Employees’ experience of human resource practices under plural form franchising: The impact of front-line managerial capability

The franchising business model has received scant attention within the field of human resource management (HRM). Data tracking workers’ experience of this format are more elusive still. This study draws on comparative, qualitative data derived from discussions with eighty-two respondents working within the corporate and franchised divisions of a market leading, fast food multinational company (MNC). Extant analyses of franchised operations point to shortcomings in franchisees’ treatment of staff. This outcome is typically asserted to be the result of the opportunism that flows from the desire to maximise revenues and minimise costs. This emphasis on structural pressures ignores the micro-level influences and the complexity of the day-to-day dynamics of the employment relationship. Specifically, the impact of the leadership skills and competence of front-line managers (FLMs) is overlooked. The study highlights that differences in FLM capability significantly affect the work climate, further aggravating poor HR activities in the franchised units, while offsetting some of the repressive task features associated with routinised work in the corporate division.