Kidogo: Addressing the Childcare Needs of Low-Income Families in East Africa

In this white paper, authors Jill Howard, Fiona Wilson, and E. Hachemi Aliouche explore how Kidogo, an innovative East African social enterprise, is harnessing the power of social sector franchising. By discussing Kidogo’s combination of best-practice early childhood Centres of Excellence with a social franchising method that supports the quality improvement and growth of local childcare micro-businesses, the authors provide insight into Kidogo’s expansion and success and look forward to the future of the organization

Mitigating risks in internationalization decisions : the choice of the optimal entry mode

Version of RecordIn this paper we propose an innovative prescriptive model for internationalization strategy based on decision analysis theory that allows for optimal decision making regarding the choice under uncertainty between alternative international entry and/or expansion modes. Based on a case study of McDonalds’ expansion in a developed market and in an emerging market, we discuss the decision making implications by emphasizing the inclusion of risk and uncertainty and the importance of sensitivity analysis on the evaluation of the model results. The analysis compares the internationalization choices of franchising and foreign direct investment, as two distinct levels of foreign commitment. The findings suggest that in relatively stable environments it is relatively easier to mitigate the risks through tactics such as cost control, so that a higher level of commitment is justified under favorable macro-environment conditions. In less stable or unfamiliar countries, the risks of day-to-day operation may be too high to be mitigated, such that a lower risk alternative is always optimal, and discrete improvements of the political and economic climate are irrelevant.Samii, M., Aliouche, E. H., & Wright, R. (2008). Mitigating risks in internationalization decisions: The choice of the optimal entry mode. Retrieved from http://academicarchive.snhu.ed

Providing Clean Energy Solutions to India’s Bottom of the Pyramid Population

Despite a scheme launched by the Indian government in 2017 that has declared achieving close to 100 percent electrification in the country, studies have shown that only 65 percent of rural enterprises in India report having electricity grid connection. While millions of households have been positively impacted by access to electricity, small businesses and smallholder farmers (those with holdings of less than 2 acres) in rural India have been left out of the equation or receive very unreliable power supply. Byproducts of the energy poverty experienced by India’s Bottom of the Pyramid population include an enormous carbon footprint produced by the use of traditional fossil fuels such as diesel and kerosene, and economic stagnation as a result of the agrarian crisis in India. Working to address each of these challenges is Oorja Development Solutions, a social enterprise established in 2016 with a mission to “substantially and cost-effectively scale last-mile distribution of integrated energy solutions to revitalize the agrarian economy, alleviate poverty, and fight climate change in rural India.” In this white paper, authors Jill Howard, Fiona Wilson, and E. Hachemi Aliouche discuss Oorja Development Solutions’ creation as well as the business model by which it operates. While Oorja does not currently have any franchisees, this case study explores why the company has considered implementing a franchising system as well as the reasons why it is not currently moving forward with the model. By also detailing the ingredients to Oorja’s success and opportunities for future growth, this case study aims to provide insight into a successful social enterprise as well as the logic for choosing whether or not to execute a social sector franchising system

Institutional Environments And The Internationalization Of Franchise Chains: The Contrasting Cases Of Three North African Countries

Franchising has become a dominant model of retailing in the Western world and is rapidly expanding in emerging countries. This paper is an attempt to explain the significant  differences in the development of franchising in three emerging countries: Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. Explanations can be found in the general institutional environment in these countries, including the political and economic environments; governments' willingness to modernize the distribution structures; and the legal and regulatory environments specific to franchising. Our analytical framework is based on institutional theory (DiMaggio & Powell, 1983), a framework that provides further insights beyond the approaches based on economic efficiency (agency theory and the resource scarcity perspective). Based on an analysis of the documents in the major public databases in the three countries, supplemented with field research, we propose an analytical framework that helps explain the uneven developments of franchising in the three North African countries based on the specific institutional environment of each country. This study thus provides empirical evidence supporting the institutional theory of franchise expansion. It appears that institutional theory complements agency theory and resource scarcity theory in explaining the development of franchising in emerging markets: while agency theory and resource scarcity theory explain the motivation of firms to expand internationally through franchising, institutional theory helps explain the success or failure of these firms in the emerging markets they expand to

Does franchising create value? An analysis of the financial performance of US public restaurant firms

