Models of Franchising for Social Enterprise

Abstract

Social franchising has been utilized by social enterprises in a variety of ways, yet franchising as a marketing channel structure in the social enterprise context is a relatively new area of research. There is a need for better understanding of the various forms of the phenomenon and clarification of its fundamental meaning. This article examines franchising in the nonprofit sector by modeling social franchising according to the first of the four indicators derived from the social enterprise literature—social purpose over profit. The article suggests that there are distinct models of social franchising applied in marketing channels and supply chains that can be identified according to the for-profit or nonprofit status of the contracting parties. Finally, the article presents a pilot Australian case study conducted through a qualitative in-depth interview that considers the effectiveness of applying a social franchising model in the context of one form of social franchising known as microfranchising. This study provides foundational findings for future research in the nascent area of social franchising.