Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue IV, 2012 | Page 66

By Debbie Selinsky

Collaborative

Tension
Independent franchisee associations
are in for the long haul

I

t’s like most relationships. Sometimes
things seem stable and positive between
franchisees and franchisors. Other times,
during ownership, leadership, system, or product
changes, things can get downright contentious.
Even when things are going well between
franchisees and franchisors, a certain amount
of underlying tension is inevitable, since relationships can—and do—change quickly, says
Patrick Kaufmann, professor of marketing and
chair of the School of Management Marketing
Department at Boston University.
Kaufmann, who has been studying franchising for 25 years, is also a board member
of the Dunkin’ Donuts Independent Franchise
Owners. Working with Cornell University’s
Ben Lawrence, he conducted a study on franchisee associations that was published last year
in the Journal of Retailing.
“The thrust of the study was how franchisee associations deal with the fluctuation of
relationships with franchisors. What became
clear is that it’s common fiction that says
franchisees turn over a lot and the franchisor
just continues on,” says Kaufmann. “That’s
completely wrong. The fact is that franchisors and franchisor management teams turn
over all the time. This means that franchisees,

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Multi-Unit Franchisee Is s ue IV, 2012

“It’s common
fiction that says
franchisees turn
over a lot and the
franchisor just
continues on,”
says Kaufmann.
“That’s completely
wrong.”

Pat Kaufmann

a group that is often multi-generational, have
to deal with different owner or management
groups on a frequent basis.”
And those ownership or management changes
can have unpredictable results. “Relations may
change from being highly problematic and
contentious to very good working relationships or go the other way entirely. If you’re a
franchise association member, when things are
contentious you don’t want to do things that
lose sight of the fact that you need to work with
these folks,” he says. “On the other hand, when
things are calm, you don’t want to forget that
tomorrow may bring change and become too
complacent. So there’s this constant tension of
balancing both kinds of relationships because
you know they’re not permanent.”
The fact remains that, in 2012, independent franchisee associations (FAs) are forming
at a rapid pace, says Michael Dady, founding
partner of Dady & Gardner, whose Minneapolis-based law firm represents 32 different
franchisee associations. One reason, he says,
is that some franchisors still refuse to recognize independent franchisee associations,
preferring instead to deal with franchisees on
the franchisor-controlled franchise advisory
council (FAC).