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2017 | Buch

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Management and Governance of Networks

Franchising, Cooperatives, and Strategic Alliances

herausgegeben von: George W. J. Hendrikse, Gérard Cliquet, Thomas Ehrmann, Josef Windsperger

Verlag: Springer International Publishing

Buchreihe : Contributions to Management Science

Enthalten in: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

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Über dieses Buch

This book highlights cutting-edge research in the economics and management of networks as an interdisciplinary field, offering new theoretical, empirical and practical perspectives on the management, governance, ownership and control of cooperatives, franchising networks and strategic alliances. Further, it presents a strategic group perspective on franchisers and discusses both social entrepreneurship issues in franchising and franchising strategies for Indigenous entrepreneurship in Australia. Lastly, it offers a dynamic capabilities approach to alliance portfolio management and analyses the antecedents of the transitions taking place in the lifecycles of alliances.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

Management and Governance of Networks: An Introduction

Abstract

There are many types of interfirm networks, like cooperatives, franchise and retail chains, joint ventures, strategic alliances, and financial networks. This raises the issue of the relative efficiency of management and governance of a network. The current book addresses theoretical and empirical perspectives on the management and governance of franchising networks, cooperatives, and strategic alliances.

George W. J. Hendrikse, Gérard Cliquet, Thomas Ehrmann, Josef Windsperger

Franchising

Frontmatter

Strategic Groups in the French Franchising Sector

Abstract

We provide a picture of the French franchising sector, based on the strategic group approach. We use a recent 4-year panel dataset from the French Federation of Franchising, for the period 2010–2013, and sophisticated statistical and supervised learning models. Five main strategic groups of franchisors are distinguished in the French system, characterized by specific strategies and performance outcomes. We first survey the literature dealing with strategic groups and then conduct a multidimensional statistical analysis (Principal Components Analysis and Ascending Hierarchical Clustering), highlighting three factorial axes and five clusters. We test the stability of network behaviors with a classification model. Finally, we observe and comment on the differences in strategic group performances.

Sofiane Bouzid, Magali Chaudey, Muriel Fadairo, Frédéric Perdreau

Control and Performance in Franchising Networks

Abstract

The aim of the study is to examine the determinants of franchisor performance by focusing on the moderating role of control as transaction cost savings and value-creating mechanism. In line with resource-based view, we argue that intangible resources of the franchisor (brand name) and the intangible resources of the franchisees (local market knowledge, human resource management, quality control, and administrative capabilities) will positively impact franchisor performance. Based on the transaction cost view, we show that environmental uncertainty is negatively related to franchisor performance. Although the resource-based view and transaction cost economics have been extensively used in previous literature, no study examined the moderating role of control on the impact of resource-based and transaction cost variables on franchisor performance. We use cross-sectional data from the franchise sector in Germany to empirically test the hypotheses.

Ilir Hajdini, Helge Klapper, Paulus Rommer, Josef Windsperger

Beyond Main Street: Franchising Strategies for Indigenous Entrepreneurship in Australia

Abstract

Australia’s Indigenous population faces disparities which tarnish Australia’s image as “the lucky country”: a life expectancy markedly less than non-Indigenous Australians, lower education standards, poorer health, greater unemployment, and the list goes on. Having developed a culture which enabled first Australians to survive, and indeed thrive, for over 60,000 years in all areas of Australia’s massive landmass and challenging climate and conditions, Australia’s original inhabitants have faced their greatest challenge in the form of European invasion and settlement just over 200 years ago. Successive Australian governments have made regrettably little progress in dealing effectively with the challenges faced by Indigenous Australians living within, and alongside, modern Europeanized and increasing Asianized Australia. A massive welfare budget has not resulted in sustained positive outcomes, and there is increasing recognition from Indigenous leadership that there is a need to find a way out of welfare dependency and that economic empowerment is likely to be a more effective strategy. This paper considers the potential role of franchising—albeit not as practiced in Main Street Australia—in supporting Indigenous entrepreneurship.

