Strategic Integration of E-commerce and Franchising

Angelo Manaresi – Department of Management, University of Bologna, Via Capo di Lucca 34, 40126, Bologna, Italy

Abstract: The primary objective of this article is to discern the strategy im­plications arising from the incorporation of e-commerce by franchisors with­in franchise networks. Following interviews with key informants, an experi­ment was conducted to investigate the franchisees’ willingness to continue investing in the franchise network after the franchisor introduces an e-com­merce platform that excludes them. The long-term repercussions of inte­grating e-commerce into franchising networks include a diminished willing­ness among franchisees to sustain their investments. This may differ from the short-term acceptance of the franchisor’s e-commerce initiative, primarily at­tributable to the substantial power imbalance between franchisor and fran­chisee, as well as short-term inertia inherent in relation-specific investments and franchise contracts. A significant challenge faced by franchisors is the choice between establishing a profit-sharing model or, ideally, a mutually beneficial win-win arrangement with franchisees. Alternatively, the strategy may consider allocating more resources to directly operated stores.

7th International Scientific Conference on Recent Advances in Information Technology, Tourism, Economics, Management and Agriculture – ITEMA 2023 – Conference Proceedings, Hybrid (Faculty of Organization and Informatics Varaždin, University of Zagreb, Croatia), October 26, 2023

ITEMA Conference Proceedings published by: Association of Economists and Managers of the Balkans – Belgrade, Serbia

ITEMA conference partners: Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Maribor, Slovenia; Faculty of Organization and Informatics, University of Zagreb, Varaždin; Faculty of Geography, University of Belgrade, Serbia; Institute of Marketing, Poznan University of Economics and Business, Poland; Faculty of Agriculture, Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine ”King Michael I of Romania”, Romania

ITEMA Conference 2023 Conference Proceedings: ISBN 978-86-80194-75-2, ISSN 2683-5991, DOI: https://doi.org/10.31410/ITEMA.2023

Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission.

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