A COMPARISON OF FRANCHISE AND INDEPENDENT SMALL BUSINESS SURVIVAL RATES

Aspiring entrepreneurs choosing to become franchisees certainly expect to improve their chances of survival during the turbulent early years of business startup and operation. Alignment with a franchisor parent company offers the franchisee managerial assistance, access to financ ial capital, and access to markets via the right to utilize the parent company trademark. This study examines survival patterns among franch ise and nonfranchise small firms started between 1984 and 1987: surviv al through late 1991 is tracked for all firms. Although the franchise operations are larger scale, better capitalized young firms, the indep endent business startups are found to be more profitable and their sur vival prospects are better than those of franchises.