Making Franchising in Healthcare Work
Year: 2014
Type: article
Abstract: __Abstract__ \n \nBusiness format franchising is a form of interorganizational cooperation that originates \nfrom the business sector. It is increasingly used in a variety of healthcare services to \nreach positive results. In a franchise system contractual arrangements are made \nbetween two firms: the franchisor and the franchisee. In exchange for a payment, the \nfranchisor offers a business format that consists of a brand name, support systems, \nand a specification of the healthcare services that must be delivered in local units. \nFranchisees provide healthcare services in local units using the business format, the \nown local market knowledge, and the own resources (Blair & Lafontaine, 2005; Falbe \n& Welsh, 1998; Komoto, 2005). Thus, franchising combines central management of a \nbusiness format and local entrepreneurship (Cox & Mason, 2007; Sorenson & Sørensen, \n2001). Some franchise systems also include units owned by the franchisor. These units \nare operated by managers that are employed by the franchisor and that use the same \nbusiness format as the franchisees. So, a franchise system consists of a franchisor, the \nfranchisees, the business format, the franchise contract and, in some systems, unit \nmanagers with the company-owned units they operate (Croonen, 2005). In this thesis \nthe concept ‘unit actors’ is used to commonly refer to franchisees and unit managers \n(including their units), while the terms ‘franchisees’, ‘unit managers’ and ‘professionals’ \nare used to refer to actor groups separately. \nFranchising is stated to be a promising model for the healthcare sector.
Author: Karlijn J. Nijmeijer
Language: English
Subfield: Strategy and Management
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1510472228