Abstract:

At present, it is urgent to develop various directions of regional business differentiation in order to maintain the effectiveness of its functioning. A franchise is an effective method that allows small businesses to improve their reputation and standing in the shortest possible time, and larger companies to capture additional market share. The objective of this article is to analyze Russian and foreign experience of franchise development and to identify its main types, as well as to study the opportunities of regional business differentiation and development of the territories implementing different types of franchises. The study has been carried out applying scientific methods of analysis and synthesis as well as economic and mathematical methods. The work reveals the challenges and outlines the prospects for franchise development as one of the most progressive and effective forms of business doing. An empirical research has been conducted by means of investigating European countries, the USA and Japan. The article emphasizes that franchise companies are mostly small businesses, however, currently, franchise technology is also being implemented by relatively large enterprises.