Cary Di Lernia, Andrew Terry

Social Entrepreneurship and Franchising: A Panacea for Emerging Countries? The Case of Algeria

Abstract

One of the most intractable social and economic challenges in emerging countries, namely, high unemployment, may be tackled by social entrepreneurship and franchising. In this ongoing research, we focus on Algeria as the case study to demonstrate the practical application of social entrepreneurship and franchising in an emerging country. Though Algeria has invested heavily in large-scale government-sponsored employment programs, unemployment, especially among the youth, remains stubbornly high, leading to a number of serious social and security problems (criminality, drug usage, suicides, illegal emigration, terrorism, etc.). We argue that social entrepreneurship combined with franchising has the potential to foster quickly a large number of social entrepreneurs, leading to the creation of a large number of sustainable jobs, especially among the educated youth in Algeria and, by extension, in many emerging countries.

Hachemi Aliouche, Dominique Bonet Fernandez

Franchising in the Education Sector: How Do Pakistani Customers Perceive This New Phenomenon?

Abstract

The literature on franchising is growing. However, the customer perceptions regarding franchising have rarely been explored, and the few existing studies deal with developed markets, e.g., the UK and the USA. The aim of this research is to assess how customers perceive franchising in the education sector in Pakistan. More specifically, our research questions are the following: (1) According to the customers, what are the differences between franchised schools and public schools? (2) What are the customer perceptions regarding the main characteristics of franchising in the education sector? (3) What are the customer perceptions regarding social achievements of these franchised schools and chains? (4) According to the customers, what are the opportunities and challenges associated with franchising in the education sector? We adopt a qualitative approach with 17 face-to-face interviews conducted with customers of franchised schools in Pakistan, including parents and students.

Muhammad Akib Warraich, Rozenn Perrigot

Cooperatives

Frontmatter

Profiling the Natural Food Cooperative Members: Strategic Implications in Terms of Market Positioning and Governance

Abstract

This article contributes to current research by assessing the specificities and key points of differentiation of natural and organic food cooperative members versus customers of private natural food retailers. This is accomplished by identifying and comparing behavioral, attitudinal, and lifestyle characteristics of members and non-members in regard to organic food and sustainable practices such as buying local. Results reveal that food cooperative members are for the most part more “idealistic” than non-members but also identify a duality between idealism and pragmatism among members that could trigger serious governance issues. Consequently recommendations in terms of target market, positioning, communication, customer experience, and governance are determined.

Odile Streed, Gérard Cliquet, Albert Kagan

Farmer Cooperatives as Systems of Attributes: An Analysis of Ownership and Investment Complementarities

Abstract

The long-term economic viability of the farmer cooperative mode of organization is often assumed to be jeopardized by an equity constraint. To inform possible solutions, the farmer cooperative is conceptualized as an independent firm comprising a system of attributes, thus facilitating a better understanding of the dual function of organized farm producers as both patrons and capitalists. We place emphasis on the hybrid assignment and configuration of claim rights to find possible complementarities between ownership and investment so as to loosen the equity constraint. Based on survey data on US farmer cooperatives, we analyze multiple configurations of membership access, ownership transferability, equity redeemability, preferred stock provision and ownership, and upfront capital contribution in relation to the desire to patronize and the obligation to capitalize the cooperative. Thus, we inform constitutional responses to rapid developments in the agri-food industry, which force farmer cooperatives to find additional equity for necessary growth in scale and scope.

Jasper Grashuis, Michael L. Cook

Toward an Updated Typology of US Farmer Cooperatives: Survey Evidence of Recent Hybrid Ownership Restructuring

Abstract

Primary survey data on 371 US farmer cooperatives is used to study the diffusion of traditional and novel ownership structures. We conclude the existing typology of claim right configurations is an imperfect representation of the current population of US farmer cooperatives, which is interpreted as strong evidence of much ownership structure adaptation in the last decade. Using 12 ownership structure characteristics, an updated typology is proposed with classic structure variations in which equity redeemability is allowed, as well as new hybrid discoveries which combine different characteristics. Introduced are the classical investor cooperative, a structure common to small local multipurpose cooperatives; the proportional trader cooperative, which is adopted by several large dairy and supply cooperatives; and the proportional investor cooperative. The multiple pairwise comparison method is used to reveal significant differences in the competitive scope, the organizational size and type, as well as the capital structure of classic and hybrid ownership structures. Future research is recommended to further investigate claim right characteristics to inform complementarity between ownership and investment, which is necessary to ensure the long-term economic viability of each farmer cooperative.

