This research program aims to examine and assess the impact of the Commission Regulation (EU) No 330/2010 of 20 April 2010 on the application of Article 101(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union to categories of vertical agreements and concerted practices and its Guidelines on Vertical Restraints - Text with EEA relevance - 2010/C 130/01, on practices, conflicts and performance within franchise networks, using a multidisciplinary and international approach. In fact, franchising is “a contractual agreement between two legally independent firms in which one firm, the franchisee, pays the other firm, the franchisor, for the right to sell the franchisor’s product and/or the right to use its trademarks and business format in a given location for a specified period of time” (Blair & Lafontaine, 2005, p. 3). Due to the benefits stemming from know-how and brand name, and the associated reduction of risks, franchising has been growing for the last 30 years. There are more than 2.5 million franchised units worldwide (European Franchise Federation, 2010). For instance, in the US, there are 2,200 franchise networks including 784,802 franchised units, generating 7.8 million jobs and 739.9 billion dollars of turnover (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2011). In Europe as well, franchising is particularly developed with about 400,000 franchised units. In France, there are 1,477 franchisors and 58,351 franchised units, employing 335,000 persons and generating more than 47.88 billion euros of turnover (French Franchise Federation, 2011). All these figures highlight the importance of franchising in terms of economy and employment. As the number of franchise networks has been constantly increasing, the number of franchisor/franchisee conflicts has been increasing as well, whatever the industry (retailing & services) and whatever the country (e.g., Frazer & Winzar, 2005). Indeed, franchisors and franchisees are both entrepreneurs who work under a same brand. They want to achieve a higher performance, but their objectives and means can vary and conflicts can then emerge. We consider that the regulation itself and its guidelines can influence the practices of franchisors and franchisees; the sources, scope, types and modes of resolution of conflicts; as well as the performance of the franchise networks. We will focus on know-how, E-commerce and resale price that are three key elements of franchising particularly concerned by this new Regulation. This research program will involve a multidisciplinary approach (Business, Law & Economics), with additional insights from Sociology of Conflicts as well, in order to get a global understanding of conflicts and performance within franchising. Besides, this research program has an international dimension. We will benefit from external feedback on European Commission regulation from Australian and US franchising scholars. The exploratory study will be run at the European level (France, Germany, Spain and the UK) in order to have a broader perspective on the research questions. The core focus of this research program, i.e., the empirical studies dealing with franchising, conflicts and performance in link with know-how, E-commerce and resale price, will be conducted in the French market. The methodology for these empirical studies will be qualitative and quantitative, and multi-level oriented (franchising experts, franchisors, franchisees and customers). The detailed literature review, the managerial, legal and economic monitoring along with the different empirical studies will lead to research contributions, managerial implications for franchisors and franchisees, as well as policy implications.

The NIDASTIC project (Functionalized honeycombs for Sciences, Information and Communication Technologies) is set up by a consortium of three partners: DCNS, University of Rennes 1 (IETR), and SERIBASE. Its main purpose concerns the development of multifunctional composite panels based on smart honeycombs. This proposal is directly derived from a CIFRE Défense PhD thesis (N ° 007/2013 - K. Rubrice) which has demonstrated the full potential of this innovative concept (Technology Readiness Level TRL 3-4), especially for applications in the microwave field: tunable radome panels, honeycomb sandwich, control vector, or antennas and antenna arrays made from the core of the sandwich panels. The basic idea of the proposed project concerns the use of conductive patterns (screen printing, inkjet printing, etc.), micropatch antennas, electronic components, etc. on the walls of the honeycomb cells, or to build honeycombs integrating the same components into each cell wall (by additive manufacturing for example). First of all, NIDASTIC project proposes to carry out technological developments on the materials themselves and the related processes, on inks and conductive fillers, on the integration of passive or active components (SMD surface mounted device type) and printed microcircuits. Secondly, functionalization of the structural composite panels will be demonstrated through scale model to address various challenges, in particular with a large frequency spectrum and targeted applications, and then by the design, the fabrication and the characterization of vehicles corresponding to each of the 3 targeted functions mentioned above: tunable radome panels, antenna panels, and control vector panels of surface mounted antennas (TRL> 5). The restricted and very complementary partnership finds origin in the two partners of the PhD thesis (DCNS and IETR) and SERIBASE, a SME specialist in printed electronics. The strong relationship between the partners, their high technological levels and their motivation offer a very rich prospect of dissemination, transfer and use of the results, an increasing maturity level as well as numerous applications in military field, such as civil area. It is all the NIDASTIC challenge to evolve laboratory test pieces or numerical models to functionalized structural composite panels manufactured under an industrial setting. The commitment made by several expert SMEs in high technology niches (nanoparticle-based inks), not part of the consortium, to support the development of the research demonstrates the willingness of the partners to implement the NIDASTIC results at the end of the project. The targeted applications of NIDASTIC mainly concern the microwave field (convergence point of the 3 partners) with the tunable radome panels, the devices embedded into the panel core to control surface mounted antennas or antenna arrays operating from the VUHF band (TETRA network) to the Ka band (collision avoidance radar), involving also geolocation devices, navigation devices, etc. Many of these applications are dual in nature: civil and military. Even they are less in the project to restrict the dispersion risks, the benefits of NIDASTIC out of the microwave field are also numerous and could constitute as many ways to diversify the potential markets for the industrial partners and in particular for the SERIBASE SME.

