An Empirical Test of a Model of Franchisee Job Satisfaction

Research Objective

The objective of this study was to analyze empirically some important relationships influencing franchisee job satisfaction. From a conceptual standpoint, empirical studies investigating job satisfaction have important implications for such vital organizational outcomes

as intention to leave (Mobley 1982), job performance (Iaffaldano and Muchinsky 1985), and improving organizational interrelationships (Schul 1980). Moreover, job satisfaction has been shown to be related to various other non-work satisfactions such as life-, family-, and self-satisfaction (Near et al. 1984; Rain, Lane, and Steiner 1991; Thompson, Kopelman, and Schriesheim 1992).

From a practical standpoint, harmonious franchisor/franchisee relations appear to be a major determinant of the future attractiveness and success of franchising. It is proposed that franchisees' relative job satisfaction plays an integral role in maintaining this relationship. Despite attempts to regulate the franchise industry with tougher disclosure laws, conflicts between franchisor and franchisee appear to be more widespread than once believed (Caffey 1993; Charlwood 1993; Galen and Touby 1993; Stern and Abelson 1991; Tannenbaum 1993b). This apparent level of conflict has led to increasing franchisee alienation.

In addition to helping improve franchisor/franchisee relations, this investigation may provide useful information to franchisors for selecting and training franchisees and for marketing franchises. Further, results may aid franchisees in their investment choices and help them develop mutually beneficial relationships with their franchisor. Overall, empirical study of franchisee job satisfaction appears necessary and worthwhile for both organizational and individual concerns.

Job Satisfaction

Job satisfaction is commonly defined as "a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one's job or job experiences" (Locke 1976, 1300). The last decade has seen a reexamination of the dispositional underpinnings of job satisfaction and support for the relative consistency of job satisfaction over time (George 1992; Staw and Ross 1985). However, this does not refute the important role situational factors play in explaining the remaining variance in worker attitudes (Davis-Blake and Pfeffer 1989; Gerhart 1987). The above argument has led to the overall appeal of the interactionist perspective, whereby both personality and situational characteristics play key roles in understanding attitudes and behavior (Carson 1989; George 1992; Newton and Keenan 1991).

Over 20 years ago, Walker's research (1971) was one of the first studies to examine franchisees' relative overall satisfaction with their position. Using a mail survey of 319 franchisees from five established franchise systems, Walker found that the majority (77 percent) of franchisees reported general satisfaction with their franchises. In distinguishing comparatively satisfied franchisees from comparatively dissatisfied franchisees, the author found that the more satisfied had the following characteristics: (1) they expressed a favorable attitude toward both the various controls in their agreement and the income/inputs ratio associated with their operations; (2) they were working fewer hours and earning more money than they had expected; and (3) they perceived the parent company as fair-dealing and their unit as successful. The most common sources of dissatisfaction cited were poor financial return, lack of franchisor support, and unfulfilled expectations.

Goodman's (1980) study of conflicts of interest in non-food franchisees reported that the principal sources of conflict were (1) unfair contractual agreements; (2) the lack of continuing support services; and (3) inadequate income. Overall, the majority (62 percent) perceived their franchising experiences as satisfactory.

More recently, the Gallup organization conducted a telephone interview of 994 franchisees across the U.S., sponsored by the International Franchise Association (Gallup 1992). More than 70 percent of respondents reported that their franchise had either exceeded or met their expectations with respect to their personal satisfaction and overall satisfaction. Areas that were less able to meet or exceed franchisees' expectations were profit (56 percent) and franchisor assistance (63 percent).

In general, these past studies seem to suggest a relatively high level of franchisee job satisfaction over the last few decades. However, in recent years there has been increasing turmoil in the industry due in part to intense competition, economic recessionary cycles, more sophisticated investors, and shifts in the franchisor/franchisee relationship. Indeed, critics of the recent Gallup study have questioned the validity of the apparent optimistic findings, given the fact that one out of four franchisees would not make the investment again and one out of four reported that the franchise did not meet their expectations (Garner 1993; Tannenbaum 1993a).

A Model of Franchise Job Satisfaction

A review of the literature suggests a need for further research on franchisee job satisfaction. The investigation described in this paper proposed a model of franchisee job satisfaction incorporating a number of factors. The model included attempts to reduce some of the methodological weaknesses found in past studies of franchisee satisfaction and to increase applicability to several types of franchise systems. More specifically, the present investigation explored how six personality dimensions and three job characteristic factors influence franchisee job satisfaction.

