“Living the dream” - a psychoanalytical exploration of franchisee autonomy

Larty, Joanne and Hopkinson, Gillian (2023) “Living the dream” - a psychoanalytical exploration of franchisee autonomy. Journal of Small Business Management, 61 (6). pp. 1-24. ISSN 0047-2778

[thumbnail of Living the dream - FINAL for PURE]
Text (Living the dream - FINAL for PURE)
Living_the_dream_FINAL_for_PURE.pdf - Accepted Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs.

Download (428kB)

Abstract

The notion of autonomy is widely drawn upon as a contributor to motivation, satisfaction, and performance in franchise systems, yet autonomy lacks sufficient theorization and is often treated as a black box. We thus remain ill-equipped to explore further the role of autonomy within the franchise organization and to answer questions about how autonomy is experienced, fulfilled and sustained by franchisee business owners. This paper employs a psychoanalytic lens, drawing on the work of Lacan, to offer a deeper psychologized explanation of autonomy. From this theorization, our findings provide an insight into how the quest for autonomy plays an important role in enabling the franchising format and keeping alive the dream of being your own boss, but at the same time the ongoing struggle to craft oneself as autonomous creates tensions and anxieties. The study provides an important addition to economic explanations of franchising.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
Journal of Small Business Management
Uncontrolled Keywords:
/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/1400/1400
Subjects:
?? psychoanalysisautonomycreative strugglesself-employmentgeneral business,management and accountingmanagement of technology and innovationstrategy and managementbusiness, management and accounting(all) ??
ID Code:
159452
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
09 Sep 2021 14:15
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
11 Aug 2024 00:30