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Abstract
Although corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a widely researched topic, there is a lack of its application in the franchise literature. The integration of CSR into the franchise business model is vital as it affects the franchise firm’s growth and survival. Based on resource-based and organizational capabilities theories, our study explains how CSR strategy impacts the creation of intangible brand name assets as critical source of sustainable competitive advantage and, hence, increased financial performance. We adopt a multi-stakeholder-oriented CSR construct of economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic responsibility dimensions. Using data from Austrian franchise firms, our results show that those CSR dimensions have a positive impact on brand name asset creation. Specifically, philanthropic responsibility strategy has the greatest impact on brand name assets, followed by legal, ethical, and economic responsibility strategies. Overall, this is the first study in franchising which explains the strategic role of CSR.
Description
Date
2019
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Volume Title
Publisher
Research Projects
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Keywords
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Franchise business model, Multi-stakeholder CSR
Citation
Jell-Ojobor, Maria. “Strategic CSR and the Competitive Advantage of Franchise Firms.” In Design and Management of Interfirm Networks: Franchise Networks, Cooperatives and Alliances, edited by Josef Windsperger, Gérard Cliquet, George Hendrikse, and Marijana Srećković, 91–111. Cham: Springer International Publishing. 2019.