Dispositional Factors

Big-Five Factors. The renewed interest in utilizing personality dimensions as predictors of organizational outcomes is due in large part to the development of a five-factor model of personality (Barrick and Mount 1993; Costa and McCrae 1992). Extensive and rigorous statistical analysis has led to the formulation of five major factors thought to be an adequate description of individual differences (McCrae and Costa 1987).

The "Big-Five" model of personality dimensions consists of Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism (or, positively, Emotional Stability), and Openness to Experience. To date, no studies have been completed on the relation between the Big-Five personality dimensions and job satisfaction. However, given the significant findings relating affect(1) to job satisfaction (Agho, Mueller, and Price 1993; Chen and Spector 1991; Cropanzano, James, and Konovsky 1993), and studies revealing significant relations between affect and the five-factor model (McCrae and Costa 1991; Watson and Clark 1992), it was conjectured that there would be significant positive relationships between the positive poles of the Big-Five factors and job satisfaction.

Subjective Well-Being. Another personality construct that has been linked to job satisfaction is subjective well-being (SWB). This construct represents that which leads individuals to evaluate their lives in positive terms (Diener 1984). This definition of SWB, also commonly referred to as life satisfaction, depends on the standards the individual uses to define what constitutes the good life. Research has supported a relatively strong positive correlation between job and life satisfaction (Tait, Padgett, and Baldwin 1989; Rain, Lane, and Steiner 1991).

Job Characteristics

Both empirical research and extensive media reports have suggested that various areas of the franchise work environment have a serious impact on franchisee work attitudes (Galen and Touby 1993; Goodman 1980; Hunt 1977; Knight 1986; Schul 1980; Stern and Abelson 1991; Tannenbaum 1993a, 1993b, 1994a, and 1994b; Walker 1971; Wilke 1990; and Withane 1991). Specifically, three main factors were conjectured to positively influence franchisee job satisfaction: (1) met expectations regarding franchisor support (namely, promotion and advertising, training, technical and day-to-day support, and work hours expected); (2) met expectations regarding operational characteristics (namely, income, territory protection, royalties/advertising fees, and ability to use initiative); and (3) perceived fairness of franchisor restrictions (namely, restrictions on supplier sources and methods of operation, termination/renewal terms, and interpretation of franchise agreement).

Methodology

The Sample

The population for this investigation was defined as all franchisees operating under a business-format franchise arrangement who also met the following criteria: (1) their franchise unit was located in the United States; (2) the individual either currently owned a franchise business or had owned a franchise business within the last 12 months; (3) the individual was at least part owner of the franchise business, not solely a manager; and (4) the franchise operated in one of four industries - restaurant, business aids and services, automotive products and services, or non-food retailing. These industry segments were chosen because they represent the largest number of franchisee-owned establishments in the United States (Horwath International 1991).

A research firm compiled a stratified randomly-selected list of 1,596 American franchisees operating within the four designated industries from a total list of approximately 80,000 American franchisees. Since there is no complete list of American franchise systems, the researcher was forced to use a representative random sample of the population for this study. However, this does not necessarily mean that the final sample was a nonrepresentative group, especially since the author made an effort to derive a sample reflective of the defined population.

The Questionnaire

A detailed mail questionnaire was used to collect the data for this study. All personality dimensions, along with job characteristic items developed by the researcher, were measured using existing instruments. The majority of items were measured using a five-point agree/disagree scale. Below is a brief description of the instruments used to measure the variables under study.

Big-Five Personality was measured by the 60-item NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) described by Costa and McCrae (1992). Each factor was assessed with 12 items. Coefficient alpha for this study was O. 78 for Extraversion, 0.82 for Conscientiousness, 0.84 for Neuroticism, 0.66 for Openness, and 0.77 for Agreeableness.

Subjective Well-Being was measured by the five-item Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener et al. 1985). Coefficient alpha was 0.84.

Job Characteristics, a 14-item section, was composed by the researcher except for one item which was taken from Hackman and Oldham's (1980) Job Diagnostic Survey. Factor analysis extracted three factors. The first factor included five items related to "met expectations regarding franchisor support." The second factor included five items related to "met expectations regarding operational characteristics." The third factor included four items related to "perceived fairness of franchisor restrictions." Coefficient alpha for the first, second, and third factors was 0.76, 0.64, and 0.68, respectively.

