| It is hard to believe that nearly 15 years have passed since the publication of the first edition of Franchising & Licensing in 1991. The impact of technology and globalization has had a permanent effect on the dynamics of the franchise relationship. When the manuscript was being written for the first edition in the late 1980s, I could not have envisioned the many changes in the evolution of today’s franchise relationships that can be managed or the diversity in the number of industries and companies that would pursue franchising as their primary growth strategy. It has been an honor to work with companies launching franchising programs in dozens of different industries and at various stages of growth, ranging from start-up to Fortune 500 companies.
At the time of this writing, global events and geopolitical concerns are overshadowing and restraining some of the many successes that the franchising community has enjoyed since the publication of the second edition. We are in the middle of war with Iraq, we now live with the threat of terror attacks against our homeland following the events of September 11, 2001, our economy is as weak as it has been in over 10 years, and oil and energy prices are on the rise, making the cost of growing a business very high. In tough economic times, the development of creative strategies to leverage your intellectual capital becomes especially important. |
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