This paper examines the factors determining the choice between company-owned outlets and franchising. A number of researchers have based their studies on the data of retail contracting in the US. However, there has been little empirical analysis in the case of Japan. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive assessment of various alternative hypotheses about franchising by using Japanese data. ...

*Corresponding author: Mailing address: Kobe Institute of Health, 4-6 Minatojima-nakamachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0046, Japan. Tel: +81-78-302-6252, Fax: +81-78302-0894, E-mail: [email protected] Fig. 1. Weekly cases of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) per pediatric sentinel clinic, and incidences of infection with viruses among HFMD, herpangina, and exanthema patients in Ko...