Franchising as a path to self-employment for Australian female entrepreneurs

This paper provides a better understanding of the motivational incentives driving franchising choice from the female franchisee's perspective. A qualitative methodology was adopted in this research to gain a clearer picture of the salient issues influencing female entrepreneurs' evaluations of alternative business models when making the self-employment decision. A sample of 14 female franchisees and 12 female independent business owners was interviewed to gather data on the reasons supporting a woman's initial decision to enter self-employment. Major contrasts have been identified between female franchisees and independent business owners suggesting that franchisors need to re-design their selection strategies and communication methods to promote female participation, sustain system wide growth and add creative diversity in franchise systems that have limited growth potential due to the lack suitable franchisees.