The Effect of Relationship Marketing Strategy on Franchise Channels

Commitment and satisfaction in business-to-business relationships have a great interest from a marketing perspective (Abdul-Muhmin, 2005). However, there is little relationship marketing research on franchising to determine the key drivers of franchisee performance (Chiou, Hsieh, & Yang, 2004; García, Sanzo, & Trespalacios, 2005). Therefore, we analyse the influence of relational norms and interdependence structure between franchisor and franchisee on commitment and the effect of these three variables on franchisee satisfaction. Data come from a survey of 102 franchisees operating in the Spanish franchise sector. Franchisee satisfaction is partially explained by the development of relational norms, commitment, and strong interdependence between franchisor and franchisee.