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This paper aims to grasp the complexity of how and why franchise partners as strategic alliance partners interact with each other given March's exploration/ exploitation trade-off (March 1991). A research model is presented that distinguishes five types of responses that partners may adopt in their relationships. The empirical part consists of a case study which focuses on two ‘strategic change Trajectories' (SCTs) in a franchise system in the Dutch drugstore industry. During these SCTs the franchisor tried to implement strategic changes in the franchise system. This paper discusses what responses franchisees adopted in a reaction to the introduction of these SCTs by the franchisor, what responses the franchisor adopted toward these franchisees in turn, and why both partners adopted these responses. The paper concludes with adding a new response type to the current response typology, with providing insight in why franchise partners adopt certain responses, and with discussing the implications of this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of performance has been little explored in the franchising literature. In this paper, we explore the franchising network performance, and more specifically the franchising network efficiency, from the franchisor point of view and through a DEA approach (Data Envelopment Analysis) Two main indicators of the franchisor revenues are used: the on-going franchising royalties and the franchising fee. The purpose of this paper is built into an efficiency perspective. Data concern the first 150 franchising networks of the Entrepreneur's 25 Annual Franchise 500® ranking (2004). The findings indicate that most of the networks are under-efficient and one of the main reasons for this stems from scale efficiency. A particular network is also studied in depth. Moreover, four hypotheses are empirically tested. Implications of the study are finally discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature on franchising relies largely on the analysis of the transaction between franchisor and franchisees, sometimes also including company-owned outlets in the same investigation. This paper argues that the appropriate design of franchise contracts depends not only on the features of the transaction between franchisor and franchisees, but also on other transactions undertaken by the franchisor, particularly in upstream contracts, a hypothesis known as ‘governance inseparability'. Moreover, certain institutional environment features that affect the choice of governance mechanisms in the supply chain may indirectly influence the design of franchise contracts. In order to examine this hypothesis, this paper presents a discrete structural analysis of 21 case-studies of food franchises in France and Brazil. The cases compare franchise chains in each country that share similar business features — e.g. McDonalds' operations in France and Brazil — in an attempt to control variables related to product and franchisors' strategies. The main findings are that: a) firms choose a portfolio of governance mechanisms to govern their set of transactions; b) upstream and downstream governance mechanisms are complementary; and c) quality regulation and competition policy restrain upstream governance mechanisms, having an indirect effect on the design of the franchise contracts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper evaluates the contributions of contemporary philosophies namely critical philosophy and poststructuralism as a means for facilitating communication and participation in practice. On the one hand, this paper examines the contributions that critical systems thinkers have made to ‘critical systems ethics'. The approach seeks to improve social practice. On the other hand, the paper outlines the idea of a poststructuralist philosophy, by drawing on Foucault and Deleuze to reconstruct ‘postmodern ethics'. To open up new forms of possibility within the postmodern ethics, an alternative mode of thinking is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper documents the impression made by C. West Churchman when he visited that country in the 1990's. It also shows the influence that CWC had on the Swedish systems movement. This summary written fifteen years ago emphasizes the thinking revolution which CWC's ideas brought about. These ideas are still relevant today. For a summary of CWC's epistemological views refer to van Gigch (2003) who presents these ideas in the context of a rehabilitation of epistemology as an indispensable tool to trace the sources of knowledge. Paper presented at the 12th Trienal Conference on Operations Research in Athens, 1990, IFORS'90 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we empirically test whether the Small Business Administration's main guaranteed-lending program—the 7(a) program—has a greater impact on economic performance in low-income markets. This hypothesis is predicated on our previous research (Craig, Jackson, and Thomson, 2007b), where we investigate aggregate SBA guaranteed lending. In that research, we found that the overall impact of SBA-guaranteed lending on economic performance is significant and positive in low-income markets. Using local labor market employment rates as our measure of economic performance, we find a quantitatively similar positive impact of SBA 7(a)-guaranteed lending. This impact on economic performance is also significantly larger in low-income areas. This result suggests that the 7(a) program, which is the largest SBA guaranteed lending program, is also the main contributor to the positive impact of SBA-guaranteed lending on local market economic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to survey the evidence on the relationship between self-employment and human capital from two fields in particular, economics of self-employment and empirical research on growth, emphasising in the sensibility of results to proxies used to capture education. Although, the emphasis is very much on education, rather than on any broader concept of human capital -due to the difficulties to capture