Existence of the Plural Form Within Franchised Networks: Some Early Results from the US and French Markets.

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]