Objectives: The research discussed in this paper compared satisfaction levels of individual business start-up owners and franchisees in the Sandwich bar industry in Scotland and investigated a link between responses and reasons for business failure.Prior work: This paper builds on the previous literature on the topic of business starts-up both from an individual and franchise perspective. (Bates 1995, Combs and Michael 2008). Approach: A closed question questionnaire was undertaken with 40 participants who own sandwich bars (20 individual and 20 franchisees). The first part of the questionnaire was generic and the second was tailored to either franchise or individual start-up. In addition, an in-depth interview with a franchise owner with over 50 outlets was conducted and this qualitative data was also analysed. Informed consent was acquired from all participants. Results: The key finding of the research was the difference in satisfaction levels between franchisors and entrepreneurs - with entrepreneurs’ satisfaction levels being overall higher. The research revealed that this has not come about on the basis of false promises by the franchisor or unfulfilled agreements. Instead, many of the franchisees who took part in the study noted an incongruity between their lack of autonomy and their increasing levels of business experience. The lower levels of satisfaction expressed by franchisors appear to stem from the choice of a business model that did not suit their ambitions and personality. The authors of this paper make three suggestions for intending business owners to avoid this pitfall: individual route analysis, franchise analysis, and self analysis.Implications: The major implication of the research is the need for future business owners and their support bodies to recognise the need for personal reflection and planning that take into account personality and ambitions before opting on an effective business model.Value: This research is valuable to policy makers, would-be entrepreneurs and the general business community.
Brodie et al. (Sun,) studied this question.