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Purpose The purpose of this research is to identify the impacts of the country of origin of a franchise chain on its commitment in the destination countries, verifying the institutional particularities between the chains from emerging and developed countries. Design/methodology/approach The research is descriptive and quantitative and involved 724 franchise chains from 10 countries of origin (Brazil, Russia, India, South Africa, Argentina, USA, Germany, Australia, Spain and Portugal), spread over 174 destination countries, totaling 3,513 cases. Findings The results indicate that institutional preferences do not vary according to the country of origin of the franchise chain but rather vary according to the destination country. Research limitations/implications This paper contributes to institutional theory by identifying a set of characteristics that explains the selection of international markets and the commitment of franchise chains. Practical implications The results obtained in the study can help managers of franchise chains to make decisions related to the selection of destination countries for international expansion based on the institutional characteristics of the markets and their compatibility with the objectives of the franchise chains. Originality/value Companies in emerging countries internationalize according to different management logics from those of companies from developed countries. Thus, it is possible that the process of selecting countries for internationalization is also based on different criteria that reflect different institutional preferences. The thesis defended in the paper is that market potential is more important to franchisees from emerging markets, whereas contract enforcement is more important to franchisees from developed markets.

PurposeIn this study, the authors identify how formal institutional environments in destination countries matter to franchise chains as they internationalize. The institutional environment of the destination countries of franchise chains is characterized according to three institutional dimensions necessary to attract international investment – public governance, ease of doing business and legal processes – and analyzed in the context of regional and global franchise expansion.Design/methodology/approachThe descriptive quantitative study involved 625 franchise chains from Australia, Brazil, Germany, India, Russia, South Africa and the United States, with a total of 2,939 observations.FindingsResults suggest that franchise chains from emerging markets are guided by the institutional conditions of ease of doing business and the quality of legal processes in global expansion and guided by ease of doing business, quality of legal processes and governance in regional expansion. On the other hand, franchise chains from developed markets are guided by the ease of doing business, quality of legal processes and governance in global expansion and governance and ease of doing business in regional expansion.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample included only franchise chains associated with organizations that represent franchises in their countries of origin, and the study does not analyze the effect of institutional distance between countries of origin and destination.Originality/valueThis study identifies the formal institutional characteristics that explain selection and commitment in international markets by franchise chains from different countries. The contribution is in analyzing the phenomenon through the lens of institutional theory and showing, through a global sample, that institutions matter to franchise chains from different types of countries (developed and emerging) and with different strategies for internationalization (global and regional).