Becoming a franchisor: A tale of materiality and identity dilemma. In "The future of enterprise: The innovation revolution

Abstract

This paper presents an empirically grounded conceptual framework for understanding the experiences of mobile microbusiness founders as they transition to a franchise business model. Drawing on an exploratory interpretive study of enterprise development narratives from founders who had recently franchised their mobile microbusinesses, the paper examines this transition as a sociomaterial process in which individual experience is closely intertwined with the practical demands of franchise development. The analysis suggests that the transition to franchising involves substantial identity work shaped by an identity dilemma arising from tensions between franchisor role expectations and the operational demands of franchising. This dilemma becomes particularly visible during franchise document creation, as founders specify the practices, routines, and standards required for the business to operate beyond their direct personal involvement. The paper argues that maintaining continuity across this transition requires some degree of identity undoing. Franchise documents thus function as boundary objects through which founders negotiate the demands of franchising and work towards a viable franchisor identity