Retail franchise ecosystem dynamics: Insights from countries of varied development levels

Dianne H.B. Welsh, Cintya Lanchimba and Madeleine Bausch

Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 2025, vol. 82, issue C

Abstract: This study explores the influence of entrepreneurial ecosystems on international franchise expansion. We understand franchising as a part of retailing and reflect on various country-level factors that impact the international franchise growth in 52 developed and emerging markets. We classify developed and emerging markets based on the Human Development Index (HDI). Employing an entrepreneurial ecosystem framework initially applied to new business growth in cities, we investigate how cultural, institutional, economic, and infrastructure factors affect franchise growth. Our findings indicate that well-developed infrastructure, economic freedom, and supportive laws contribute to franchise expansion, while locations with high crime rates are less attractive to franchise expansion. Surprisingly, increased internet access or higher spending on research and development does not consistently further franchise expansion. Countries with higher levels of human development tend to have franchises that are expand more rapidly. However, we found little difference between countries with very high development and those with high development standards. This study helps us understand what makes franchise business expansion work and how they can succeed in different countries. Implications for businesses and governments looking to support franchise growth are explained. Finally, the results reflect the importance of understanding the unique dynamics of emerging markets and offers actionable insights for businesses and policymakers aiming to foster retail ecosystems and franchise on these specific markets entrepreneurship globally.

Keywords: Franchising; Retail ecosystem; International expansion; Emerging markets (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969698924003928
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

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:eee:joreco:v:82:y:2025:i:c:s0969698924003928

DOI: 10.1016/j.jretconser.2024.104096

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services is currently edited by Harry Timmermans

More articles in Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().