Understanding the Survival Ability of Franchise Industries during the COVID-19 Crisis in Malaysia

Nurul Ashykin Abd Aziz, Mohd Hizam-Hanafiah, Hasif Rafidee Hasbollah, Zuraimi Abdul Aziz and Nik Syuhailah Nik Hussin
Additional contact information
Nurul Ashykin Abd Aziz: Faculty of Entrepreneurship and Business, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Locked Bag 36, Pengkalan Chepa, Kota Bahru 16100, Kelantan, Malaysia
Mohd Hizam-Hanafiah: Faculty of Economics and Management, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi 43600, Selangor, Malaysia
Hasif Rafidee Hasbollah: Faculty of Hospitality, Tourism and Wellness, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Locked Bag 36, Pengkalan Chepa, Kota Bahru 16100, Kelantan, Malaysia
Zuraimi Abdul Aziz: Faculty of Entrepreneurship and Business, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Locked Bag 36, Pengkalan Chepa, Kota Bahru 16100, Kelantan, Malaysia
Nik Syuhailah Nik Hussin: Faculty of Entrepreneurship and Business, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Locked Bag 36, Pengkalan Chepa, Kota Bahru 16100, Kelantan, Malaysia

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 6, 1-17

Abstract: Since the world was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic crisis that began in December 2019, many industries have been affected, including the franchise industry in Malaysia. Thus, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a great impact on business survival. Direct effects can be seen in reduced income, job losses, changes in customer preferences, and business relationships between franchisors and franchisees. Some franchises have had to close their operations, and others still struggled to survive during the pandemic crisis. In addressing this situation, the role of government is crucial in supporting the resilience of these franchisor entrepreneurs in an increasingly worrisome situation around the world. However, the existing literature that focuses on the role of government in developing countries such as Malaysia is still poorly understood. In addition, a study of the Malaysian franchising industry during the pandemic crisis is still inadequate, especially concerning the government’s role in the survival of local franchises during the pandemic era. Therefore, understanding the role of the government in advocating the survival of local Malaysian franchises is worth studying. A qualitative research approach was applied through multiple cases involving twelve (12) franchise business owners and four (4) franchise-related agencies in Malaysia. In-depth interviews were conducted in exploring this topic. Thematic analysis has been used by applying “Atlas.ti” in analysing the data. Hence, the findings have indicated four themes from the grounded data. There are: (i) financial assistance; (ii) virtual franchise exhibition; (iii) training and support; and (iv) business development grants. This study is expected to highlight the role of government as well as agencies involved with the franchising industry in improving policies, strategies, and programs to ensure the viability of the franchise industry during periods of pandemic outbreaks.

Keywords: COVID-19; financial crisis; franchise industries; survival ability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/6/3212/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/6/3212/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:6:p:3212-:d:767349

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().