What Prospective Franchisees Are Seeking

Abstract

A shortage of suitable franchisee applicants has been identified by franchisors as a major hindrance to franchise sector growth in Australia. However, there has been little investigation into this issue within organizational choice research. This represents an important gap in the literature. To explore the issue of franchisee shortage it was first necessary to determine what prospective franchisees are seeking from franchisors. Prospective franchisees considered a return on investment, provision of training, and being their own boss as being the most important attributes that franchisors could provide. These findings also indicate that attendees saw trade shows as an important means of gathering franchising information. Further, respondent's attributes generally aligned with what franchisors believed they supplied, and though possessing entrepreneurial tendencies, they desired ongoing support from franchisors.