Organisational form and performance in fashion retailing

Abstract

[EN] Purpose – This research seeks to discover how the organisational form (franchising vs vertical integration) of 384 fashion stores belonging to a Spanish franchise chain influences unit-level performance measured through three key indicators commonly used in the retail literature: sales per square metre, sales per employee and service quality scores. Design/methodology/approach – The authors have analysed this research question using bivariate and multivariate analyses, with a panel dataset that includes quarterly establishment-level data covering the period from January 2018 to December 2019. Findings – The aggregated data initially reveal weaker outcomes among franchised establishments. However, after controlling for other variables related to the fashion stores and their local markets, the authors have found that franchised establishments record higher sales both per square metre and per employee than vertically integrated stores. The findings also reveal that franchised establishments record lower service quality scores than their company-owned counterparts. Originality/value – Nothing has been published on the differences between franchising and company ownership in terms of establishment-level performance in fashion retailing.