Australian Franchisor websites: Moving towards network behaviour

Australia is one of the leading nations using the internet in both business-to-consumer (B2C) and business-tobusiness (B2B) settings (ABS 2004). However, little academic attention has been paid to the adoption of internetbased technology in the Australian franchising sector. Thus this paper addresses the problem of how Australian franchise organisations use internet-based technologies in their franchise systems. This research examines the websites of a sample of 202 Australian franchisors to determine their function as a communication and marketing tool within the franchise network. The aim is to document the web activities undertaken by Australian franchisors to provide an exploratory and descriptive snapshot that can be used as a platform for theoretical efforts The analysis reveals that adoption of internet technologies is still in its infancy in Australian franchise systems with the major uses of franchisor websites being providing information to consumers and as a means of attracting potential franchisees. There is evidence that franchise organisations are moving towards network behaviour through the internet.