The Dynamics of Franchise Contracting

9312083邵逸夫很少有机会研究合同条款的演变或公司对合同结构的选择。这项研究项目就是这样一个机会。这是第一次有一个关于1980年至1991年期间约1000家特许经营商的面板数据集。本项目首先使用这一独特的数据集来重新检验仅基于横断面数据对特许经营进行测试的假设。结果表明，由于忽略变量和样本选择问题，仅使用这些数据得到的估计是有偏差的。第二，关于特许经营合同条款的演变以及合同组合的选择，加班或随着链的扩展而发展的系统证据。这项研究之所以重要，是因为它不仅有助于更好地理解这一重要的、不断增长的商业组织形式，而且有助于更好地理解长期合同安排和垂直一体化关系。***

9312083 Shaw Opportunities to examine the evolution of contract terms or of firms' choices of contractual structure have been rare. This research project represents one such opportunity. For the first time, there exists a panel data set on about 1000 individual franchisors for the period 1980 to 1991. This project uses this unique data set first to reexamine the hypotheses that have been tested on franchising based on cross-sectional data only. It will be shown that the estimates obtained using these data only are biased because of omitted variables and sample selection problems. Second, systematic evidence is developed on the evolution of the terms of franchise contracts, and the choice of contract mix, overtime or as the chain expands. This research is important because it will not only shed new light on better understanding of this important and growing form of business organization, but also on long term contractual arrangements and on vertical integration relationships. ***