Influence of Competitive Aggressiveness and Autonomy on Franchisees’ Outlet Performance and Overall Satisfaction: A Qualitative Analysis

Abstract

Over the past few years, the relevance of the Nigerian franchise industry has taken the turn for the worse as millions of dollars of potential revenues and profits have been lost. Meanwhile, many scholars have observed that the personality characteristics, such as competitive skills and the level of control at the disposal of franchisees may have a role to play in the success of their outlets. No prior empirical study has investigated the influence of competitive aggressiveness and autonomy on franchisees’ business outcomes and overall satisfaction in Nigeria. The objective of this study is to explore the influence of these two entrepreneurial orientation factors on franchisees’ business performance and overall satisfaction. Face-to-face in-depth interview involving 26 franchisees was used to collect data from across different franchise brands in Nigeria. It was found that each of the two factors investigated has different level of influence on franchisees’ business performance and overall satisfaction. The study provides a rare exploratory insight into these two factors and relate them to franchisees’ performance in Nigeria, thereby strengthening theory in the subject. The study offers some recommendations that will potentially help to improve franchising practice in the country and possibly around the world.

Key Words: Competitive Aggressiveness, Autonomy, Franchisees’ Performance, Franchisees’ Overall Satisfaction