The MISTRAL project has for objective the achievement of miniature and frequency agile antennas exploiting the magneto-electric properties of innovative nanocomposites for electromagnetism. It is based on the sharing of competences at several levels of the synthesis of nanomaterials, scale which are accessible unique properties like the combination of the ultra-permeable and electrical insulator characters (contradictory by nature), the design of antennas with complex materials, integrative manufacturing technologies and metrology related. The project is based on technological breakthrough for the manufacture of nanocomposites: sintering of nanopowders (oxides) and molding of polymer loaded with nanoparticles (oxides). The antennas are designed with commercial software supplemented with electromagnetic models specifically developed for nanocomposites. These tools constitute a co-design toolkit for antenna and material and are used to evaluate the performance of the prototypes. The antenna fabrication is based on complementary integrative technologies consistently with the product specifications (spectral band, environment, thick self-supporting materials ). These technologies enable antennas with high ratios of performance over size (weight) - miniaturization - and functionalization over size (weight) - agility-, and therefore a gain on the cost of production. The project contributes to the evaluation of the use of these technologies on an industrial scale for applications with fast growing market, as for examples sub Gigahertz airborne antennas and in the future large scale wireless sensors networks. 4 demonstrators are carried out during the project with 2 preliminary proofs of concept of functional optimized (low loss) and agile nanocomposites, followed by 1 fixed miniature antenna prototype and 1 tunable one. The common denominator in these demonstrators is the control of the synthesis of composite to a few tens of nanometers wide, this allows to exploit in particular the phenomenon of evanescent anisotropy in magnetic media for permeability enhancement and strong coupling between phases of different nature (magnetostrictive / piezoelectric) for agility. The aim of the project is the manufacture of antennas using optimally the electromagnetic properties of these nanomaterials and in particular tunable magnetic properties associated with low losses. They are characterized in their spectral band of interest and context of use. Experimental performance is compared with those from numerical simulations with validation of interest for industrial transfer. The MISTRAL project is based on a consortium of 4 complementary partners: 3 scientific and technological players and 1 industrial who carry the vision of the market. Cobham Antennas is the contractor for the aeronautic sector and ensure the adequacy of the methods and processes for possible industrial transfer. The antenna miniaturization needs for aeronautic applications are strength at VHF, UHF frequencies and consequently, prototypes of antennas and magneto-electric materials will be designed around these sub-Gigahertz frequencies. The other partners are the Lab-STICC in charge of nanocomposites developments, the IETR and CEA LETI for microantenna development and experimental characterization. The project MISTRAL, industrial research type, is the necessary exploratory step before to consider the use of mass production of antennas with magnetic nanocomposites in growing markets (aerospace and wireless communications (IoT)), bringing the first elements of answer (performance, reliability and cost) which are essential for industry decision roadmaps.

The generalization of communication systems between objects leads to research and development of miniature and frequency-agile antennas. Numerous antenna applications in civil and military fields of application require miniaturization of the device, but also frequency tunability by low intensity magnetic field, especially in V/UHF band. These antennary properties can be achieved by the realization of specific materials combined with dedicated antennary topologies. The TOCCATA project follows a preliminary exploratory study conducted during the ANR MISTRAL (ANR-15-CE24-0030-01), before considering the use for industrial production of antennas with magnetic nanocomposites in growing markets (aerospace and wireless communications, military or civil). The main objective of TOCCATA is to propose materials with permeability dynamics, particularly in the V/UHF band, that can be controlled by static magnetic fields produced by currents of limited intensity (<8 A), responding to this problem. The approach that was followed during MISTRAL is a break with the literature: it consists in particular in exploiting the extrinsic magnetic properties (ie: linked to the geometry) of the samples, in order to circumvent the difficulties inherent in the appearance of demagnetizing effects. Our choice was oriented (ANR MISTRAL) towards ferrites of spinel structure Ni-Zn-Co-(Cu). These materials meet the requirements of process availability, the targeted applications and the scientific positioning of the partners involved in this project. Two families of materials (ceramic and composite) and three species of samples (depending on whether they will have been obtained in ceramic form from a chemical, mechanical or composite route) will be produced using different technological processes. This strategy will best promote the development of agile materials. TOCCATA envisages the optimization of the dynamic properties of the samples. In this perspective, the microstructural analysis of the materials will play a decisive role. Their integration in antennary devices will be the subject of numerical simulations, which should lead to the creation of demonstrators. The applications addressed concern growth markets (aerospace and wireless communications, military or civil), i.e. the aeronautics industry, electronic warfare (development of discrete V/UHF antennas: the use of magneto-dioelectric substrates would initially make it possible to reduce their size. The possibility of tunability would then make it possible to extend the operating frequency range), tactical communications. Indeed, current solutions in tuning boxes or filters remain cumbersome and expensive. Integrated tunable devices operating in these frequency bands would reduce congestion and costs. The NiZnCuCo ferrites in this study have been shown to perform exceptionally well in this frequency range. THALES SIX has selected these ferrites to equip the power amplifiers of their new generation of radio sets. It would therefore be of particular interest to develop tunable magnetic devices using these materials. It should be noted that these ferrites have been the subject of several THALES patents, which makes it possible to envisage an advantageous competitive positioning.