Job Satisfaction was measured by the commonly used 20-item short form of the Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) described by Weiss et al. (1967). Some statements were slightly modified to reflect the franchise environment (for example, "the way my boss handles his men" was changed to "the way my franchisor handles his/her franchisees"). Coefficient alpha for the general satisfaction scale was 0.91.

Open-Ended Questions based on research by Walker (1971) investigated the beneficial and undesirable aspects of the respondent's franchise package as well as the satisfying and dissatisfying aspects of the franchisee's position.

Response

A total of 1,596 questionnaires were mailed, followed by a follow-up card two weeks later. A second mailing of questionnaires was completed one month after the initial mailing to all non-respondents. In total, 283 were returned as undeliverable. A total of 357 were returned for a total response rate for the two mailings of 27 percent. Of these, 307 questionnaires contained usable data. This represented a usable response rate of 23 percent, which compares favorably to other studies in this area (Walker 1971; Knight 1986).

Results

Sample Characteristics

A general summary of sample characteristics is given in Table 1. The results reveal that the majority of respondents were male (88 percent) with over six years' franchise experience (63 percent). The sample contained franchisees from 46 states. The highest response came from franchisees in the restaurant industry (36 percent), followed by automotive (28 percent), and business services (21 percent), with the remainder from the non-food retailing industry.

Approximately half of the respondents had previous related business experience (59 percent) and were members of a franchise association (47 percent). These figures are substantially higher than those of Knight's study (1984) which found that only 28 percent of Canadian franchisees had previous management experience and only 29 percent were franchise association members. The higher percentages in this study may reflect the more mature U.S. franchise industry. However, while most franchise owners had related business experience, only 20 percent of the sample had actually been business owners before becoming franchisees.

Table 2 shows that the majority of respondents (75 percent) had consulted current franchisees before investment; however, much lower percentages had consulted other potentially informative sources such as the Uniform Franchise Offering Circular (UFOC), former franchisees, bankers, or accountants.

Table 1
Summary of Sample Characteristics

Item                                                    n
Percent

Gender                        Male                     270    88.2
                              Female                    36    11.8

Tenure                        2 years or less           29     9.5
                              3 years                   35    11.4
                              4 years                   26     8.5
                              5 years                   25     8.2
                              6 to 10 years             70    22.9
                              Over 10 years            121    39.5

Education                     High School               64    20.9
                              College                   83    27.1
                              University                72    23.5
                              Graduate Work/Degree      87    28.4

Age                           20 to 29                   9     2.9
                              30 to 39                  55    18.0
                              40 to 49                 121    39.5
                              50 to 59                  85    27.8
                              60 or over                36    11.7

Related Business Experience   Yes                      180    58.6
                              No                       127    41.4

Ethnicity                     Caucasian                294    95.8
                              African American/Other    13     4.2

National Size of              Under 50 units            28     9.1
Franchise System              51 to 100 units           35    11.4
                              101 to 250 units          43    14.0
                              Over 250 units           196    63.8

Own More Than                 Yes                      112    36.5
One Franchise                 No                       195    63.5

Member of Franchise           Yes                      144    47.1
Association                   No                       162    52.9

Previous Occupation           Blue Collar Worker        20     6.5
                              White Collar Worker       93    30.3
                              Professional             116    37.8
                              Business Owner            63    20.5
                              Other                     15     4.9
Table 2
Areas Consulted Before Franchise Investment

Areas Consulted Before   Percentage
Franchise Investment     of Sample     n

Lawyer                       49       150
Banker                       31        95
Current Franchisees          75       230
Former Franchisees           16        49
UFOC (Gov. document)         35       106
Accountant                   42       129
Consultant                   10        30
Other (family/friends)       10        31

The descriptive statistics of the indices, as well as comparative values between important groups, are presented in Table 3.

Dispositional Factors

Responses on the NEO-FFI scales were compared to the means and the corresponding percentiles developed for the Adult Form S in the NEO PI-R manual (Costa and McCrae 1992). The mean of the Neuroticism Stability scale corresponded to the 36th-45th percentile, indicating a slightly less-than-average score for the sample (M=15.10, SD=8.14). The mean of the Extraversion scale corresponded to the 83rd-86th percentile, indicating a higher-than-average score for the sample (M=33.04, SD=6.70). The Openness scale mean corresponded to the 43rd-45th percentile, indicating a slightly less-than-average score (M=25.41, SD=6.53). The Agreeableness scale mean corresponded to the 50th-54th percentile, indicating an average score (M=32.36, SD=6.79). Lastly, the Conscientiousness scale mean corresponded to the 68th-71st percentile, revealing a slightly higher-than-average score (M=37.17, SD=6.50).