Jasper Grashuis, Michael L. Cook

Innovations in Cooperatively Organized Breeding Networks: Analysis of Cluster Structures in Dairy Cattle Breeding in Germany

Abstract

This article examines the innovation activity of cooperatives in dairy cattle breeding and especially the links between profitability, organization, and innovation in the case of Germany. The combination of an explorative approach and multivariate data analysis, of case studies and data from the official estimation of breeding values, is intended to provide a better understanding of the interdependencies. Our cluster analysis suggests a positive effect of network activity and innovation activity on the profitability of breeding companies. Our results imply that network organizations should be supported by the members. The insights on small cooperatives with a high number of shares per member reveal a second way that could combine the benefits of networks and small cooperatives: the establishment of networks and their splitting in strategic groups with a size-related distribution of shares per member.

Julia Höhler, Rainer Kühl

Uniformity in Collective Entrepreneurship: The Case of Food Retail Cooperatives in France

Abstract

Entrepreneurship can be either individual, collective, or both. Cooperatives and independent associated networks are groups of retail and service stores that pool their means. Curiously, there has been a lack of research on retail cooperatives. The objective of this research is to show how these organizations, whose cooperators have a dual status (they are both customers and co-owners of the cooperative), can face the uniformity challenge as efficiently as franchised networks do. The findings highlight the existence of various centralized, decentralized, and mixed processes. This research suggests a model for managing uniformity in food retail cooperatives.

Fabrice Cassou, Gérard Cliquet, Rozenn Perrigot

Characterizing Cooperatives in China

Abstract

Scholars question whether Chinese cooperatives are different from Western cooperatives. Five cooperatives in Zhejiang province are described, and they are evaluated from various perspectives. Next we address various differences between cooperatives in China and the Western world. We highlight aspects of the political and the economic environment, such as the farmland system, the cooperative law, the financial support and intervention from the government, the limited education of most farmers, and the substantial capital requirements in order to have a successful cooperative.

Yining Xu, George W. J. Hendrikse, Hongdong Guo, Qiao Liang

Cooperatives in Kyrgyzstan: Findings from a Survey of Cooperatives and Users

Abstract

Most cooperatives in Kyrgyzstan are production cooperatives—successors of former collective farms. There are hardly any “pure” service cooperatives, although a survey conducted as part of this study reveals that production cooperatives partially fulfill the function of service cooperatives by providing farm services also to nonmembers. Most respondents highlight difficulties due to shortage of inputs and inadequate access to farm machinery, including lack of machinery leasing options. Difficulties with product sales, access to financial sources, and veterinary services were highlighted with lower frequency, but still by more than 20% of respondents. These are precisely the problem areas that service cooperatives are designed to overcome. Respondents indicate that cooperatives play a positive role in rural life: they improve service delivery to farmers and the perceived well-being is higher for cooperative members than for outsiders.

Formal cooperation as manifested in membership in cooperatives is very limited among the farmers surveyed. Informal cooperation is much more widespread, and the substantial gap between the frequency of formal and informal cooperation (8% and 22% of farmers surveyed, respectively) clearly suggests that there is a large potential for development and adoption of service cooperatives in Kyrgyzstan.

Cooperatives in Kyrgyzstan are few in number and widely scattered. More than half the respondents report that there is no cooperative in the vicinity that they can join. Other reasons for not joining a cooperative (fear of losing independence, lack of information about cooperatives) manifest lack of clear understanding of the differences between service and production cooperatives and strongly suggest that cooperative development requires a large-scale information campaign to familiarize the rural population with the working of cooperatives.

