FRANCHISOR TYPES IN PORTUGUESE FRANCHISING

The identification of the existence of strategic groups within Portuguese franchising constitutes the main aim of the present paper. An empirical study starting from 128 franchising chains operating in Portugal was carried out. The results reveal the existence of five perfectly differentiated strategic groups (franchisor types), which are described starting from the strategic variables that define them. Our main contribution is that the results obtained in the Portuguese franchising system are similar to precedent studies in Canada, USA and Spain. That result suggests a tendency toward the globalization of franchisor types.