IALH Research Fellow Jie J. Zhang has co-authored a new research study entitled Actor engagement in franchising: A social exchange perspective on CSR performance. Collaborating authors include Brett Massimino and Benjamin Lawrence. This study was published in Industrial Marketing Management.
Abstract:
This empirical study investigates actor engagement in a franchising context. Utilizing a social exchange perspective, we consider the impact of a franchisee’s disposition to engage on their outlet’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance. We also explore how a brand’s local community engagement acts as a mediator and how an outlet’s location-based relational interdependence serves as a moderator. Our analysis uses an eight-year panel dataset encompassing 911 outlets from a large franchise network in the restaurant sector. We provide evidence that a franchisee’s greater disposition to engage positively impacts CSR performance, as measured by donations received. We find that the relationship between franchisee disposition to engage and CSR performance is mediated by the brand’s local community engagement, which is amplified by higher levels of relational interdependence. We discuss the implications of these findings, underscoring the importance of thoughtfully designing and implementing franchise systems to foster actor engagement and ultimately enhance CSR performance.
To read the full article, see https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2024.11.007