Building successful franchise partnerships: the importance of communication and trust

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual model for building successful franchise partnerships. The model examines the influence of communication and trust on satisfaction and performance in franchise partnerships, considering that franchises are based on franchisor-franchisee and franchisor-supplier relationships. Design/methodology/approach The unit of analysis refers to the relationships that the franchisor maintains with the franchisees and the main supplier, from the franchisor’s perspective. A mail survey of 592 franchises was conducted by means of a structured, self-administered questionnaire for data collection. A total of 98 valid questionnaires were received and analyzed using structural equation modeling. Findings Results indicate that communication between franchise partners is related to satisfaction through trust. In fact, communication is a major precursor of trust. Findings also show the direct influence of trust on satisfaction in both relationships. Finally, results evidence that developing satisfactory relationships between partners improves strategic and operational franchise outcomes. Research limitations/implications The use of the questionnaire limits the approach to information gathering. In addition, the study focused on the franchisor’s perspective of the relationships and it would be interesting to include other partners’ opinions. Further, research should broaden the study scope to include other factors of franchise partnerships. Practical implications This study provides franchisors with guidelines to develop satisfactory relationships. It recommends that franchisors design adequate programs to create, maintain, and enhance franchise partnerships, and also to improve a trust-based culture. Originality/value The analysis is conducted taking into consideration the franchisor-franchisee relationship and the franchisor-supplier relationship. Measurement scales are developed and validated for both relationships.