Franchising drives jobs but stalls green goals in Ghana hotels

Franchising has become one of the most visible strategies by which hospitality firms in developing economies pursue growth, and a new qualitative study from Accra, Ghana, shows just how uneven its sustainability record can be. Published in Discover Sustainability, the research examines why hotel and restaurant operators in Ghana choose franchising, what obstacles they face, and how the resulting business arrangements measure up against Sustainable Development Goals 8, 9 and 12. The answer, drawn from twelve semi-structured interviews across four franchised hospitality firms in Accra, is a study in conditional success: franchising reliably delivers skills and jobs, partially upgrades industry capability, and largely fails to realise its environmental potential.

The study, conducted by Emmanuel Ahatsi and Oludolapo Olanrewaju of the Institute of Systems Science at Durban University of Technology, is grounded in dynamic capability theory and the knowledge-transfer literature, integrated with the institution-based view of strategy. Dynamic capability theory holds that firms gain competitive advantage by sensing opportunities, seizing them, and continuously reconfiguring internal resources. Franchising transfers precisely such capabilities from franchisor to franchisee: proven operating procedures, brand assets, training systems and managerial expertise. The institution-based view adds a second analytical layer, insisting that strategy cannot be understood apart from the formal rules, informal norms and infrastructural conditions of the market in which a firm operates. In an emerging economy like Ghana, the interaction between transferred capabilities and institutional constraints becomes the decisive factor shaping sustainability outcomes.

Methodologically, the researchers employed a qualitative case study design, using purposive and snowball sampling to recruit participants. Snowball sampling, in which initial interviewees recommend further participants from their professional networks, is particularly suited to accessing closed business communities where franchising agreements are commercially sensitive. Data were collected through twelve semi-structured interviews across four franchised hospitality firms in Accra, Ghana’s capital and its principal hospitality market. Thematic analysis was guided by an a-priori capability-coding framework, meaning the researchers coded interview transcripts against predefined capability categories derived from theory rather than allowing themes to emerge purely inductively. Inter-coder reliability checks supported the framework, reducing the risk that a single analyst’s interpretation would drive the findings.

The motivations the study identifies for entering franchising are strongly commercial and reputational. Brand reputation emerged as a decisive factor, alongside franchisor support services, franchisor expertise, proven business models, and identified market demand. In practical terms, a Ghanaian operator who affiliates with an established international or regional brand acquires not only a recognised name but a tested system for running rooms, kitchens and service standards. Proven business models lower the uncertainty that typically deters investment in emerging markets, where consumer data may be scarce and demand volatile. Identified market demand, meanwhile, signals that the franchise concept has already found traction locally, giving investors a measure of confidence that pure start-ups cannot match.

Yet the challenges the interviews surface are equally substantial. Cultural adaptation tensions arise when franchise standardisation collides with local expectations of hospitality, food and service. Financial constraints weigh heavily on franchisees, who must often meet brand-mandated investment thresholds with limited access to affordable credit. Infrastructural limitations, from unreliable utilities to inadequate transport networks, impose operating burdens that franchisors in mature markets rarely anticipate. Legal and regulatory barriers complete the picture, as weak or unclear frameworks for franchise agreements, intellectual property protection and dispute resolution raise transaction costs and risk. These obstacles do not merely inconvenience operators; they actively shape what franchising can contribute to national development.

Mapping the findings against the Sustainable Development Goals produces the study’s most striking analytical result. SDG 8, which targets decent work and economic growth, currently receives verifiable outcomes from hospitality franchising in Ghana through skills development and employment generation. Franchise systems embed structured training, standardised service protocols and career pathways that informal competitors often lack, translating brand affiliation into human capital formation. This is the clearest sustainability dividend the sector earns from franchising, and it aligns with the study’s emphasis on decent work as a measurable outcome rather than an aspiration.

SDG 9, focused on industry, innovation and infrastructure, shows partial outcomes. Franchising drives firm-level industrial upgrading: franchisees adopt modern processes, quality management and technology that raise the capability ceiling of the local industry. However, this upgrading is offset by absorbed infrastructure burdens. When public infrastructure underperforms, franchisees must compensate privately, for example by investing in backup power, water storage or transport, which diverts resources from innovation toward resilience. The result is industrial progress at the firm level that is partially neutralised by institutional deficits at the system level, a dynamic the institution-based view of strategy predicts but that the study documents empirically.

SDG 12, which calls for responsible consumption and production, emerges as largely unrealised. The study finds that franchise standardisation in practice prioritises brand consistency over environmental responsibility. Uniform operating procedures are designed to guarantee that a guest receives the same experience in Accra as in any other franchise location, but the environmental footprint of those procedures, from energy use to waste management to sourcing, is not systematically addressed. Standardisation, in other words, is currently a tool of brand control rather than of sustainability. This finding challenges the assumption that the diffusion of international business models automatically carries responsible production practices into emerging markets.

The conditional logic the study identifies is therefore central to its contribution. Franchising contributes to sustainability in an institutionally constrained emerging market only under specific conditions: when franchisees receive training, regulatory guidance and operational resources, and when institutional barriers are actively managed rather than absorbed. Without these supports, the sustainability potential of franchising remains partial and uneven. The findings underscore the importance of supporting franchisees with training, regulatory guidance and operational resources to ensure long-term viability and promote sustainable business practices in the Ghanaian hospitality sector.

For investors, policymakers and practitioners, the study offers a roadmap for developing sustainable hospitality models in emerging economies. Investors can use the identified motivations and challenges to structure franchise agreements that anticipate cultural, financial, infrastructural and regulatory risks. Policymakers can strengthen the institutional environment, clarifying franchise regulation, improving infrastructure, and aligning brand standardisation with environmental standards so that SDG 12 potential is realised rather than deferred. Practitioners can embed sustainability into franchise operating manuals, ensuring that standardisation serves both brand consistency and responsible production. As globalisation continues to push firms toward internationalisation strategies, the Ghanaian case demonstrates that franchising is a practical pathway for market entry and competitiveness, but its contribution to sustainable development depends on deliberate design, capable franchisees and supportive institutions working together.

Subject of Research: Franchising and sustainable development in Ghana’s hospitality sector

Article Title: Franchising and sustainable development in Ghana’s hospitality sector

Article References: Ahatsi, E., & Olanrewaju, O. (2026). Franchising and sustainable development in Ghana’s hospitality sector. Discover Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-026-04801-6

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s43621-026-04801-6

Keywords: Franchising, sustainable, development, Ghana, hospitality, sector, scientific research