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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).

Submitted by Adriana Alves Rodrigues (aalves@espm.br) on 2021-04-13T16:26:44Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Andrea Giovani Lanfranchi.pdf: 1266848 bytes, checksum: e51d1b93a7db8da6702e7523169e5655 (MD5) Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Alves Rodrigues (aalves@espm.br) on 2021-04-13T16:27:51Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Andrea Giovani Lanfranchi.pdf: 1266848 bytes, checksum: e51d1b93a7db8da6702e7523169e5655 (MD5) Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Alves Rodrigues (aalves@espm.br) on 2021-04-13T16:28:24Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Andrea Giovani Lanfranchi.pdf: 1266848 bytes, checksum: e51d1b93a7db8da6702e7523169e5655 (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2021-04-13T16:29:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Andrea Giovani Lanfranchi.pdf: 1266848 bytes, checksum: e51d1b93a7db8da6702e7523169e5655 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2020-04-27 The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the internationalization process of franchise chains.Specifically, the thesis addresses the impact of the institutional characteristics of the destination country on the international commitment of the franchise chain. To this end, three articles were developed, covering the topics: (1) institutional characteristics that are relevant to the expansion of franchise chains in the global and regional context; (2) impact of the country of origin of the franchise chain; and (3) particularities between franchise chains from emerging and from developed countries. The articles were quantitative, with a eterogeneous sample, composed of both emerging and developed countries. The thesis contributes to the institutional theory insofar as it identifies a set of institutional characteristics that explain the selection of countries for international expansion by the franchise chains, as well as for the studies of internationalization of franchise chains, specifically for the macro perspective stream, through the identification of institutional factors that condition the greater commitment of the franchise chain. O objetivo desta tese é investigar o processo de internacionalização de redes de franquias. Especificamente, a tese aborda o impacto das características institucionais do país de destino no comprometimento internacional da rede. Para isso foram desenvolvidos três artigos, que abordam os tópicos: (1) características institucionais que são relevantes para a expansão de redes de franquias no contexto global e regional; (2) impacto do país de origem da rede de franquia; e (3) particularidades entre redes de países emergentes e desenvolvidos. As pesquisas realizadas foram quantitivas, com uma amostra heterogênea, composta tanto por países emergentes quanto desenvolvidos. A tese contribui para a teoria institucional na medida em que identifica um conjunto de características institucionais que explicam a seleção de países para expansão internacional pelas redes de franquias, bem como para as pesquisas de internacionalização de redes de franquias, em específico para a linha de macro perspectiva, por meio da identificação de fatores institucionais que condicionam o maior comprometimento da rede de franquia.

Motivated by globalization, the internationalization of Brazilian franchise chains to emerging countries has grown in recent decades. This internationalization provided opportunities for expansion for companies in this segment through business in foreign markets. The objective of this article is to identify, in the institutional environment of the destination countries of Brazilian franchise chains, the legal characteristics that are determinant in their internationalization strategies for emerging markets. The methodology used was the multiple case study, with a sample of three internationalized Brazilian franchise chains. The results indicated that the legal environment has relevance in the internationalization of franchise chains, but also indicated the existence of other factors that generate security and confidence and motivated the effective selection of emerging markets. Thus, in the choice of an emerging country for internationalization, the chain seek guarantees in the formal market relations, but, due to the institutional fragility of emerging markets, they also seek guarantees in informal institutions., Motivada pela globalização, a internacionalização de redes de franquias brasileiras para países emergentes tem crescido nas últimas décadas. Essa internacionalização possibilitou oportunidades de expansão para as empresas desse segmento por meio de negócios em mercados externos. O objetivo deste artigo é identificar, no ambiente institucional dos países de destino das redes de franquias brasileiras, as características legais que forem determinantes em suas estratégias de internacionalização para esses mercados. O método utilizado foi o de estudo de caso múltiplo, com uma amostra de três redes de franquias brasileiras internacionalizadas. O resultado indicou que o ambiente legal apresenta relevância na internacionalização de redes de franquias. No entanto, o resultado indicou também a existência de outros fatores que geram segurança e confiança e motivaram a escolha de mercados emergentes. Assim, na escolha de um determinado país emergente de destino, as redes buscam garantias nas relações formais de mercado. No entanto, diante da fragilidade institucional dos mercados emergentes as redes buscam também garantias nas instituições informais.

Motivated by globalization, the internationalization of Brazilian franchise chains to emerging countries has grown in recent decades. This internationalization provided opportunities for expansion for companies in this segment through business in foreign markets. The objective of this article is to identify, in the institutional environment of the destination countries of Brazilian franchise chains, the legal characteristics that are determinant in their internationalization strategies for emerging markets. The methodology used was the multiple case study, with a sample of three internationalized Brazilian franchise chains. The results indicated that the legal environment has relevance in the internationalization of franchise chains, but also indicated the existence of other factors that generate security and confidence and motivated the effective selection of emerging markets. Thus, in the choice of an emerging country for internationalization, the chain seek guarantees in the formal market relations, but, due to the institutional fragility of emerging markets, they also seek guarantees in informal institutions., Motivada pela globalização, a internacionalização de redes de franquias brasileiras para países emergentes tem crescido nas últimas décadas. Essa internacionalização possibilitou oportunidades de expansão para as empresas desse segmento por meio de negócios em mercados externos. O objetivo deste artigo é identificar, no ambiente institucional dos países de destino das redes de franquias brasileiras, as características legais que forem determinantes em suas estratégias de internacionalização para esses mercados. O método utilizado foi o de estudo de caso múltiplo, com uma amostra de três redes de franquias brasileiras internacionalizadas. O resultado indicou que o ambiente legal apresenta relevância na internacionalização de redes de franquias. No entanto, o resultado indicou também a existência de outros fatores que geram segurança e confiança e motivaram a escolha de mercados emergentes. Assim, na escolha de um determinado país emergente de destino, as redes buscam garantias nas relações formais de mercado. No entanto, diante da fragilidade institucional dos mercados emergentes as redes buscam também garantias nas instituições informais.

