FRANCHISING AS A STRATEGY TO BOOST ENTREPRENEURSHIP AMONG SOCIALLY VULNERABLE GROUPS

Abstract

The paper argues that franchising is a specific form of doing business that applies to all developed market-economy countries. However, the scope of franchise practice in the Ukrainian economy, in particular in the area of doing business and entrepreneurship among socially vulnerable groups, remains rather limited. The research hypothesis is to assess the attractiveness of franchising for socially vulnerable populations. The implementation of this type of entrepreneurship by socially vulnerable groups allows to gain significant benefits for all the participants of franchising relationships: for start-uppers this is a good opportunity for effective self-employment, since they obtain a stable profitable business; for reputed firms and companies – to expand and strengthen their market positions; for the state – to acquire an effective tool to support entrepreneurship. The purpose of this study is to provide rationale for selecting the most appropriate franchise business model for socially vulnerable populations and to evaluate its implementation specifics. To summarize the research findings, the following methods were used: the taxonomy method – to analyze the key stages of business models evolution and classification; cluster and factor analysis – to expound the basic elements and tools of a franchise business model; the methodology for modeling of future by constructing scenarios – to predict possible socio-cultural and existential franchise-based entrepreneurship risks. The paper also seeks to explore characteristics of franchise entrepreneurship; its significance and role in the socioeconomic framework; the sources and motifs behind social entrepreneurship; the specific patterns of building business models for socially vulnerable groups along with justifying the particular indicators and criteria to develop a franchise business model typology and to reveal the institutional aspects in the formation of different types of franchise-based business models. The above study on the conceptual paradigm of social entrepreneurship has allowed to expand the theoretical understanding of social business entities functioning and development and to identify the peculiarities in the formation of different types of franchise business models. The application of the most optimal model will contribute to enhance the management efficiency of social businesses, which in turn will increase the cumulative social effects through the replication and dissemination of successful sustainable business models.