| 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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