How Franchisors Describe Their Ideal Entrepreneurial Franchisee

Abstract

This article has two main objectives: first, to identify the various entrepreneurial profiles of the ideal franchisee, as perceived by franchisors, and second, to describe and compare each profile on the basis of system characteristics. Qualitative research of franchisors is coupled with analyses of data collected from 90 franchise systems. This procedure offers strong sequential evidence in that the results of the first method inform the second-stage sampling and instrumentation (Greene et al., 1989). The study reveals three main entrepreneurial profiles of prospective franchisees - system developer, in-store craftsperson, and opportunistic investor. It also establishes that the term of the franchise agreement and the level of system plurality are two factors on which entrepreneurial profiles differ. These results offer strong support for franchisors in their selection strategy of future franchise partners.