Author's OriginalIt is commonly believed that the franchising method of distribution provides strategic and operational benefits to the companies that adopt it. These benefits should result in superior financial performance as compared to that of firms that do not use franchising. Yet, the empirical evidence of the effects of franchising on financial performance is sparse and mixed. The purpose of this paper is to further examine the empirical evidence of the impact of franchising on a firm’s financial performance by using performance metrics (Economic Value Added and Market Value Added) that are extensively used in corporate finance. This study focuses on the US public restaurant sector. The results provide some evidence that franchising firms create more market and economic value than do non-franchising firms. A revised version of this paper has since been published in the International Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Administration. Please use this version in your citations.Aliouche, E. & Schlentrich, U. (2009). Does Franchising Create Value? An Analysis of the Financial Performance of US Public Restaurant Firms. International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Administration, 10(2), 93-10

Study of charmonium decays to KS0KπK^0_S K \pi in the B→(KS0Kπ)KB \to (K^0_S K \pi) K channels

A study of the $B^+\to K^0_SK^+K^-\pi^+$ and $B^+\to K^0_SK^+K^+\pi^-$ decays is performed using proton-proton collisions at center-of-mass energies of 7, 8 and 13 TeV at the LHCb experiment. The $K^0_SK \pi$ invariant mass spectra from both decay modes reveal a rich content of charmonium resonances. New precise measurements of the $\eta_c$ and $\eta_c(2S)$ resonance parameters are performed and branching fraction measurements are obtained for $B^+$ decays to $\eta_c$, $J/\psi$, $\eta_c(2S)$ and $\chi_{c1}$ resonances. In particular, the first observation and branching fraction measurement of $B^+ \to \chi_{c0} K^0 \pi^+$ is reported as well as first measurements of the $B^+\to K^0K^+K^-\pi^+$ and $B^+\to K^0K^+K^+\pi^-$ branching fractions. Dalitz plot analyses of $\eta_c \to K^0_SK\pi$ and $\eta_c(2S) \to K^0_SK\pi$ decays are performed. A new measurement of the amplitude and phase of the $K \pi$ $S$-wave as functions of the $K \pi$ mass is performed, together with measurements of the $K^*_0(1430)$, $K^*_0(1950)$ and $a_0(1700)$ parameters. Finally, the branching fractions of $\chi_{c1}$ decays to $K^*$ resonances are also measured.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2022-051.html (LHCb public pages

Studies of η\eta and η′\eta' production in pppp and ppPb collisions

The production of $\eta$ and $\eta'$ mesons is studied in proton-proton and proton-lead collisions collected with the LHCb detector. Proton-proton collisions are studied at center-of-mass energies of $5.02$ and $13~{\rm TeV}$, and proton-lead collisions are studied at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon of $8.16~{\rm TeV}$. The studies are performed in center-of-mass rapidity regions $2.5<y_{\rm c.m.}<3.5$ (forward rapidity) and $-4.0<y_{\rm c.m.}<-3.0$ (backward rapidity) defined relative to the proton beam direction. The $\eta$ and $\eta'$ production cross sections are measured differentially as a function of transverse momentum for $1.5<p_{\rm T}<10~{\rm GeV}$ and $3<p_{\rm T}<10~{\rm GeV}$, respectively. The differential cross sections are used to calculate nuclear modification factors. The nuclear modification factors for $\eta$ and $\eta'$ mesons agree at both forward and backward rapidity, showing no significant evidence of mass dependence. The differential cross sections of $\eta$ mesons are also used to calculate $\eta/\pi^0$ cross section ratios, which show evidence of a deviation from the world average. These studies offer new constraints on mass-dependent nuclear effects in heavy-ion collisions, as well as $\eta$ and $\eta'$ meson fragmentation.Comment: All figures and tables, along with machine-readable versions and any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://lhcbproject.web.cern.ch/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2023-030.html (LHCb public pages

Measurement of lepton universality parameters in B+→K+ℓ+ℓ−B^+\to K^+\ell^+\ell^- and B0→K∗0ℓ+ℓ−B^0\to K^{*0}\ell^+\ell^- decays

A simultaneous analysis of the $B^+\to K^+\ell^+\ell^-$ and $B^0\to K^{*0}\ell^+\ell^-$ decays is performed to test muon-electron universality in two ranges of the square of the dilepton invariant mass, $q^2$. The measurement uses a sample of beauty meson decays produced in proton-proton collisions collected with the LHCb detector between 2011 and 2018, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of $9$ $\text{fb}^{-1}$. A sequence of multivariate selections and strict particle identification requirements produce a higher signal purity and a better statistical sensitivity per unit luminosity than previous LHCb lepton universality tests using the same decay modes. Residual backgrounds due to misidentified hadronic decays are studied using data and included in the fit model. Each of the four lepton universality measurements reported is either the first in the given $q^2$ interval or supersedes previous LHCb measurements. The results are compatible with the predictions of the Standard Model.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2022-045.html (LHCb public pages