Examining the Role of Franchisee Normative Expectations in Relationship Evaluation

Research has largely assumed franchisee satisfaction to be at the micro-level, yet individuals are often ‘sold’ on the idea of franchising (as a business model) long before they are “sold” on an individual franchisor (brand). The findings of survey data collected from 339 Australian franchisees significantly enrich our understanding of how franchisee macro-level expectations (i.e., normative) influence micro-level evaluations and subsequent outcomes (i.e., at the franchisor performance level). Furthermore, this research provides valuable insight for practice and serves as a solid foundation for future research in this important area.

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► Relational outcomes rely on confirmation of pre-existing franchisee expectations.
► First to examine normative expectations of franchising as a business model.
► Normative expectations examined in context of antecedent and outcome variables.
► Normative expectations confirmation partially mediates all relationships tested.
► Foundation to further explore normative and predictive expectations of franchisees.