Though the internationalization of firms has progressed in theory
development and empirical testing during the last two decades, researchers
continue to concentrate on the exporting behavior of manufacturers to the
exclusion of other forms of international involvement. This exploratory
study provides a partial test of the internationalization hypothesis in a
franchise setting and identifies two segments of franchisors, which differ
in several ways. Franchise systems in the final stage of
internationalization have larger international operations, generate a larger
percent of sales from international operations, and have more diversified
expansion plans. In addition, systems in the two stages differ in ownership
structure. The findings add insights into the internationalization process
of franchise systems that are useful to practitioners in the implementation
of market expansion strategies and to researchers in the continuing effort
to further understand international franchising.
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