Corporate use of territory and urban economy: the expansion of franchise networks in Brazil and Portugal

• Grant number: 25/06859-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: October 01, 2025
• End date: January 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Geography - Human Geography
• Principal Investigator: María Mónica Arroyo
• Grantee: Clevisson José da Silva
• Supervisor: Mario Adriano Ferreira do Vale
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal
• Associated to the scholarship: 23/05132-4 - Corporate use of the territory and circuits of the urban economy: franchise networks in the state of Alagoas, BP.DR

Abstract

In the current period, capitalism has intensified its diffusion strategies by expanding business on a global scale, voraciously exploiting the resources of the different fractions of the planet. At the heart of this context, franchise networks are showing impressive results. In the Brazilian case, franchised businesses have maintained stable and promising growth, which has allowed Brazilian chains to enter the internationalization process, with Portugal standing out as the main destination, concentrating the largest number of internationalized Brazilian franchise units. The aim is to investigate the expansion strategies of franchise networks in Portugal, especially the Brazilian ones, articulating their differences and similarities with Brazil; to this end, the following specific objectives are listed: Identify the Brazilian franchise networks operating in Portugal, their capillarity strategies, topology and typology; Recognize the technical and regulatory content that deals with franchise activity in Portugal; Analyze the operation of franchise networks and their empirical dynamics in the urban economy of the city of Lisbon. Methodologically, the research will follow an operational order of procedures based on three fundamental pillars of scientific research: I. Bibliographical research, which aims to survey and select literature on the subject of franchises in Portugal; II. Documentary research, with a survey and analysis of historical documents, normative content, secondary data and information published by official public and private institutions, especially the Portuguese Franchising Association (APF); and, III. Exploratory field research, observing franchise units in the city of Lisbon, especially the Brazilian ones, with a view to getting closer and conducting interviews. (AU)