Implementing e-Commerce Strategy in Australian Franchise Networks

Abstract

This dissertation serves three major purposes: (1) to create new knowledge in the domain of franchising research, (2) to assist future academic inquiry by advancing the understanding of the use of ecommerce in franchising, and (3) to develop a framework to assist franchisors to find suitable models in ecommerce adoption and gain franchisee acceptance. It is proposed that inherent contradictions exist when ecommerce and franchising are combined due to potential eencroachment and franchisee acceptance of the franchisor’s strategy. In addition, ecommerce challenges franchising as a mode of distribution, as it implies a high level of centralisation, whereas franchising prior to the ecommerce age was structured to decentralise the franchisor’s business and distribution arrangements. Therefore, this thesis aims to address questions around how ecommerce can be successfully incorporated into franchise networks, especially those that had not anticipated the onset and the proliferation of ecommerce in their initial structure. These research questions are addressed primarily through qualitative methods of data collection and analysis, although a small part of this thesis contains a quantitative study used to confirm and generalise the findings of the exploratory qualitative phase. This doctoral research consisted of three main phases of data collection and analysis.