What prospective franchisees are seeking

A shortage of suitable franchisee applicants has been identified by franchisors as a major hindrance to franchise sector growth in Australia. However, there has been little investigation into this issue within organisational choice research. This represents an important gap in the literature. In order to explore the issue of franchisee shortage it was first necessary to determine what prospective franchisees are seeking from franchisors. A survey of 81 visitors to the Franchising 2006 Business Opportunities Exposition was conducted in Brisbane, Australia. The exposition catered for potential independent business operators and potential franchisees, with 17 of the survey participants seeking independent business opportunities and 64 expressing an interest in franchising opportunities. Prospective franchisees considered a return on investment, provision of training and being their own boss as being the most important attributes that franchisors could provide. These findings also indicate that attendees saw trade shows as an important means of gathering franchising information. Further, respondent’s attributes generally aligned with what franchisors believed they supplied, and while possessing entrepreneurial tendencies, they desired ongoing support from franchisors. The findings show a majority of attendees had management, previous business experience or were self-employed, and were seeking new business opportunities. Therefore, this pool of individuals could become an important additional area for franchisee recruitment.