other mechanisms of human capital accumulation- other concepts are also considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper tries to collect, describe and evaluate all the potential statistical sources—each pursuing different goals—in order to study self-employment in Spain. The improvement of traditional databases together with the recent incorporation of new statistical sources is bolstering the knowledge of today's labour market, self-employment included. Although the available information might be considered accurate for reaching the goals of each source, the information becomes incomplete and even erratic if we intend to analyse entrepreneurial activity by it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The required tools for the analysis of the entrepreneur and their economic actions are absence and some confusion does exist which impedes theoretical development and empirical testing. The aim of this article is to set out a collection of analytical tools which in turn makes it difficult to draw-up economic policy used to foster entrepreneurship. For this purpose, the present paper given attention to the identification of the nature of the entrepreneur and his economic function; to study the composition and quality of the entrepreneurial network and the factors which affect the appearance of said economic agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we examine ownership structures of franchise chains and evaluate their impact on franchisor profit. Specifically we compare pure forms of franchising with those that use both company-owned and franchised outlets within one chain — a phenomenon termed the plural form. Theoretically such plural arrangements are supposed to provide franchisors with lower costs, higher growth, greater total-quality, and reduced business risk. Empirical results of this study indicate the superiority of company-owned businesses over franchised units in generating franchisor profits. Moreover plurally organized systems compensate for losses from franchising with profits from company units and outperform purely franchised competitors in overall profitability. Despite a clear financial inferiority of franchise outlets, franchisors of our sample do not convert plural structures into wholly-owned chains. Much more when organizing the chain, franchisors face an (skewed) inverse u-shaped profitablity curve with both pure franchising and pure company-ownership lying at the (undesirable) extremes and with a performance peak somewhere in between. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The past three decades have witnessed a growing theoretical and managerial interest in international joint ventures (IJVs). Of growing interest has especially been the analysis of IJV performance. The previous studies have indicated very varying results about IJV performance and determinants of IJV performance. Fourteen hypotheses of the impact of foreign parent, target country, and investment strategy specific variables on performance were developed and tested. In a central role in the study was also the question do the results depend on the measure of performance? As the measures of performance were selected: longevity, survival, and stability. The empirical part of the paper is based on over 720 IJVs made by Finnish firms. The most significant variables were the international experience and the degree of diversification of the Finnish firms, unit unrelatedness, and the individualism dimension of culture. The results indicated relatively much differences depending on measure of performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores a model of inter-firm network in the case of the winter sports industry. It discusses the problem of skiing resort frontiers and the nature of the inter-firms arrangements to produce the final product i.e. spending holidays in a mountain resort. Two network archetypes are defined. They ensue from two approaches in economics: the Transaction Cost Economics and the French Theory of Conventions. In conclusion, we show that these two networks are complementary. Thus, skiing resorts can no longer be seen as autonomous organizations with spatial boundaries. Their frontiers are extended to the contractual or conventional arrangements which characterize the new winter sports industrial organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses governance structures used to organize partnerships in R&D networks emphasizing the degree of administrative and social factors they embody. Data was obtained from European R&D networks created through Framework Programmes, which include a great number of universities, non-profit institutions and firms. We argue that governance structures are related to the applicability of the technology developed in the network. Findings show that two kinds of networks exist in which administrative structures as well as the openness and cohesion of the R&D network have different relevance in governance structures. This study not only provides a theoretical model to analyse governance structures of these networks, but is also useful both for improving the management of networks and for fostering collaboration at an international level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Typical contracts assign both coercive and non-coercive means of power to the principal's side, providing the agent with a comparably small range of countervailing anti-power. Initially agents are therefore vulnerable to opportunistic principal behavior and will rationally anticipate this threat upon signing a contract. In this paper we analyze various forms of power and explain their asymmetrical allocation in the franchising industry. We demonstrate how franchisors restore those shifts in power that seem to disorder the desired balance by performing contractual, financial and organizational adjustments. The nature of these measures suggests that franchisors should cooperate with agents despite their freedom to behave opportunistically. According to empirical data, the better a franchisor is able to credibly alleviate a franchisee's fear of being exploited by principal opportunism, the