Table 3
Mean, Standard Deviation, and Comparison Values of Indices

Index                        n    Mean     SD       Comparison

Dispositional Factors
Big-Five                                          Norms/Men(a)
                                                    M      SD

Extraversion                307   33.04    6.70   27.22    5.85
Conscientiousness           307   37.17    6.50   34.10    5.95
Neuroticism                 307   15.10    8.14   17.60    7.46
Openness                    307   25.41    6.53   27.09    5.82
Agreeableness               307   32.36    6.79   31.93    5.03

                                                     Middle
                                                   Managers(b)
Subjective Well Being       307   18.64    4.05   25.30    6.20

                                              Male Executives(c)
                                                  24.10    6.00

Job Characteristics
Franchisor Support          304   15.37    5.18     -       -
Operation Characteristics   304   18.04    4.37     -       -
Franchisor Restrictions     304   14.83    3.72     -       -

Job Satisfaction                                    Salesmen(d)
Job Satisfaction            305   75.66   11.63   79.82   11.82

                                                   Engineers(d)
                                                  77.88   11.92

a Based on manual norms for the NEO-FFI scales (Costa & McCrae,
1992)
b Judge and Bretz, 1994
c Judge, Boudreau, and Bretz, 1994
d Based on manual norms for the short-form MSQ (Weiss et al., 1967)
e Dummy variable (1=yes, 2=no)

Comparing the mean score of the franchisees on the Satisfaction With Life (Subjective Well-Being) scale (M=18.64, SD=4.05, N=307) with the mean scores of other groups of employees revealed that franchisees appear to be less satisfied with their lives than: male executives (M=24.1, SD=6.0, N=1,062; Judge, Boudreau, and Bretz 1994); clerical workers (M=20.6, SD=6.7, N=231; Judge and Locke 1993); or middle managers (M=25.3,SD=6.2, N=857; Judge and Bretz 1994).

The personality profile of franchisees as a group suggests that they tend to enjoy social interaction, have a relatively high need for achievement, are generally able to cooperate with others, have a slightly better than average ability to deal with stress, tend to seek out the familiar and not exhibit a strong desire for creativity, and tend to be less satisfied with their lives than the average person. These findings lend support to research which has profiled the typical franchisee as having a moderate Type "A" orientation (Schell, McGillis, and Morrison 1992). The implications are that franchisees may be more apt to derive their satisfaction with life through their accomplishments and achievements and thus may become frustrated in working environments or relationships that do not meet their expectations.

Job Satisfaction

In comparison with normative data from representative groups (managers and managerial engineers), the mean job satisfaction score revealed low to moderate job satisfaction, corresponding to the 25th-35th percentile (M=75.66, SD=11.63; see Table 3). Thus, contrary to earlier research (Gallup 1992; Walker 1971), franchisees did not appear to be satisfied with their occupation.

Job Characteristic Factors

Table 4 shows the descriptive statistics for the job characteristic items. Respondents felt that they received less performance than the initial disclosures by their franchisor led them to expect on three items: (1) promotional and advertising assistance (M=2.84, SD=-1.45); (2) continuing support services (M=2.97, SD=1.49); and (3) amount of income (M=2.99, SD=1.40). Thus, these items appear to be the most prevalent problem areas.

Responses to Open-Ended Questions

Table 5 details the frequency of the responses to open-ended questions relating to the most beneficial and undesirable aspects in the franchise package and to the aspect of franchise operations with which the franchisee is most/least satisfied.

It is worthwhile to note that the technical and marketing support items that were perceived by the franchisees to be "beneficial" in their franchise investments are also the very items that were acknowledged to be "undesirable" dimensions, implying that what they had expected did not come to fruition. Also of interest is the finding that franchisees are most satisfied with "being their own boss." Thus, it appears that franchisees view themselves more or less as independent business people, rather than working, in part, for the franchisor. This perception has also been noted by others (Walker 1971).

Multiple Regression Analysis

Multiple regression was utilized to investigate the effects of the six personality variables and three job characteristic factors on job satisfaction of franchisees. The results are given in Table 6.

Findings revealed that Extraversion and Subjective Well-Being were significantly and positively related to franchisee job satisfaction; so too were the three job characteristic factors encompassing met expectations with respect to franchisor support and operational characteristics, as well as perceived fairness of franchisor restrictions. Figure 1 represents the model developed from these data.

