Kesan Kegawatan Ekonomi ke atas Perniagaan Kecil: Penemuan dalam Perniagaan Francais

This study has been conducted to explore main issues and problems during economic crisis (1997-1998) among 189 franchise entrepreneurs in Malaysia. From 14 types of businesses that have been studied, this article investigates the impact of economic turmoil to franchise business, franchisor assistance during the crisis, main problems faced by the entrepreneurs and explores some differences between entrepreneurs background. The results show that franchise business is affected by the macro economy crisis, but the franchisors still support their franchisees to survive during the crisis. Significantly, home-grown franchisees encountered more problems during the crisis compared to the international franchisees. Lastly, the article finds that entrepreneur education and management background before entering the business give some impact to their perception and evaluation on current problems.