CHARACTERISTICS OF FRANCHISEE AS ENTREPRENEUR: A CONTINUUM APPROACH

Abstract

No consensus of franchisee as entrepreneur is offered in the entrepreneurship and franchising literature. Nevertheless, many studies and debates in franchising studies have perceived the franchisee as entrepreneur rather than employee, buyer or fellow-worker. This paper employs an alternative view that suggest whether a franchisee is seen as an entrepreneur is governed by the way the theorist views his/her role. Further, franchisees may not be the ‘entrepreneur’ in the fullest sense of the word but they are absolutely an entrepreneur. Therefore, this paper proposes that the franchisee should be viewed as entrepreneur, within the theories of entrepreneur’s characteristics.