Discussion

Results of this study suggest that approximately half of the franchisee respondents were classified as having low job satisfaction. Thus, it appears that a large percentage of franchisees were not attaining expected outcomes from their position as a franchisee. Initial support was found for a model of franchisee job satisfaction. The revised model revealed that both dispositional factors and job characteristics were important influences on job satisfaction, supporting the interactionist perspective.

Both Extraversion and Subjective Well-Being appeared to have significant influences on job satisfaction. These results are consistent with the literature supporting relationships between dispositional factors and job satisfaction (Cropanzano et al. 1993; Watson and Clark 1993). The positive correlation between Extraversion and job satisfaction was not unexpected given that the "E" domain scale has been strongly correlated with interest in business occupations (Barrick and Mount 1993).

In addition, the positive relationship between Subjective Well-Being (SWB) and job satisfaction confirms other research findings in this area (Judge, Boudreau, and Bretz 1994; Keenan and McBain 1979; Tait, Padgett, and Baldwin 1989). [TABULAR DATA FOR TABLE 4 OMITTED] [TABULAR DATA FOR TABLE 5 OMITTED] One explanation for the correlation between SWB and job satisfaction is that individuals exhibiting a high degree of SWB may store, evaluate, and recall information about their jobs differently than those exhibiting a low degree of SWB (Judge and Locke 1993).

Table 6
Multiple Regression Analysis: The Effects of Personality Dimensions
and Job Characteristic Factors on Franchisee Job Satisfaction

Independent                     Standardized
Variables                     Beta Coefficients

Personality Dimensions

Extraversion                       .18(***)
Conscientiousness                 -.01
Neuroticism                       -.01
Openness                          -.07
Agreeableness                      .08

Subjective Well-Being
Satisfaction with Life             .23(****)

Job Characteristics
Franchisor Support                 .22(****)
Operational Characteristics        .16(**)
Franchisor Restrictions            .25(****)

R-SQUARE =.50
ADJ. R-SQUARE = .48
F-VALUE = 32.05(****)
n = 302

* p[less than]0.05 **p[less than]0.01 ***p[less than]0.001
****p[less than]0.0001

The significant relationships found between all three job characteristic factors and franchisee job satisfaction strongly supports the influence and importance of cultivating a supportive work environment and a cooperative franchisor/franchisee relationship. Ideally, it is advantageous for franchisors to identify those characteristics and practices that are necessary for franchise success. To the degree that dispositional factors affect franchisees' job satisfaction, some awareness of these characteristics may be important during the franchisor's recruitment and selection process.

The results of this study suggest that personality-based tests designed to assess factors such as Extraversion and Subjective Well-Being may provide franchise organizations with useful selection tools, given their relationship to franchisee job satisfaction. These characteristics, reflective of a need for achievement and affiliation along with a tendency to use positive thinking and direct action, may aid in coping with the stresses of the small business lifestyle.

In addition, potential investors would be well-advised to consider their own personality with respect to the above mentioned factors in determining their fit with the franchise environment. Those whose dispositional characteristics are not well-fitted for the realities of the challenging franchise lifestyle may want to consider other work settings.

However, selecting employees with a predisposition to be satisfied must go hand-in-hand with developing a work environment that facilitates satisfaction. Clearly, a large proportion of franchisees enter into their franchise agreement with great expectations in areas such as income, franchisor support, and the marketing and promotional assistance afforded by a franchise system. Whether these expectations develop by means of the franchise's reputation, franchisor selling techniques, or encounters with successful franchisees, if they are not realized franchisees' work attitudes are likely to deteriorate.

It appears to be in the best interests of franchisors to comprehensively analyze the effects of their practices on the franchisee's bottom line before implementation and to attempt to implement policies beneficial to the goals of both parties. For example, such practices as basing royalties on sales instead of profits, overselling territories, and establishing prices of goods/services which are over market prices may seriously impair the franchisee's profitability and ultimately threaten long-term franchisor success.

Though franchisors are facing increased competition and more mature markets, the future of franchising requires franchisors to be less controlling, building a cooperative relationship with franchisees. Those franchisors who utilize a strict blanket approach to all policies may find that it is not in the best interest of the franchise, particularly as the franchisees gain experience in interpreting local trends and opportunities. Clearly, the franchisee who is given some autonomy in operating procedures and marketing will be able to be more responsive to local market conditions.

