Unlocking Local Market Information Through Franchising
研究发现，加盟商开设门店能预测当地房价上涨，表明其拥有更优的本地市场信息，而直营店则无此效果，支持了加盟商信息优势的假设。
This paper examines the role of franchising in enabling firms to access valuable local market information. Using comprehensive data on U.S. franchised establishments, we show that franchisee-owned establishment openings robustly predict future local economic growth reflected by house price appreciation, whereas franchisor-owned outlets lack such predictive power. Franchisee investments are especially informative in markets with greater uncertainty and complexity and when facing higher investment hurdles. Franchisors appear sensitive to information frictions, avoiding direct investment in new markets that are geographically distant and lack direct flight connectivity. Our findings support the long-standing but untested assumption that franchisees possess superior private information. This paper was accepted by Maria Guadalupe, business strategy. Supplemental Material: The online appendix and data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2024.05903 .