特许经营虽然不如华尔街或人工智能创业光鲜，却可能比多数人工智能初创企业更可靠地创造财富；麦当劳等品牌的大多数门店由独立特许经营者运营、向品牌支付特许权使用费，并且据报道美国最近甚至产生了首位特许经营亿万富翁。

该模式已成为美国商业中不断扩大的力量：美国有近85万个特许经营网点，由25万名企业主经营；在至少有一名雇员的企业中，每8家就有1家是特许经营，约为日本和德国等最接近国际竞争者比例的两倍。

特许经营的增长依赖激励一致、劳动分工、强知识产权、深厚资本市场和透明监管；1979年强制披露规则推出后该行业蓬勃发展，自1986年以来网点数量几乎增加到三倍，而把特许授权方列为加盟店员工的共同雇主将提高法律风险、削弱分散化优势，并可能损害特许经营创造的大量就业。

Franchising is less glamorous than Wall Street or artificial-intelligence startups, but it may create wealth more reliably than most AI startups; most McDonald’s outlets, like many branded locations, are run by independent franchisees that pay royalties to the brand, and America has reportedly recently produced its first billionaire franchisee.

The model has become a steadily expanding force in American business: the United States has almost 850,000 franchise outlets, operated by 250,000 business owners; among firms with at least one employee, 1 in 8 is a franchise, roughly double the share in the closest international rivals such as Japan and Germany.

Franchising’s growth rests on aligned incentives, divided labor, strong intellectual-property rights, deep capital markets, and transparent regulation; after mandatory disclosure rules were introduced in 1979 the sector flourished, and since 1986 outlet numbers have almost tripled, while treating franchisors as joint employers of franchisee workers would raise legal risk, weaken decentralization advantages, and may damage the large number of jobs franchises create.

Source: Why the world needs more franchises

Subtitle: From pizza to Pilates, franchises mint millionaires and make customers happy

Dateline: 5月 28, 2026 05:18 上午