**5. Discussion**

The aim of this study is to explore and identify the determinants for Malaysian franchisors' expansion into global market. This study is based on the experience of franchisors where their business has saturated in the local market and has begun expanding into the global market.

According to the respondents, having a good brand is one of the determinants for Malaysian franchisors for global expansion. Branding should be conceived of as a mechanism that can compel a company's entire workforce to work towards a common goal [67]. The capability of a business to have a major effect on consumer environments can be enhanced by developing its own brand [68]. In addition, the consumer's expectations and feelings about a product and its success are represented by the brand [68,69]. This study is aligned with a past study by Abd Aziz et al., where these scholars discovered that brand is one of the most important factors in determining the survival level of a franchise business in the international market [13]. Franchisors with established and well-known brands have a competitive advantage to remain competitive and strengthen their marketing strategies [40]. Meanwhile, another study by Abd Aziz et al. also highlighted the importance of brand equity in franchising, whereby developing brand equity enabled franchise businesses to successfully connect with their customer base in a way that fosters brand loyalty and helps company expansion [28]. Indeed, brand name and format facilitate, influence, and decide the franchise business' survival in the competitive international market [70,71].

Next, the respondents noticed that making the right location choices were crucial for a franchise's success [72,73]. This aligned with a past study by Minai, who discovered the importance of location in the growth of entrepreneurship and small businesses in Nigeria and, thus, proposed that location must be given an immediate consideration as a critical factor that will positively affect business efficiency [74]. Other studies by Strydom found that convenience, especially in regional shopping malls, is important because consumers perceive restaurant franchises as locations located in larger shopping areas that can be seen as a 'one stop shop' destination offering a combination of products and services [75]. Likewise, convenience and facilities play important roles when consumers choose retail malls. This finding confirms that site selection is based on shop distance and free store factors, such as service quality, cost of time and effort [76].

Furthermore, the respondents also claimed that the consequences of franchises are determined by brand name [77]. This finding is aligned with a past empirical study by Nyadzayo et al., where these scholars explored the franchisee's perception of their franchisor's brand and found that franchisors played an important role in promoting the brand, which in turn enhanced brand equity [78–81]. Additionally, this study also delivered an understanding on how to manage franchising brands successfully and provided new thoughts on brand relationships in a franchise market. Thus, franchising is moving rapidly as a conventional organization because of brand names and sustainability. In recent times, many franchising firms have expanded themselves into international markets, since this system provides many brand supports [71].

The respondents indicated that advertisement is a type of marketing communication that is used to persuade, motivate, or manipulate a target audience to take or continue to perform certain activities [82]. Advertisements have a vital function in attracting customers. Furthermore, assessing the effectiveness of an advertisement's communication reveals whether the advertisements and media were effective in communicating the advertisement's message [69]. Advertising played a significant role in marketing decisions, as it promoted products to the customers. The findings of this study are in line with previous studies by Buljubasic et al., who found that effective promotional methods would be able to attract a large number of customers [83]. Promotional and advertising activities were also of grea<sup>t</sup> assistance to franchisors in attracting a large number of new customers or existing customers to try out their products and services [84].

The respondents have highlighted that product differentiation is an important feature in business. Product differentiation is the process of distinguishing one product from another; this may include significant differences in consistency, reliability, efficiency, or design [85]. Past research has been done on "Marrybrown", which was the first major fast food franchise company that conceptualized and developed the idea of "Something Different" in its product offerings. With various locations in Malaysia, China, Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Africa, Middle East, and Myanmar, "Marrybrown" has a large international presence worldwide. "Marrybrown" has served people from all walks of life because its products are affordable, different, unique, and prioritized production that met customer needs; additionally, this brand has facilitated brand loyalty and offers exclusive menus [86]. Based on these findings and discussions, this study proposes several propositions (please see Table 3).


**Table 3.** Propositions.
