This book highlights cutting-edge research in the economics and management of networks as an interdisciplinary field, offering new theoretical, empirical and practical perspectives on the management, governance, ownership and control of cooperatives, franchising networks and strategic alliances.

1.Management and Governance of Networks: An Introduction.- PartI: FRANCHISING.- 2.Strategic Groups in the French Franchising Sector.- 3.Control and Performance in Franchising Networks.- 4.Beyond Main Street: Franchising Strategies for Indigenous Entrepreneurship in Australia.- 5.Social Entrepreneurship and Franchising: A Panacea for Emerging Countries? The Case of Algeria.- 6.Franchising in the Education Sector: How do Pakistani Customers Perceive this New Phenomenon?.- PartII: COOPERATIVES.- 7.Profiling the Natural Food Cooperative Members: Strategic Implications in Terms of Market Positioning and Governance.- 8.Farmer Cooperatives as Systems of Attributes: An Analysis of Ownership and In-vestment Complementarities.- 9.Toward an Updated Typology of U.S. Farmer Cooperatives: Survey Evidence of Recent Hybrid Ownership Restructuring.- 10.Innovation in Cooperatively Organized Breeding Networks – Analysis of Cluster Structures in Dairy Cattle Breeding in Germany.- 11.Uniformity in Collective Entrepreneurship: The Case of Food Retail Cooperatives in France.- 12.Characterizing Cooperatives in China.- 13.Cooperatives in Kyrgyzstan: Findings from a Survey of Cooperatives and Users.- Part III: STRATEGIC ALLIANCES.- 14.Alliance Portfolio Management: A Model based on Dynamic Capabilities.- 15.The Antecedents of Relationship Phase Affect in Alliances.- 16.Food Safety Management through the Lens of Hybrids: The Case of Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Shippers.

This book highlights cutting-edge research in the economics and management of networks as an interdisciplinary field, offering new theoretical, empirical and practical perspectives on the management, governance, ownership and control of cooperatives, franchising networks and strategic alliances. Further, it presents a strategic group perspective on franchisers and discusses both social entrepreneurship issues in franchising and franchising strategies for Indigenous entrepreneurship in Australia. Lastly, it offers a dynamic capabilities approach to alliance portfolio management and analyses the antecedents of the transitions taking place in the lifecycles of alliances.

Shows how franchisers build strategic groups to create competitive advantage Argues that alliance portfolio capabilities are a key strategic asset and formal control improves franchiser performance Establishes that complementarities between ownership and investment in cooperatives loosen equity constraints Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras