Drivers of franchisor growth: a meta-analysis

Purpose This study aims to help resolve some of the inconsistencies of the relationships between franchisor growth and its drivers in prior literature. Design/methodology/approach First, this study provides a meta-analysis with bivariate correlation analysis and moderation analysis. It then offers an additional analysis of secondary data to shed further light on the relationship between franchisor growth and its drivers. Findings This study confirms the diverse nature of the relationship between the various measures of growth and drivers. It finds that proportion of outlets franchised and brand reputation have the strongest relationships with geographic dispersion; age and proportion of outlets franchised have the strongest relationships with outlet growth rate; and size has the strongest relationship with the number of new outlets. In addition, these multiple relationships are moderated by all three research characteristics that this study investigates, including data source, time frame and industry context. Research limitations/implications This meta-analysis merely offers an examination of the most commonly studied drivers and not a complete review of all potentially important variables. It calls for further research that examines the factors that lead to franchisor growth and performance in general. Practical implications Managers of young franchisors do not need to rush to expand their business across a wide range of geographic regions. Young franchisors instead should focus initially on gaining maturity, developing their business concept, building an attractive track record and improving their brand reputation. Beyond a strong brand and well-developed business concept, franchisors can attract potential franchisees by reassuring them and making them feel secure about their investment. Originality/value This study includes a bivariate analysis that was used to conduct a meta-analysis and also an empirical analysis of secondary data. By conducting the secondary data analysis, we were able to examine the extent to which the meta-analysis results of this study could be extended beyond the time period for papers included in the meta-analysis.