Similar, but different? Ownership form, human resource management, and performance in franchise businesses

This dissertation is organized as a three paper thesis on the effects of ownership structure on human resource systems and outcomes in franchise businesses. Using qualitative field research and quantitative establishment-level survey and matched performance data from a large hotel company, I examine how and why differences between franchise and company forms of ownership shape: 1) the management of human resource systems across ownership forms, paying particular attention to the role of intra- and inter-firm relationships between franchisors and their units; 2) the specific human resource practices adopted across franchise and company operations; and 3) the relationship between human resource practices, and employee and organizational outcomes across ownership forms. I find significant differences in the management and types of human resource systems adopted across franchise and company forms of ownership. I also find that differences in human resource systems across ownership forms influence employee organizational citizenship behaviors and customer satisfaction, but ownership form also has independent and offsetting effects on both of these outcomes. The results suggest that while franchise and company operations are in many ways similar, their human resource systems and performance outcomes are different.