« Crisis Management in franchise networks », Cabinet Jeantet
In his book « La franchise, droit et pratiques » (Franchise: Law and practices), Jean-Marie LELOUP defines Franchise network as an « horizontal structure comprising the whole franchised businesses that have contractually obtained the right and the assignment to repeat the management system set by the franchiser ».
In front of about thirty members from the prominent law firm Cabinet JEANTET, he showed that it is also a community ruled by intense psychological relationships. Therefore, we have to stay away from events likely to affect in the long run the welfare or the reputation of the network. The response to an incident must avoid to turn into a crisis. Treatments are preventive – thanks to a pre-contractual information pack and appropriate contractual clauses – or curative – by the intervention of the legal expert when the crisis breaks out. The network has to be very sensitive to the franchisor reaction.