Social franchising: A systematic review

Abstract Social franchising is starting to garner more interest among researchers and practitioners as a replication approach used to help address a growing array of societal issues in both developed countries and emerging economies. While there has been a proliferation of experimentation with social franchising that is occurring on the global stage, the knowledge base remains fragmented. A comprehensive review of the empirical and practitioner literature has not been done. This article fills the void by reviewing the past decade of literature and will be of interest to governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), philanthropists, social impact investors, corporations devoted to social goals, and other key players who support the scaling up or replication of ventures that strive to address societal ills by creating pathways to health and prosperity.