The impact of communicative efficiency on franchisee performance

The objective of this study is to examine how franchise network members can organize networking activities efficiently. Conceptualising the franchise organisation as a social network arrangement, this chapter argues that efficient resource transmission among franchisees is essential in the quest for competitive advantage and economic rents, and is the key to higher individual (and in aggregation, collective) performance. Thus, efficient exchange reinforces the superiority of the network form of organisation to alternative organisational designs. The study suggests that interfranchisee communication is the strategic means for efficient exchange. Hypotheses are tested on a sample of 121 fashion retail franchisees.