Lawrence, BenjaminPerrigot, Rozenn2020-09-122020-09-122015-10-018329973https://hdl.handle.net/1813/71533[Excerpt] While some research has examined the influence of the percentage of company-owned versus franchised units on satisfaction at the chain level (Michael 2000; O’Neill, Mattila, and Xiao 2006), we are aware of no published paper that examines the potential differences between these two organizational forms in terms of customer satisfaction ratings at the unit level. In this paper, we address this gap by focusing on understanding the relationship between the organizational form of the unit (company-owned versus franchised) and customer satisfaction in the form of online ratings, by also taking into consideration the type of customer (non-business versus business). Specifically, we explore the following research questions: Do customers perceive any differences between company-owned units and franchised units within a given chain? If so, then which organizational form performs better in terms of satisfaction ratings? Are there any differences between satisfaction ratings of non-business customers and business customers? And, does the type of customer influence the relationship between organizational form of the unit and customer satisfaction?en-USRequired Publisher Statement: © Wiley. Final version published as: Lawrence, B., & Perrigot, R. (2015). The influence of organizational form and customer type on online customer satisfaction ratings. Journal of Small Business Management, 53(S1), 58-74. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.satisfactionservice operationsservice qualityhotel performancesocial mediaarticle