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.

Phaeodactylum tricornutum was exposed to various toxic substances (zinc, copper or dodecylben- zenesulfonic acid sodium salt) in accordance with the Al- galToxkit protocol based on the UNI EN ISO 10253 method in order to quantitatively compare the responses obtained by traditional growth-rate inhibition tests with morphological (biovolume) and physiological (chloro- phyll-a, phaeophytin ratio) endpoints. A novel approach is proposed for detecting early and sub-lethal effects based on biovolume quantification using confocal microscopy cou- pled with an image analysis system. The results showed that effects on both biovolume and the photosynthetic complex are sensitive and powerful early warning tools for evaluating sub-lethal effects of exposure. Specifically, biovolume showed significant sensitive and early responses for the tested surfactant. Qualitatively, we also observed structural anomalies and effects on natural auto-fluores- cence in exposed cells that also represent potentially useful tools for ecotoxicological studies.

N -Alkyl- N -methylmorpholinium and N -alkyl substituted 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO) based ionic liquids (ILs), N -alkyl-DABCO, bearing short alkyl chains are characterised by a low toxicity to Vibrio fischeri , although toxicity significantly increases on increasing the alkyl chain length. Alkyl chain length affects also biodegradability in the 28 days tests; the higher level of biodegradation was found in both the series in the case of the ethyl (C2) derivatives. In the case of N -ethyl DABCO based IL, although biodegradability is still around 40%, and consequently this IL cannot be classified as “readily biodegradable”, this value is similar to the more biodegradable functionalized imidazolium based ILs.

Many methods of costs incurred to assist managers in making decisions. One of the so-called sunk costs, Sunk costs are costs incurred in the past and can not be changed now and in the future. Sunk costs often affect a company manager's decision to take the right decision. One was the decision in terms of financing fixed assets owned by the company. This research was conducted at Toko Girsa which is located in R.W. Monginsidi Road 49, Manado. The object of this is enelitian fixed assets such as machinery fotocopy Canon IR 6070 owned company. The purpose of this study was to determine the application of the concept of sunk costs and influence in decision making purchases of fixed assets at Toko Girsa. The method used in this research is descriptive method is a method that collects, formulate and classify and interpret the data obtained by the analysis of quantitative data presented in the form of numbers that are related to sunk costs arising from the financing of fixed assets. The results showed that the sunk costs can not be used as a basis for making the right decisions for the management, including fixed asset purchase decision.

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.

In this paper, the efficiency of lipid extraction from macrophytes (Chaetomorpha linum, Ulva laetevirens, Valonia aegagrophyla, Gracilariopsis longissima, Ruppia cirrhosa) for the biodiesel production is evaluated using four different methods based on the Accelerated Solvent Extraction technique. Both wet and dried tissues are extracted and effects induced on lipid recovery by the pressure and the solvent mixture selection are evaluated. Results evidenced that better extraction performance is obtained using a polar/hydrophobic solvent mixture (1:1 v/v). Accelerate Solvent Extraction technique significantly improves the total amount of lipid extracted from macrophytes tissues even if average values are about 2% of the dry weight. Observed efficiencies are far from the productive standards required by the industrial process; nevertheless, lipid extraction from macrophytes could represent an interesting step of a much more complex biomass recycling process which could include, besides biodiesel, also, the production of other commercial materials as well as pigments and biosorbents.

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.

This study evaluates recent distribution changes of three phanerogam (Ruppia cirrhosa, Cymodocea nodosa, Nanozostera noltii) and seven macroalgae taxa (Acetabularia acetabulum, Chaetomorpha linum, Cladophora vagabunda, Cladophora battersii, Gracilariopsis longissima, Spyridia filamentosa., Ulva laetevirens, Valonia aegagrophyla) in a meso-eutrophic Mediterranean coastal lagoon (Orbetello, Italy). The aim of this study was to relate, on a statistical basis, distribution and dominance changes to different factors: low-range trophic differences between lagoon areas (basin), temporal changes (year), levels of surfactants (pollution). In July 2003, 2009, and 2011 the percentage of coverage of each considered species was estimated in 38 sites equally distributed inside Western and Eastern basins. Collected data were analysed using SURFER v8.0 and Primer E package v6.0 software to produce respectively geostatistical distribution maps and associated probabilities. Surfer maps evidenced changes in macroalgae distribution during the studied period and statistical analyses supported observed differences related to factors years, basin, and pollution. Major effects are due to changes recorded for only changes of Nanozostera, Cladophora and Spyridia taxa concerning both distributions and abundances. Observed changes could have been due to management activities performed during 2003-2009. The removal of direct nitrate inputs produced specie-specific shifts characterized by a rarefaction of C. linum, Cladophora sp., and Spyridia sp. and an increase of G. longissima and V. aegagrophyla.