Zvi Lerman, David Sedik

Strategic Alliances

Frontmatter

Alliance Portfolio Management: A Model Based on Dynamic Capabilities

Abstract

Alliances established by firms are increasing since three decades and these firms have to manage an important alliance portfolio. Researches have demonstrated that alliances contribute to the improvement of the firm’s performance via savings in coordination costs, access to new resources and competencies, the development of new activities and new markets, or the reinforcement of the competitive position. The increasing contribution of the alliances to the turnover and the organization of the activities of the firm make the portfolio as a key strategic asset. Our research question relates to the definition of an integrating model which takes the multidimensional nature of alliance portfolio management into consideration. In an attempt to improve it, our objective is to suggest a modeling of the portfolio management based on recognized and complementary corpuses: the resource-based approach and the evolutionary model. Specifically, we develop an emerging approach based on the concept of dynamic capabilities (Teece et al., Strateg Manag J 18:509–533, 1997) using business intelligence, networking, alliance management, and absorptive capabilities. The creation of an “alliance unit” plays a crucial role in the development of the alliance portfolio management capabilities. This model aims to optimize the composition and the management of the alliance portfolio to improve the value creation linked to the alliance strategy and the firm performance so that it obtains a specific advantage.

Raymond Guillouzo

The Antecedents of Relationship Phase Affect in Alliances

Abstract

The primary aim of this paper is to extend the interfirm exchange relationships’ literature by examining antecedents of the transitions that take place in the life cycles of business relationships. While making an appeal to the relational exchange theory, transaction cost economics, (network) bargaining power theory, and the organizational control model, the author proposes a (theoretical) model that takes an account of the antecedents of changes that take place in the firms’ states of affect during different phases of the development/evolution of their exchange relationships with other firms. It has been theorized that the varying extents of relational governance, relationship quality, interorganizational commitment, relational investments, behavioral uncertainty, bargaining influence, and perceived control affect changes in the affective states of exchange partners across different phases/stages of development/evolution of their exchange relationships. The paper sets an agenda for the future research to regard phases of business relationship life cycle as a (behavioral) outcome construct and explain its antecedents instead of merely considering it as a moderating condition as has been done in the interfirm relationships’ literature in the last few decades.

Muhammad Zafar Yaqub

Food Safety Management Through the Lens of Hybrids: The Case of Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Shippers

Abstract

Managing the pesticide safety risk to provide end markets with safe fruit and vegetables raises complex issues due to the diversity and stringent nature of public and private safety requirements and the high cost of controlling the product and the production process. More often than not, this leads to the development of diversified and more integrated relationships between growers and their buyers. Our paper is a case study of the hybrid forms underlying such relationships. It begins by developing the analytical framework, drawing on transaction cost, positive agency, and property rights theories with a special focus on the model proposed by Ménard (The Handbook of Organizational Economics, Princeton, 1066–1108, 2013), positioning the hybrid forms along the two dimensions of decision rights and strategic resources. It then presents a selection of quantitative and qualitative findings obtained from data collected through face-to-face interviews with managers of fresh produce shipping firms in France and Chile. Both case studies confirm that the level of centralization increases with the buyer’s commercial reputation, the level of customer safety requirements (a key component in the marketing strategy of the buyer), and the level of asset specificity which is mostly embedded in the technical assistance and training provided by the buyer to the growers. Moreover, our paper establishes a clear divide between firms that only control product safety at the delivery stage and firms that also control safety throughout the production process and may take decisions on behalf of the grower before harvesting.

Jean-Marie Codron, Alejandra Engler, Cristian Adasme-Berríos, Laure Bonnaud, Zouhair Bouhsina, Gabriela Cofre-Bravo

Titel: Management and Governance of Networks
herausgegeben von: George W. J. Hendrikse
Gérard Cliquet
Thomas Ehrmann
Josef Windsperger
Verlag: Springer International Publishing
Electronic ISBN: 978-3-319-57276-5
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-57275-8
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57276-5