International Franchising and the Growth of SME's in Food Industry of Iran

This study aims to investigate the role of international franchising on the growth of businesses in the food industry. Based on the stratified random sampling, we distributed our questionnaires between 80 managers and experts of firms involved in international franchising. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling and Smart PLS 2 software in two sections of measurement model and structural model. In the first section, the technical features of the questionnaire in terms of reliability, convergent validity, and discriminate validity. Moreover, in the second section, t-values were used for testing the research hypotheses. The results revealed the positive and significant impact of organizational and environmental dimensions of international franchising including size, top management international orientation, performance experience, domestic competitive pressures, external change agent influences, and perceived favorability of the external environment on the growth of the firms in our sample.