Purpose – The purpose of this research is to identify the impacts of the country of origin of a franchise
chain on its commitment in the destination countries, verifying the institutional particularities between the
chains fromemerging and developed countries.
Design/methodology/approach – The research is descriptive and quantitative and involved 724
franchise chains from 10 countries of origin (Brazil, Russia, India, South Africa, Argentina, USA, Germany,
Australia, Spain and Portugal), spread over 174 destination countries, totaling 3,513 cases.
Findings – The results indicate that institutional preferences do not vary according to the country of origin
of the franchise chain but rather vary according to the destination country.
Research limitations/implications – This paper contributes to institutional theory by identifying a set
of characteristics that explains the selection of international markets and the commitment of franchise chains.
Practical implications – The results obtained in the study can help managers of franchise chains to
make decisions related to the selection of destination countries for international expansion based on the
institutional characteristics of the markets and their compatibility with the objectives of the franchise
chains.
Originality/value – Companies in emerging countries internationalize according to different
management logics from those of companies from developed countries. Thus, it is possible that the
process of selecting countries for internationalization is also based on different criteria that reflect
different institutional preferences. The thesis defended in the paper is that market potential is more
important to franchisees from emerging markets, whereas contract enforcement is more important to
franchisees from developed markets.
Palavras-chave
Country of origin, Institutional theory, Internationalization, Emerging markets, Institutional environment, Franchise chains
