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1. Overview
While customers demand the convenience of online shopping (Cao et al., 2018; Reddy and Raju, 2016; Shanthi and Desti, 2015) and expect to switch between channels (Madan and Yadav, 2018; Verhoef et al., 2015; Verhagen and Van Dolen, 2009), an appropriate e-commerce strategy is essential for franchise performance (Perrigot and Pénard, 2013). The definition of franchise performance for this paper includes relational performance in terms of franchisee satisfaction, customer satisfaction, and overall harmony of franchise relationships (free from unfavourable competition and conflict) as well as financial performance. Although e-commerce provides efficient distribution methods for retail and service businesses alike (Hua, 2016; Madan and Yadav, 2018; Yen, 2014), many franchise businesses have encountered difficulties in implementing effective e-commerce strategies to accommodate their clients’ needs. Issues surrounding the management of relational contracts and organisational fit (White, 2010; Rao and Frazer, 2005) make franchising a unique context to study business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce implementation.
Moreover, there is evidence that many franchisors continue to encounter difficulties in amending their business models to service customers online (Pénard and Perrigot, 2017; Terry, 2002). Thus, the focal question of this research is, “How do franchise organisations implement business-to-consumer e-commerce?” Given that there have been a limited number of exploratory studies investigating this topic over the last decade, it is suggested that a significant knowledge gap exists when considering the crossover between e-commerce and franchising. In acknowledgement of the growth of e-commerce nationally and worldwide (Madan and Yadav, 2018; Perrigot et al., 2013) and structural considerations that make successful implementation more complex for franchised companies than for fully-independent businesses (Rao and Frazer, 2005; Terry, 2002; Watson et al., 2002), a qualitative approach was utilised to better understand this area of research (Dixon and Quinn, 2004).
It is important to investigate e-commerce practices in franchising for many reasons. First, franchising makes a significant contribution to the economy regarding GDP, employment and performance of the small business sector (Frazer et al., 2016, 2014). Second, e-commerce is a useful tool for businesses to attract more customers and market their brand (Cao et al., 2018; Nisar and Prabhakar, 2017; Perrigot and Pénard, 2012). Third, when e-commerce and franchising as forms of distribution and marketing channel strategies are combined, several issues...