Ⅰ. Introduction
In South Korea, the eyeglasses industry enjoyed its heyday until the former half of the 1990s and has experienced management difficulty since the 2000s due to the mitigated growth rate of exports caused by the rapid emergence of developing countries. Other causes include the lack of professional mindset on the part of managers and the improper analysis and responses of the market.1-3) In addition, there is a shortage of management diagnosis and effort across the entire systematic management of eyeglasses stores and reference data about management. As the proportion of the franchise within the eyeglasses industry has been moving toward into franchise format, the franchisers are offering a lot of help to franchisees through such support measures as product supply chain, employee education, marketing, and store management so that they can increase the sales.
This study thus sets out to investigate the sociodemographic characteristics of eyeglasses chain franchisees and the features of the eyeglasses industry and examine franchisees' satisfaction with the headquarters of eyeglasses chain and the effects of their satisfaction on eyeglasses customer satisfaction and increasing number of eyeglasses customers.
Ⅱ. Subjects and Methods
1. Research Model and Questions
The purpose of this study was to investigate the socio-demographic characteristics of eyeglasses chain franchisees, their satisfaction with the headquarters of eyeglasses chain, and the effects of their satisfaction on performance. For that purpose, the following research questions were set:
First, what are the socio-demographic and business-related characteristics of eyeglasses chain franchisees?
Second, what is the satisfaction level (distribution, operation, promotion, product, and price & conditions) of eyeglasses chain franchisees?
Third, does the satisfaction level of eyeglasses chain franchisees influence performance (customer satisfaction and increasing number of customers)?
Third, does the satisfaction level of eyeglasses chain franchisees influence performance (customer satisfaction and increasing number of customers)?
2. Measuring Instruments
1) Composition of Measuring Instruments
A structured questionnaire was used to examine the effects of eyeglasses chain franchisees' satisfaction on performance, consisting of such factors as franchisee satisfaction, performance, and sociodemographic and business-related characteristics. The questionnaire had total 40 items including 28 on franchisee satisfaction and 12 on performance. In order to figure out the business-related characteristics of the subjects including the socio-demographic characteristics, single items were made up on gender, age, educational background, income level, number of employees at the establishment, period of business operation, and initial investment. The research content of Lim4)was revised to fit the subjects of the study in order to understand franchisee satisfaction. Performance was measured with the inventory used by Park3)after revision. Franchisee satisfaction included five subfactors of satisfaction with distribution, operation, products, prices and conditions, and promotion. Performance was comprised of total two subfactors of customer satisfaction and increasing number of customers. All the items except for the ones regarding the general characteristics of the subjects were measured on a 5-point Likert scale from one point saying "not at all" to five points saying "very much so." Table 1
2) Validity and Reliability
Exploratory factor analysis was conducted to test the validity of the questionnaire used in the study, and Cronbach' α coefficient was used to test its reliability. The Varimax method of the orthogonal rotation methods was employed for factor extraction. The limit was set at an eigenvalue of 1.0 or higher for each factor. The criterion for factor loading was an absolute value of 0.40 or higher.
The factor analysis results of franchisee satisfaction led to total five factors with the cumulative dispersive power at 62.875. The internal consistency reliability coefficient was 0.890 for satisfaction with distribution, 0.890 for satisfaction with operation, 0.833 for satisfaction with promotion, 0.719 for satisfaction with products, and 0.789 for satisfaction with prices and conditions. There were total two subfactors of performance with the cumulative dispersive power at 63.401. The internal consistency reliability coefficient was 0.809 for customer satisfaction and 0.757 for increasing number of customers. Table 2
3. Data Collection and Analysis
The study collected data from the franchisees of A Eyeglasses Chain. The survey lasted for about a month from September to October, 2012 with total 106 questionnaires returned. After excluding one questionnaire that was not filled out sincerely, total 105 questionnaires were used in data analysis. The survey was conducted with the cooperation of the franchisees of A Eyeglasses Chain across the nation to gather data. They were asked to fill out the questionnaire in the self-administration method. Collected data were analyzed with the SPSS 18.0 statistical program. Factor and reliability analysis was carried out to test the validity and reliability of the measuring instruments, and frequency analysis was performed to examine socio-demographic characteristics and businessrelated characteristics.
Specifically first, the mean and deviation of each variable were obtained to understand the satisfaction of eyeglasses chain franchisees (products, prices and conditions, distribution, operation, and sales promotion). Secondly, correlation analysis was conducted to examine relations among the variables, and multiple regression analysis was done to investigate the effects of eyeglasses chain franchisees' satisfaction (products, prices, delivery, distribution, operation, and sales promotion) on performance.
Ⅲ. Results
1. The Socio-demographic and Business-Related Characteristics of the Subjects
Table 3 below shows the socio-demographic and business-related characteristics of the subjects. As for the socio-demographic characteristics of eyeglasses chain franchisees, 99(97.0%) were male and three(2.9%) were female. In addition, 45(43.3%) were in the range of 40~49 years old: 37(35.6%) in the range of 30~39: 21(20.2%) in the range of 50 or older: and 1(1.0%) in the range of 20~29.
