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This paper aims to identify the interrelationships of institutional factors that compose an entrepreneurial ecosystem (EE) in small towns that can potentially increase the attraction of franchises.

The authors analyzed 728 small towns with franchise chains that do not belong to metropolitan regions and are limited to populations of up to 50,000 inhabitants. Secondary data are obtained from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. The data analysis technique used is Poisson regression.

A higher number of employed persons (H1), a higher savings (H2) and a higher number of educational institutions (H4) correlates with more franchise chains in small towns. The availability of institutional support (H3) does not correlate with the number of franchise chains. Regarding the interrelationships between factors, the interactive effect between two constructs is determined to cause a decrease in franchise chains, whereas interrelating three factors raises the number of franchise chains (R² = 72.3%).

The analysis identifies some environmental factors to be considered in market prospecting by franchise chains’ expansion managers. These factors constitute a relevant analytical model focused on the regional development of franchise chains.

Social contributions are directed to public policy professionals responsible for regional economic development, as emerging markets demand actions to encourage job creation when confronted with high unemployment rates and dependence on the informal economy.

The contribution of this paper is bringing EE to the debate of the institutional environment’s impact on new businesses. EE adds to the debate examining the interrelationships between different institutional factors. An EE not only identifies the factors, but also examines the interdependence of these factors, which can potentially explain the attraction of franchise chains in small towns.

This paper aims to design a hybrid model of knowledge-based performance management system (KBPMS) for facilitating Lean Six-Sigma (L6s) application to increase contractor productivity without compromising human safety in Indonesian upstream oil field operations that manage ageing and life extension (ALE) facilities.

The research design applies a pragmatic paradigm by employing action research strategy with qualitative-quantitative methodology involving 385 of 1,533 workers. The KBPMS-L6s conceptual framework is developed and enriched with the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to prioritize fit-for-purpose Key Performance Indicators. The application of L6s with Human Performance Modes analysis is used to provide a statistical baseline approach for pre-assessment of the contractor’s organizational capabilities. A comprehensive literature review is given for the main pillars of the contextual framework.

The KBPMS-L6s concept has given an improved hierarchy for strategic and operational levels to achieve a performance benchmark to manage ALE facilities in Indonesian upstream oil field operations. To increase quality management practices in managing ALE facilities, the L6s application requires an assessment of the organizational capability of contractors and an analysis of Human Performance Modes (HPM) to identify levels of construction workers’ productivity based on human competency and safety awareness that have never been done in this field.

The action research will only focus on the contractors’ productivity and safety performances that are managed by infrastructure maintenance programs for managing integrity of ALE facilities in Indonesian upstream of oil field operations. Future research could go toward validating this approach in other sectors.

This paper discusses the implications of developing the hybrid KBPMS- L6s enriched with AHP methodology and the application of HPM analysis to achieve a 14% reduction in inefficient working time, a 28% reduction in supervision costs, a 15% reduction in schedule completion delays, and a 78% reduction in safety incident rates of Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR), Days Away Restricted or Job Transfer (DART) and Motor Vehicle Crash (MVC), as evidence of achieving fit-for-purpose KPIs with safer, better, faster, and at lower costs.

This paper does not discuss social implications

This paper successfully demonstrates a novel use of Knowledge-Based system with the integration AHP and HPM analysis to develop a hybrid KBPMS-L6s concept that successfully increases contractor productivity without compromising human safety performance while implementing ALE facility infrastructure maintenance program in upstream oil field operations.