Abstract - Quest for Global Competitiveness - Universidad de Puerto ...

s ame is e xpected f or older f ranch ise s ystems; therefore, weh ypothesize that:H 8A:U .S. f ranch i so rs ’ and n on -U.S. f ranch iso r s ’ websiteswill d iffer on their use r s’ p r i vate d ata co l lectionp ra ct ice s.H 8B: O lder f ranch iso r s ’ ( before 1989) and newe r f ra nch is ors ’we bsit es will d if f er on their users’ p r i va te datac olle ct ion pra ct ice s.Some of the i ssues e xam ined b y these quest ions arise because ofF edera l re gula tions in the sa le of f ranch ise s. T here a re e ven someStates in the U .S. that have lo ca l r e gu lations a s we l l. T he otherquest ions a r ise because of good le gal p ractice s that sh ould bef ollo wed whenever there i s communica tion with p rospective c lients,e specia l l y with those with whom you have had no previous contact.If yo u offer f ra nch is in g on yo ur web site, you will need to inse r t adis c laimer that you a re not offerin g f ranch ise s i n s ta tes where youa re not appro ved. “ I f you take mo ney f ro m a p ro spective f ranchiseethat is f ro m a state where you are not registered, or i f he is going toopera te a f ranch is e in a state w here you a re not r e g is tered, you w i llbe fined, will be required to return the money, and mu st dis clo se thisi nfra ct ion for 10 years o n your U FO C ” (Powe r, 2008). U.S.f ranch iso r s should be m o re used to the U .S. le gal s ystems. T hes ame is e xpected f or older f ranch ise s ystems ; therefore, weh ypothesize that:H 9A:U .S. f ranch i so rs ’ and n on -U.S. f ranch iso r s ’ websiteswill dif f er on their in clu s ion of notice of ju risd ic tio n.H 9B: O lder f ranch iso r s ’ ( before 1989) and newe r f ra nch is ors ’we bsit es will d iffer o n their inclu sio n of n o t ice ofj u risd ic tion.F ailu re to state a c hoice of Law o r V enue in t he terms of u se of theW ebsite le a ve s the f ranch ise open to l it i gation in f o rums, and/ors ubject to Laws , o ther than those of the State wh e re it s o wnheadquarters ( HQ) are p la ced. T his los s of “ home f i e ld a d vantage”m a y le a ve the f ranch ise vu lnerable, s ince i ts la wye rs m a y not befam i lia r with o ther l e ga l s ystems. M o reover, the f ranchise ’s wholel e ga l f ramewo rk m a y have been specif i ca lly designed t o takeadvantage of it s home State ’s L a ws . W ithout the p rotect ion of thosel a ws, the f ranch i se ’s abilit y to litigate may be seve re ly cu r tailed.T he ch oice of Law and Fo rum are u sually part of a packa ge ofW ebsite ru les commonly known a s t he term s of use. T he r eason f o rthe in c lusion of these term s of use i s the same we s tated when9