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Many works have analyzed franchising and identified the major research lines regarding the scientific works published until that moment (Elango and Fried, 1997; Díez de Castro and Rondán, 2004). The present paper tries to follow this process. Moreover, it is identified the theories used by researchers to study franchising -agency theory, resource scarcity theory, risk extension theory, contractual theory, transaction cost theory, as well as signaling theory-, and explained its contributions to the literature. Subsequently, four research lines are highlighted in conjunction with main literature about the topic, and emphasized those studies developed by Spanish researchers under the form of papers, conference proceedings, books, book's chapters, as well as dissertations. In doing so, we attempt to offer a whole vision about franchising literature from the 60s up to date. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foreign entry mode choice is one of the most important decisions global companies should take, given that such a decision constrain the degree of control and risk of the new venture. Regarding the specific characteristics of the franchising system, it is worth mentioning that franchisor companies can enter new markets through four different ways: i) direct franchising, ii) master franchisor; iii) joint venture; and finally, direct investment. This paper aims analyzing the factors that constrain the entry mode decision. Empirical evidences show the important role of some franchisor characteristics (franchising experience, international experience, brand awareness and type of activity - product versus service-), as well as different features of the host country (political stability, degree of corruption, cultural distance, and geographical distance). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]