domestic options (franchise or not) with international options (franchise or not). Primarily, they address additional possibilities not encountered in the literature, namely that not all companies go through a path from domestic franchising to international franchising. Although this contribution is helpful, as a limitation the framework falls short of a full-fledged conceptual model of international retail franchising. There is a contribution in terms of greater understanding of the process of international franchise entry by retailers, but the resulting model is narrow rather than comprehensive. The second paper in Phase 3 is Doherty and Alexander (2004). Relationship perspectives have been dominant in marketing for the past two decades. Selection and management of distribution partners have always been of importance in the general international marketing literature. Thus, Doherty and Alexander appropriately emphasize the hitherto neglected franchisor–franchisee relationship in the international franchising context. The evolution of the partnership moves from the initial selection of the partner and then through development over time. Various cycles are possible, with case examples given of some international partner selections based on formal criteria other than relationship qualities. However, even these cases may evolve the relationship quality, particularly when ultimately the franchisor appreciates the connection to maintaining the integrity of their brand. The case evidence reveals that as a result of experience, franchise partners appreciate that relationships are built on trust, communication, and support rather than on the threat of the contract. A possible limitation of the Doherty and Alexander work is the lost opportunity to more deeply explore the dynamics of the relationship over time. A start has been made, but the rich texture of case research might have given more insight about how and why this important relationship evolves over time. In Phase 3, the third selected paper is Altinay and Miles (2006). These authors respond to the surge of attention to stakeholder issues in the previous decade by using stakeholder theory to provide a frame of reference to examine the decision-making process involved in international franchising agreements. In a sense, there is an affinity between relationship theory (as illustrated through the previous paper in this epoch, Doherty and Alexander, 2004) and stakeholder theory. However, the latter is distinct enough to warrant separate treatment. Altinay and Miles are particularly influenced by the seminal paper by Eroglu (1992), especially the role of key decision makers. Their response is to feature decision making in their title and to focus on key stakeholders, with an emphasis on the initial selection of the internal franchise partner. Part of their objective was to reduce vagueness in stakeholder theory by focusing on a specific