Distribution franchising

The vast number of findings in the empirical dual-distribution franchising literature certainly can assist in corroborating the assumptions or assessing the predictions of analytical models of more general multi-channel settings, which are the topic of Section 2.2. 

For most of the twentieth century, LDCs, either investor owned or municipally owned, have had exclusive rights or franchises to distribute gas in specified geographic areas. Regardless of ownership, LDCs are regulated, either by state public utility/service commissions or local government agencies, to assure adequate gas supply, dependable service and reasonable prices for consumers. 

Electric utilities have historically been franchise monopolies, vertically integi ated from power production through transmission, distribution, and customer service with no competition from other electric utilities. However, in many parts of the countiy, electric and gas utilities do compete. Rates charged by these utilities were determined in a regulatoiy proceeding Electric utilities proposed rates that compensated them for their expenses and allowed them to earn a reasonable return state regulatoiy commissions reviewed and approved the proposals. 

Professional applicators, especially those companies or franchises of any size, rely on their own independent distribution and formulator companies. One such firm, Lesco, distributes lawn care products to apphcators, golf course managers, and other professionals. Their products reach 130,000 such companies and clients worldwide, using innovative distribution networks, including not only traditional service centers but mobile sales and service units. 

Which of the American syndicates obtained this month s franchise for drag or liquor distribution was immaterial to the British traffickers. The greater the extent of intergang bloodshed, the less obvious their role would be. In fact, the British distillers could provoke such events at will by withholding needed inventory of bootleg alcohol. 

While this body of work is rich in the breadth of issues addressed, it is primarily descriptive in approach. The mechanism by which the various factors interact and ultimately affect system performance is generally not investigated mathematically. For that reason, and also due to the sheer amount of this type of research, here we will briefly summarize only the portion that is most relevant to our focus dual-distribution in franchise systems. The interested reader is urged to consult Stem et al. (1996) and the references therein for further details. 

Franchising is common when the establishing and promoting of a brand name are centralized, but production and/or distribution of the good or service are decentralized (Scott 1995). In other words, the franchisor (analogous to... 

Compounding as a separate industry was originally devoted mainly to the addition of colouring, especially for special colour matches. This gradually developed to skill in short-run production, with high efficiency in distribution, to meet the demand from plastics processors for small volumes of special grades. Many independent compounders now operate under franchise from polymer producers, while also marketing their own formulations. 

Exploring the Role of Governance in Sustainable Franchised Distribution Channels... 

In established franchised distribution channels, a primary source of control lies in the extent to which the principal attempts to monitor the action of agents (Gal-Or, 1995). Agency theory (Eisenhardt, 1989) and transaction cost analysis (Williamson, 1985) offer evidence that investments in monitoring limit opportunism and raise... 

Frazier, G.L. and Summers, J.O., 1986, Perceptions of interfirm power and its use within a franchise channel of distribution, JMR, Journal of Marketing Research, 23 (2) 169. 

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