stronger the growth generated in the entire franchise system that embraces both the company-owned and the franchise arms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies in franchising research do not explain the governance structure of franchising firms as an institutional entity that consists of two interrelated parts: Allocation of residual decision rights and transfer of ownership rights. This paper fills this gap in the literature. According to the property rights view, decision rights have to be allocated according to the distribution of intangible knowledge assets between the franchisor and franchisee and ownership rights have to be assigned according to the residual decision rights. Since ownership rights are diluted in franchising networks, the dilution of residual income rights of franchised outlets is compensated for by setting up company-owned outlets. According to the property rights view, an efficient governance structure of the franchising firm implies allocation of residual decision rights according to the distribution of intangible assets between the franchisor and the franchisee and transfer of ownership rights according to the distribution of residual decision rights. We empirically investigate the influence of intangible knowledge assets on residual decision rights by using a logistic and ordinal regression model and the relationship between residual decision and ownership rights by using a simultaneous equation model on a sample of 83 firms from the Austrian franchise sector. Three hypotheses were derived from the property rights approach and tested. The empirical results are generally supportive of the hypotheses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The plural form has been the subject of a considerable body of research since Bradach developed his model (1998). Most of this work was done in North American, Australian, or European countries. The purpose was mainly to assess the degree of plural form within franchised networks using economic, environmental, organizational, or marketing variables. In the present paper, the focus is not on plural form in only one particular market but instead on a comparison of the extent of the plural form within US and French networks. The main finding is that the rate of company-owned units is significantly higher in France (36.09%) than in the United States (9.45%). This can be explained through the differences in the territory area, and also managerial and strategic differences in the way retail and service networks are run in the two countries. Differences in the extent of plural form are also explored according to the retailing or services orientation of the networks. Finally, some determinants of the extent of plural form are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the relationship between resource-based theory and entrepreneurship and develops insights that advance the boundaries of resource-based theory and begin to address important questions in entrepreneurship. We extend the boundaries of resource-based theory to include the cognitive ability of individual entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs have individual-specific resources that facilitate the recognition of new opportunities and the assembling of resources for the venture. By focusing on resources, from opportunity recognition to the ability to organize these resources into a firm and then to the creation of heterogeneous outputs through the firm that are superior to the market, we help identify issues that begin to address the distinctive domain of entrepreneurship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corporate entrepreneurship seems to many entrepreneurship scholars a contradiction in terms. This paper represents an attempt to bridge that gap. This is done by, first, reviewing the literature on entrepreneurship, trying to summarize it in a few major themes. Second, a view of entrepreneurship is proposed that facilitates the application of the previous findings to the field of corporate entrepreneurship. Finally, a series of propositions are developed, as instances of the kind of research that can be pursued by following the proposed approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article entrepreneurship as a scientific research programmeis developed and presented. In this relatively new field of study many different theories have emerged that try to explain the phenomenon of new enterprise or venture creation. After a brief treatment of the antecedents and historic development of entrepreneurship, the author discusses and suggests what should be the distinctive domain of entrepreneurship research. He then develops and presents the different paradigms or theoretical approaches that have emerged in this field. An attempt is made to classify the diverse theories based on the various theoretical approaches to the study of entrepreneurship. The aim of this paper is not only to delimit this broad field of study but also to offer a guide for future empirical research and theoretical developments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we explore a special aspect of C. West Churchman's epistemology which is concerned with a method that he pioneered to increase our knowledge of a problem. In the Systems Approach and Its Enemies, Churchman (1979), identified four main enemies of the Systems Approach (SA) namely: Politics, Morality, Religion and Aesthetics. In doing so he pioneered the use of the epistemological inquiry an approach which can be used to enlarge the scope of available knowledge and to increase our understanding of the underlying concepts of these issues. Whereas Churchman worked with four enemies, there are many more enemies lurking in the horizon and hindering the application of the Systems Approach to any problem. We will illustrate an extension of Churchman's approach by using the examples of Terrorism, Globalization and Democracy. In so doing we show an aspect of Churchman's multifaceted epistemology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the midst of rapidly shrinking support for the public sector, coupled with