Resumo

Late internationalization of those franchisors from emerging countries such as Brazil may raise different practices and trends that are found in franchisors of developed markets. A significant difference lies in the fact that in developed markets such as the US, the international movement of franchises is mature, having existed for more than 40 years. Franchise internationalization in emerging markets is recent, and only intensified in the early 2000s.

This study seeks to analyze the entry and the operation methods of Brazilian companies when they internationalize, and contrast them with the way international companies operating in Brazil perform their management. In addition, we sought to investigate the levels of control and investment in the executives’ views that participated in the study.

Studies identified the countries that would be the target for the franchises (where to expand) (EROGLU 1992; DOHERTY; ALEXANDER, 2004) and tried to understand the choice of the entry mode in foreign countries (how to expand) (ALON, 2006) in addition to the motivation for the franchise companies to expand operations abroad (why to expand) (QUINN, 1998). These studies have assumed that the decision to internationalize is part of the company's strategies.

The research method adopted was a descriptive study based on the application of interviews and literature review. The concern in qualitative studies is to answer the question "What is happening here?" (GIBBS, 2009) and this is exactly the purpose of this study. The focus is to provide a description of the processes studied emphasizing the strategy of companies.

The subsidiary method in each target country, little studied in academic circles, proved to be the most used by franchisors for developed countries (69 percent). It seems to be a natural evolution in order to enter and operate a franchised network. Although little used by Brazilian franchisors (16 percent), it is the method of operation used by the two Brazilian companies that longer operate overseas.

The fact is that most of the studied Brazilian companies are only beginning their internationalization experiences and use methods to prospect foreigner markets without large investments. They claim not to be able to afford more expensive methods, but they risk losing control of the expansion and its outcomes in the target markets. Returning to the question that has guided this study it is concluded that foreign franchisors in Brazil clearly evidence a more mature level than Brazilian companies.

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