Omnichannel Reconfiguration Capabilities in Franchising: A Meso‐Foundations Analysis

ABSTRACT With the rise of digitalization, retailing and services organizations are increasingly shifting towards omnichannel strategies, seeking to offer seamless service experiences across multiple channels. While extant research highlights that organizations adopting omnichannel strategies must undergo deep transformation, there is a dearth of research on omnichannel reconfiguration in franchising. However, omnichannel reconfiguration could be more complex in decentralized networks such as franchised ones, marked by franchisee autonomy and a subtle balance that ensures collaborative entrepreneurship while avoiding intra‐brand competition. This research addresses this gap by adopting a dynamic capabilities perspective and investigating the meso‐foundations of omnichannel reconfiguration. Seven case studies with French franchise networks reveal three classes of meso‐level reconfiguration capabilities, related to learning, change management, and governance capabilities. The case studies also uncover how the foundations and role of the three classes of capabilities vary in terms of how franchise networks sense omnichannel opportunities, seize them, and transform to leverage them.