Moreover, franchisors may benefit from examining more critically how franchisees perceive their work environment and the reasons behind their attitudes. There are a number of mechanisms that can be used to facilitate communication between the two parties, including toll-free lines, monthly newsletters with franchisee input, marketing councils, franchisee associations, periodic surveys, annual conventions, and corporate task forces with franchisee participation.

However, the most important link between franchisees and the corporate office may be the field representatives. In order to be effective, field reps must visit franchisees regularly to develop a relationship. These individuals also need to have full knowledge of the franchise system, how all the components fit together, and what motivates each franchisee.

Franchisors may also want to consider developing some flexibility in the fee structure to meet variable market conditions over the life of the agreement and be willing to obtain franchisee assistance and input by utilizing such vehicles as franchisee advisory councils. Today's franchisees, with their more sophisticated background, naturally want to have more input into methods of operation than in the past. Many franchisees in this study perceived that their contribution to the success of the franchise was not valued or respected by the franchisor. This appeared to lead to feelings of alienation from the franchisor and the franchise organization itself. Moreover, when these types of feelings abound, franchisees often begin to challenge the system (Trocchio 1994).

However, it is also important to note that dissatisfaction with various job characteristics may not always be a question of the franchisor's performance or policies, but the difference between what franchisees expect (or are led to expect) and what is delivered by franchisors. Often, franchisors market their franchise as a panacea for business success. As a result, franchisees become psychologically seduced into believing that all they have to do is follow the manual to achieve financial prosperity. Any subsequent failure or dissatisfaction with the business is ultimately blamed on the franchisor. Results of this study suggest that it is vital that the franchisor provide potential franchisees with accurate and realistic information regarding the expected characteristics of the franchise operations, expected support over the business life cycle, and the consequences of the contractually restricted environment. The threat of legal action against franchisors for making false claims without supporting documentation has serious repercussions on the way franchises are marketed to potential investors. Thus, franchisors may want to rethink their compensation schemes for salespeople who are generally rewarded by straight commission (Stern and Abelson 1991). This type of reward tends to encourage exaggerated sales pitches.

Some franchisors may also place unrealistic expectations on franchisees, believing that after the initial training and the opening of the business the owners will require very little future assistance. As a result, franchisors have a tendency to overdevelop the concept of their businesses and underdevelop the structures necessary to ensure adequate franchisee support (Whittemore 1994). Controlled growth, therefore, appears to be essential in the early stages to build a franchise system with a solid financial footing that is capable of servicing and maintaining existing units.

Lastly, it is important that franchisees read and fully understand franchise documents and seek professional advice regarding any concerns or questions. The majority of respondents in this study did not seek information from potentially key sources such as former franchisees, UFOC documents, bankers, accountants, or lawyers. Ultimately, the more thorough the franchisees investigate their investment decisions, the more likely that their expectations will be met and that they will be job-satisfied.

Conclusions

The primary contribution of this study is the insight offered regarding what factors may affect franchisee job satisfaction. Clearly, both franchisor and franchisee play a role in ensuring that the contractual relationship will lead to franchisee job satisfaction and financial success for both. However, given that it is the franchisors who have ultimate authority over major aspects of business development and operations, their contribution to franchisee satisfaction is essential in making the franchisor/franchisee "marriage" work. As the competition for capable and competent franchisees increases, franchisors will need to become more aware of the factors affecting franchisee job satisfaction and to develop policies accordingly, not for philanthropic reasons, but to ensure future success.

The limitations of this research, as a result of time and financial considerations and the nature of the research design, include potential non-response bias and common method variance. In addition, the survey sample included only four industry segments and predominantly consisted of Caucasian males, possibly limiting the generalizability of these results. However, the chosen industries and sample demographics appear to be representative of the franchise industry in general. As well, there are inherent limitations in drawing causal inferences regarding the antecedents of job satisfaction based on correlational data (Locke 1976). Additional research considering the consequences of franchisee job satisfaction for the franchise organization would prove useful. To test further the issues of causality, a longitudinal study would be worthwhile.

1 The term "affect" is used here to denote emotions or feelings as distinct from thoughts or actions.

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Dr. Morrison received her M.B.A. and Ph.D. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. Her research interests include franchise relationships, conflict management, and personality and performance.

The author would like to thank Dr. Robert A. Baron for his useful suggestions throughout this project and Dr. Bernadette H. Schell for her insight in its development. The author also benefited from the helpful comments of Frederick Scherr, editor of the Journal of Small Business Management.