As for their business-related characteristics, 35(33.7%) ran the franchise store for a period of 1~3 years: 32(30.8%) for a period of 3~5 years: 17(16.3%) for a period of 5~7 years: and 16(15.4%) for a period of 7 years or longer. As for the number of employees, 52(50.0%) had 5~8 employees: 42(40.4%) 2~5 employees: six(5.8%) 8~11 employees: and two(1.9%) 2 or more and 11 or more each.
As for the current state of business operation, 58(55.8%) said "average": 24(23.1%) "successful": 16(15.4%) "difficult": four(3.8%) "very difficult": and two(1.9%) "very successful."
As for the items related to start-up, the most popular start-up motivation was "It suited my business aptitude" answered by 53(53.5%), being followed by "I got recommended by one of my acquaintances" answered by 19(19.2%), "change of business type" answered by 12(12.1%), "I retired from my older job" answered by 12(12.1%), and "It was hard to get a job" answered by three(3.0%) in the order. As for the period of start-up preparation, 24(23.1%) did the preparation for fewer than one year; and 16(15.4%) for 3~6 months and 1~2 years each.
2. The General Trends of Franchisee Satisfaction
Table 4 presents the descriptive analysis results to understand the general trends of the subfactors of eyeglasses chain franchisees' satisfaction, namely products, prices, delivery, distribution, operation, and sales promotion. On a scale of 1~5, distribution supports recorded a mean of 3.40: sales promotion 3.11: products 2.99: prices and conditions 2.77: and operation supports 2.76 in the order. The results indicate that their satisfaction level was the highest with distribution supports. Of the subfactors of performance, customer satisfaction and increasing number of customers recorded 3.68 and 3.27, respectively.
3. The Effects of Franchisee Satisfaction on Customer Satisfaction and Increasing Number of Customers
1) Correlations among the Variables
The degree of relations among the variables was examined by conducting correlation analysis and obtaining the Pearson's correlation coefficient. As seen in Table 5, the correlation coefficient between the independent and dependent variables was below 0.6 in all cases except for correlations between operation supports and sales promotion with no multicollinearity. For accurate analysis, the investigator obtained variance inflation factor (VIF) values and found that they had distribution values that were considerably lower than 10 in all the variables with no multicollinearity. Table 5 shows the correlation analysis results among the variables.
2) The Effects of the Franchisee Satisfaction Factors on Customer Satisfaction and Increasing Number of Customers
Multiple regression analysis was carried out to investigate the effects of the franchisee satisfaction subfactors, which were distribution support, operation support, sales promotion, products, and prices and conditions, on performance, namely customer satisfaction and increasing number of customers.
(1) The Effects of the Franchisee Satisfaction Factors on Customer Satisfaction
The effects of the franchisee satisfaction factors on customer satisfaction were examined. As a result, products, sales promotion, and prices and conditions had statistical impacts on customer satisfaction. To elaborate, prices and conditions(β =.339, p<.050) had explanatory power of 12.3%. The greater satisfaction the franchisees had with prices and conditions, the higher the customer satisfaction level was; and the greater satisfaction they had with products, the lower the customer satisfaction level was. Table 7
(2) The Effects of the Franchisee Satisfaction Factors on Increasing Number of Customers
The results on the effects of the franchisee satisfaction factors on increasing number of customers show that products, sales promotion, and prices and conditions had statistical influences on increasing number of customers. Specifically, products(β =-.335, p<.010) had the biggest influence, being followed by sales promotion(β =.318, p<.050) and prices and conditions(β =.275, p<.050) in the order with the explanatory power of 12.0%. The greater satisfaction the franchisees had with products, the lower the number of customers became; and the greater satisfaction they had with sales promotion and prices and conditions, the higher the number of customers became.
Ⅳ. Discussions and Conclusions
The study was conducted to investigate the sociodemographic and business-related characteristics of eyeglasses chain franchisees, their satisfaction with the franchise headquarters, and the effects of their satisfaction on customer satisfaction and increasing number of customers. First, as for the socio-demographic and business-related characteristics of eyeglasses chain franchisees, most of the franchisees were male with many of them in their forties or thirties. As for the period of business operation, 67% fell into the period of 1~5 years. The biggest percentage of the franchisees had 5~8 employees. As for start-up, many franchisees said their start-up motivation was that the eyeglasses chain business suited their business aptitude and answered they prepared for the start-up for fewer than two years. The major reason behind their brand choice was high brand recognition. As for the current state of business operation, they thought it was going successfully above the average. Secondly, as for the general trends of franchisee satisfaction, they exhibited the highest satisfaction level in distribution supports and a low satisfaction level in operation supports and prices and conditions. The eyeglasses chain franchisees had a high satisfaction level with the distribution-related factors such as the appropriateness and accuracy of delivery and ordering by the headquarters and a relatively low satisfaction level with the factors related to the eyeglasses store operation and the appropriateness of prices and conditions. Finally, as for the effects of franchisee satisfaction on customer satisfaction, such subfactors as satisfaction with prices and conditions and satisfaction with products had effects on customer satisfaction. The greater satisfaction they had with prices and conditions, the higher customer satisfaction was; and the greater satisfaction they had with products, the lower customer satisfaction was.
In addition, the effects of franchisee satisfaction on increasing number of customers were also investigated. The results indicate that increasing number of customers was most affected by products, sales promotion, and prices and conditions in the order. The greater satisfaction the franchisees had with products, the lower the number of customers became; and the greater satisfaction they had with sales promotion and prices and conditions, the higher the number of customers became.
