Challenges of a social enterprise expanding through franchising: is social franchising really different? An explorative case study of a social enterprise SolarNow

Abstract: The aim of this study is to investigate the challenges that a social enterprise can experience when franchising through an explorative case of a Dutch social enterprise operating in Uganda - SolarNow, which aims to provide access to affordable energy in the rural regions of the country. The theory argues that social enterprises can experience different or additional difficulties when franchising because of their specific nature. It also suggests that in addition to the Resource Scarcity Theory and the Agency Theory, social enterprises can be motivated to franchise by the Social Capital Theory. The empirical research for this thesis was conducted through a qualitative case study based on semi- structured deep interviews with six of the franchisor representatives and four of the franchisees. The results of the interviews show that SolarNow operates to a high degree in the same way as a regular commercial enterprise. The main differences in the challenges faced by SolarNow and the ways of dealing with them are the results of the need for an innovative business idea, difficult working conditions and a higher possibility of partnerships with public institutions. However, the case of SolarNow shows that social franchising can work very similarly to commercial franchising.