Relationship between Risk and Incentives in Franchise Contracting
35 Pages Posted: 22 Jun 2016
Date Written: November 30, 2015
Abstract
The relationship between risk and incentives in franchise contracting is still an unsolved issue in the literature. According to the standard principal-agent model, a trade-off emerges between the franchisee's protection against risk and incentive motivation. Contrary to this traditional view, we argue that the relationship between risk and incentives can be positive. In franchise contracting, this implies that the royalty rate decreases with risk. Using a unique panel dataset combining French franchise and financial data, we address this issue empirically and analyze the impact of a risk- and incentive-adjusted royalty rate on performance. The data support the hypothesis of a negative relationship between risk and the royalty rate, which contradicts the standard prediction of the agency theory. Furthermore, the estimation of random effect models provides evidence that chain performance increases with a risk- and incentive-adjusted royalty rate.
Keywords: Contractual design, Risk-incentives relationship, Royalty rate, Franchising
JEL Classification: M21, C12, L14
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation