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Trust and Fairness During Strategic Change Processes in Franchise Systems

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Abstract

A very important challenge for franchisors is adapting the strategies of their franchise systems to new threats and opportunities. During such strategic change processes (SCPs) franchisees are often required to make major financial investments and/or adjustments in their trade practices without any guarantee of positive benefits. It is, therefore, important that franchisees trust their franchisors during such change processes and that they perceive the change process as fair. This article aims to generate theory on franchisees’ perceptions of trust and fairness during SCPs. On the basis of case studies regarding eight change processes in four Dutch drugstore franchise systems, this article distinguishes different levels of franchisee trust and discusses five instruments that franchisors can “institutionalize” in their franchise systems to influence their franchisees’ trust and fairness perceptions.

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Acknowledgments

The author thanks Prof. Dr. Dany Jacobs, Prof. Dr. Mr. Liesbeth Kneppers-Heijnert and Dr. Maryse Brand for their helpful comments during the larger project of which this article is part. The author also thanks the franchisors and franchisees of the franchise systems DA/STIP, Uw Eigen Drogist and ETOS for their cooperation.

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Correspondence to Evelien Croonen.

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Croonen, E. Trust and Fairness During Strategic Change Processes in Franchise Systems. J Bus Ethics 95, 191–209 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-009-0354-z

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