Contract Duration: Evidence from Franchising
研究发现合同期限与加盟商的物质和人力资本投资正相关，且大型成熟加盟商提供更长期合同，支持了合同效率观点。
Economists generally view standard franchise contracts as efficient, while franchisee advocates view them as exploitive. Consistent with the economic view, we find that contract duration is positively and significantly related to the franchisee’s physical and human capital investments (which are often firm specific). In contrast to assertions by franchisee advocates, we find that these relations exist in subsamples containing only the most established franchisors (as measured by size and experience) and that larger, more experienced franchisors tend to offer longer‐term contracts than do newer franchisors. Our evidence also suggests that there is learning across firms about optimal contract terms.