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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).

The franchising industry in Brazil has been growing for more than 10 years. In this market segment, microfranchises act as franchises whose initial investment amount is up to US$ 26,000. The purpose of this study is to verify if there is variation in the microfranchisee's perceived value regarding the support provided by the franchisor and the development of the franchise chain brand due to their socio-economic class. The variables used were training, prospecting and installation of the franchise unit, legal and financial support, and field consulting and operating manuals. In relation to the brand, the variables used were advertising and promotion, brand strength, and customer loyalty. All variables are quantitative. A total of 148 microfranchisees in Sao Paulo were selected for the survey. Results demonstrate that microfranchisees' perceptions of support and brand value are not related to their socio-economic background as microfranchisors could expect. The franchisors' decision of selecting franchisees does not consider their socio-economic characteristics as predictors of support and brand image perception.

This study evaluates, on a preliminary basis, the principal morpho-physiological effects induced by pollution stress in four aquatic vegetation species of great ecological relevance in transitional water ecosystems. Three macroalgae (Chaetomorpha linum, Valonia aegagrophyla, Graciliariopsis longissima) and one phanerogams species (Ruppia cirrhosa) were exposed to different doses of trace elements (Cu, Hg, Zn) and surfactants (dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid sodium salt) in laboratory controlled microcosm conditions and morpho-physiological responses (photosynthetic complex alteration, percentage of died cells, morphological changes) were measured before and after 7 and 14 days of exposure. Levels of pollutants in tissues and BioConcentration Factors (BCF) for each species were calculated after 14 days of exposure. Results suggest that photosynthetic complex alteration can be a useful tool to evaluate early and sub-lethal significant changes due to exposure to pollution stress in all of the considered species. A clear species-specificity was observed concerning trace element levels in tissues after 14 days of exposure, while dose-dependent behavior was observed for BCFs.

The results of a study on levels of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), analyzed in terms of HPLC-ESI-MS in water, sediment, macrophyte, bivalve, crustacean and fish samples, are reported here. The aim of the research is to define, for the first time, PFOA/S levels in a heavily human-stressed transitional water ecosystem (Orbetello lagoon, Italy) and evaluate trophic web enrichments and human dietary intakes. The results obtained show that: (i) levels significantly higher than those reported in the literature were found in mussels, clams and crabs; (ii) the river is a significant pollution source; (iii) although absolute levels are relatively low, macroalgae proliferation contributes to redistribute pollutants from river-affected areas throughout the entire lagoon basin; (iv) to the best of our current knowledge, water-filtering species considered in this study are the most exposed to PFOA/S pollution; (v) human daily dietary intakes of PFOA/S through Slow Food-endorsed product consumption are below maximum tolerable levels suggested by the EFSA. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.

This paper describes recent levels of surfactants measured in a coastal lagoon ecosystem highly stressed by human activites: the Orbetello lagoon (Southern Tuscany, Italy, Ramsar Site IT008). Significance of difference among concentrations measured before and after summertime are explored in order to evaluate effects related to tourism exploitation. Among surfactants, methylene blue active anionic substances (MBAS) are selected as tracers for untreated discharges originated by domestic and urban activities. Water samplings were performed in 2011 following a randomly replicated nested logic model (n = 144). MBAS mean level of 0.070 mg.L–1 (–1) and 0.530 mg.L–1 (–1) are respectively recorded in June and October evidencing a significant increase after the touristic season. Possible MBAS concentration phenomena could be induced by different evaportaton rates among sampling stations and between winter and summer seasons and were evaluated, in this study, using water salinity as possible factor affecting samples segregations. Results evidence that differences of MBAS levels related to evaporation rates are trascurabile if compared to the variability induced by the presence of not-collected wastewater hot-spot pollution sources located closed around the urban settlement and along sandbars. Measured levels of surfactants could act negatively on living organisms both animals and plants contributing to affect Orbetello lagoon biodiversity. In this ecosystem, after the complete reorganization of urban wastewater treatment plants occured in 2008, further management actions should be focalized on reducing untreated sources of MBAS.