Do retailers benefit from network affiliation in all locations

When a retailer enters a new market, the location and the decision whether to join a branded network are two major choices that must be faced. This empirical paper concerns the performance outcome of these choices. Based on French data, we measure the outlet performance with respect to turnover growth and economic return. Our analytical framework and our results highlight that network membership does not systematically provide advantages at the outlet level. The advantages of network membership decrease with increasing distance from the locus of economic activity.