importance of chemistry for the long-term viability of the franchise relationship is a lesson firms have learned along the evolutionary path of international retail franchising. This paper contributes in a number of ways. First, it provides an initial investigation of the market and partner selection processes of international retail franchisors. The paper contributes a conceptual framework of the process that provides an important theoretical contribution to extant research on international retail franchising. The framework highlights both strategic and opportunistic approaches to market and partner selection. As such, it demonstrates the complex nature of a process about which little was previously known. Understanding that there are market attractiveness factors to consider as well as economic and demographic market screening criteria further aids our understanding of how retail firms come to market selection decisions. Exploring how international retail franchisors choose international partners and the factors that influence the process identifies a range of criteria that firms should consider, particularly chemistry between partners. Second, the paper examines the process of market and partner selection in a holistic manner. Previous research either examines market selection or partner selection but has not examined them together as integral parts of the same process (Hitt et al., 2004, Kumar et al., 1993, Rahman, 2003, Salavrakos and Stewart, 2006, Tatoglu, 2000 and Ulas, 2005). The current work reveals that these are processes that are integrally linked and possibly should not be treated in isolation. Examining the process in its context via the qualitative method reveals that the process is not strictly linear and scientific but rather behavioral elements such as opportunism and chemistry play significant roles. Market and franchisee selection is about much more than simply applying scientific criteria to determine markets and franchise partners. In fact, a dynamic process involving a range of actors and circumstances results in market selection and partner selection, elements that are, in themselves, the cornerstones of a successful international retail franchise business. The work provides important insights for those firms already operating in international markets and also, more importantly, for those retailers considering the move abroad via franchising. By employing a qualitative case study methodology, this study contributes to the growing body of work on international retail franchising and international fashion retailing that adopts a qualitative approach (Doherty and Alexander, 2004, Moore et al., 2004 and Quinn, 1999) to further our understanding of the actual process of internationalisation by retail firms.