Study goals
The objective of this work is to analyze the knowledge transfer process between franchisor and franchisee in the supermarket segment, identifying and understanding how this transfer occurs between both.
Relevance / originality
The analysis is done considering both directions of the exchange, that is, from the franchisor to the franchisee and the franchisee to the franchisor. The self-service sector was chosen intentionally, as it was identified that it is still a little explored segment in the franchise system. In addition, it is an important sector in the Brazilian economy, given its representativeness in GDP and its high employability power.
Methodology / approach
The research developed was qualitative and exploratory and made use of the method of case studies and observation, through in-depth interviews with self-service retail entrepreneurs in the food area. This study presents a survey conducted with supermarkets that converted their stores to the franchise system, with the objective of investigating the use of the know-how of the supermarket franchise to optimize the results of butcher and bakery, which in this business model, continue operated by them, through the perspective of absorptive capacity.
Main results
The crucial point of this research is the sharing of knowledge from the franchisor to the franchisee. Specifically in the analyzed franchise, some areas are managed independently by the franchisee (the butcher and bakery). In this context, by using the franchise system learning, the franchisee can obtain a considerable gain in the results of those areas that have the highest profit margins in the business.
Theoretical / methodological contributions
The exploitation of new knowledge in management varies according to each franchisee, and depends mainly on the profile of the franchisee and his previous knowledge. Thus, corroborating with Cohen and Levinthal (1990), in this study it was proven in both cases that the related previous knowledge, confers an ability to recognize the value of new information, assimilate it and apply it for commercial purposes.
The development of the absorptive capacity of this study was focused on the butcher and bakery and it can be concluded that in both cases the expected and proposed processes of acquisition, assimilation, transformation and exploration (Zahra & George, 2002) occurred. This absorption was largely due to the ability of the two franchisees to envision the opportunity to incorporate in the conversion to franchise of their supermarkets, an absorption of this knowledge for the areas of greater profitability of the business as a strategy to achieve their objectives, making them more profitable and better managed.
Social / management contributions
The new knowledge brings the opportunity to transform and standardize routines and better management planning, being able to explore knowledge in the franchise system and absorb its benefits for the butcher and bakery areas that quickly respond with the significant increase in results.