increasingly prescriptive state and federal mandates for meeting narrowly defined content and assessment standards, the mission of education is being called into question, as is the integrity of the democratic process. With market forces trumping all other values, such apparently laudable initiatives as the "No Child Left Behind" legislation in the United States become a means of centralizing control and reinforcing what Paolo Friere has called "the ‘banking' concept of education." In this paper I examine a variety of pedagogical practices that foster an alternative approach, which Friere refers to as "problem-posing education". Key elements in such practices include an interdisciplinary curriculum, dialogue and critical inquiry, and community-based learning opportunities. Given West Churchman's life-long concern with cultivating ethical practices in management, an important starting point is the educational system, a fact not lost on those who would direct that system toward their own more limited ends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structures and processes of international relations and governance need to be re-considered to address diversity. The paper makes a plea for systemic governance. Policy makers and managers need to work with rather than within theoretical and methodological frameworks to achieve multidimensional and multilayered policy decisions. Conceptual tools can be used to enhance systemic governance. The closest we can get to truth is through compassionate dialogue that explores paradoxes and considers the rights and responsibilities of caretakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines four teleconsultation projects from a Distributed Singerian-Churchmanian Inquiry System (DSCIS) and sensemaking perspective. This application of DSCIS to address wicked decision problems in remote health care delivery is the focus. Health care providers regularly face wicked decision problems in the diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of their patients' health. Wicked decision problems in health care delivery are a result of the complexity of human anatomy and psychology, where each individual presents health care providers with unique problems due to comorbidity of conditions, differences in age, and variations in genetic and environmental factors. Drawing on Mason and Mitroff's framework, DSCIS are examined in terms of the characteristics of the individuals involved, the inquiry process, modes of presentation, and the social context in which such systems exist. This research provides insights into and contributes to a better understanding of how DSCIS can effectively and efficiently address wicked decision problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is hardly disputed that new business formation and self-employment can be important drivers of economic growth (Scarpetta, 2003; Carree and Thurik, 2003). Recent empirical studies (Fritsch and Mueller, 2004; Van Stel and Storey, 2004; Baptista, Escaria and Madrugo, 2005) have clearly shown that the main positive effects of new business formation do not occur immediately when the new ventures are started but become effective only in the longer run. This paper analyzes the development of regional entrepreneurship and its effect on employment growth in West Germany in the 1983-2002 period. First, we investigate the magnitude and persistence of regional entrepreneurship (section 3 and 4). The second part is devoted to the impact of new businesses on regional employment. This analysis is based on a classification of regional growth regimes that are identified according to differences in the effect that entrepreneurship has on regional employment growth (section 5). In investigating transitions between growth regimes we are able to identify a typical life-cycle of regime types that has important implications for a policy that is aiming at stimulating regional development (section 6). We begin with some basic information on the data and on measurement issues (section 2). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nascent entrepreneurs are people who are (alone or with others) actively engaged in creating a new venture, and who expect to be the owner or part owner of this start-up. Recently, an increasing number of empirical studies deals with the impacts of start-up activities on economic development of nations (Wong, Ho and Autio forthcoming; van Stel, Carree and Thurik forthcoming) and subnational regions (Acs and Armington, 2004; Fritsch and Mueller, 2004). Obviously different types of entrepreneurial activities may have different impacts on economic growth. Especially high growth potential entrepreneurship is found to have a significant (positive) impact on the dependent variables of economic growth in economically advanced countries. Given that newly founded firms are important for the economic development of nations and regions, and that nascent entrepreneurs are by definition important for the foundation of new firms, information about nascent entrepreneurs is important for understanding crucial aspects of the economy. This information, however, can not be found in publications from official statistics. Until the turn of the millennium, therefore, we knew next to nothing about nascent entrepreneurs in Germany. The situation improved considerably when results from the first German wave of the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) survey became available in 19991. The GEM project, however, is focused on variations of entrepreneurial activity between entire countries. The relevance of detailed information on nascent entrepreneurs at the regional level, and the lack of it for Germany, led us to start the research project Regional Entrepreneurship Monitor (REM) Germany in 2000. As part of this project, we performed a representative survey of the adult population in ten German regions, plus a survey and interviews with local experts in the field of entrepreneurship. A second wave followed in 2003. This paper summarizes our findings using data from these surveys and interviews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]