Engagement of franchise chains consumers on social media

Purpose This paper aims to explore the relationship between the structuring factors of franchise chains and consumer engagement in social media. These factors, such as age, size, brand reputation, franchisee satisfaction and franchise fees, constitute the foundations of franchising. Design/methodology/approach The sample included the 100 largest franchise chains in number of units. The data, referring to the fundamentals of franchising, comes from the Franchise Guide Yearbook. Consumer engagement measurement data were obtained through Facebook. The data analysis involved multiple linear regression. Findings The results indicate an inverse correlation between the variables related to franchising time and consumer engagement, suggesting that younger chains, with less franchising time, have greater engagement within social media. There is a positive correlation between engagement and franchise chains size, indicating that franchise chains with a greater number of units have greater engagement within social media. The results about franchise fees indicate positive correlation between engagement and franchisee chain fee, indicating that franchise chains with higher initial capital, franchise fee and advertising fee. Research limitations/implications These results indicate that younger franchise chains, however with a large operating structure and capital, have a greater understanding of consumers on social media. This generates signals about the need for management updating of franchise chains in the face of e-marketing strategies. Consequently, exposing challenges to older chains, even those that are large and capitalized, in remaining up to date in the face of technological transformations. Practical implications The research presents opportunities to be explored by franchisors in the digital marketing on social media: how to increase engagement; understanding of consumer buying behavior; and how to generate brand value. This is essential for the innovation process to have a more intense flow in franchise chains. Originality/value The investigation of the relationship between consumer engagement in social media and structuring characteristics of franchise chains sheds light on theoretically relevant associations between constructs that are managerially potentiating in the management of digital marketing.