Online search – Online purchase in franchising: An empirical analysis of franchisor website functionality

Thierry Pénard (1) , Rozenn Perrigot (1)

1 CREM - Centre de recherche en économie et management

The aim of this paper is to characterize franchisors’ e-commerce strategies by studying their website functionality. Franchisors can use their website to facilitate consumer search. They can also provide content and tools to promote online purchasing (e.g., promotion codes, online payment, delivery options). Why are some franchisor websites more “search oriented”? What are the factors that influence the provision of informational tools and/or transactional tools? This empirical study is based on a detailed observation of 130 e-commerce websites of franchisors operating their chains in the French market.

Mots clés: Franchising; E-commerce; Encroachment; Synergies; Online search; Online purchase

Domaines: Gestion et management; Economies et finances

Thierry Pénard, Rozenn Perrigot. Online search – Online purchase in franchising: An empirical analysis of franchisor website functionality. Journal of retailing and consumer services, 2017, 39, pp.164 - 172. ⟨10.1016/j.jretconser.2017.08.003⟩. ⟨halshs-01615117⟩