🧭 Broad Area of Supervision

Franchising, Entrepreneurship & SME Growth Strategy — with sub-areas in international market entry, business scaling, franchise ecosystem development, and entrepreneurship education.

🔎 Specialist sub-areas:

• Franchise system design and replication
• International expansion and market entry
• SME growth strategy
• Female entrepreneurship
• Franchise ecosystem and association-building
• Creativity, design thinking and social entrepreneurship.

Prof. Dr Ljiljana Kukec is a franchising and entrepreneurship specialist with over 30 years of experience helping businesses in Croatia and internationally scale into structured, replicable franchise systems. She is President of the Croatian Franchise Association (FIP), a Board Member of the European Franchise Federation, and founder of the Body Creator franchise, grown to roughly 30 locations and 150+ jobs. She lectures on franchising and entrepreneurship at institutions including the University of Luxembourg and Sveučilište VERN, and holds a doctorate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. *(85 words)

📄 Full Profile

Dr Kukec brings more than 30 years of experience in business and franchising to doctoral supervision at IDEAS, working with entrepreneurs, brands, and companies across Croatia and internationally to design franchise models, structure growth, and support market entry and expansion. Her doctoral degree is in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and her academic interests extend into related areas including the creativity process, presentational skills, entrepreneurship in cultural and creative industries, design thinking, social entrepreneurship, crowdfunding, and startups.

She is both a theorist and a practitioner of franchising. She is the founder of the Body Creator franchise — a network of female slimming centres she has run since 2001, now spanning around 30 franchise locations and creating over 150 jobs. Beyond being a successful business model in its own right, Body Creator is a notable example of female entrepreneurship, with both franchise owners and clients predominantly women.

Dr Kukec is a leading figure in franchise ecosystem development across Central and Southeast Europe. She is Co-founder and President of the Croatian Franchise Association (FIP), Vice President of the Luxembourg Franchise Association (LuxFa), and Co-founder and Vice President of the Franchise Center at the Croatian Chamber of Economy. She served as Vice President of the European Franchise Federation from 2014–2016 and currently sits on its Board of Directors, alongside memberships of the World Franchise Council and the Association Voice of Entrepreneurs. She has played a key role in establishing more than five national franchise associations across the region and in Luxembourg, and works to build franchise-friendly ecosystems in Serbia, Slovenia, Hungary, and North Macedonia — work for which she has been recognised by national governments.

Over her career, Dr Kukec has helped more than 150 companies across Central and Southeast Europe achieve their business development and expansion goals through franchising, with clients including Museum of Illusions, Surf’n’Fries, Fish Delish, Varteks, Elgrad, Café Frei, Direct Booker, EV Clinic, Berghoff, Biomania, Park znanosti, Figurella, Carwiz, Flaster, and Sakash, among others. She has organised more than 200 franchise events — including international exhibitions, forums, conferences, workshops, and lectures — and is the author of the Mini Franchise Academy, a one-year curriculum leading to a recognised franchising qualification at the European Business School in Zagreb. She was instrumental in establishing the Certificate of European Franchise Excellence for Central and Southeast Europe.

She teaches franchising and entrepreneurship at the University of Luxembourg, the Swiss School of Business and Management, Paris School of Management, Sveučilište VERN, and on entrepreneurship courses at the European Business School in Zagreb, and is a regular guest lecturer at business schools, conferences, and industry events across Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the UAE, Luxembourg, Brussels, and beyond. She is co-author of *Guide Through Entrepreneurship* and editor of the Croatian edition of UNIDROIT’s *Guide to Master Franchise Agreements*, alongside numerous articles in national and international business and franchise publications.

Her recognitions include being named twice among the Top 100 Global Franchise Influencers and receiving the \”Creators of the Century\” award for her contribution to entrepreneurship development in Central and Southeast Europe.

🔬 Areas of Research Interest

Franchise System Design & Growth** Franchise model design and replication · structured business growth strategy · franchise brand development · scaling from single-site to multi-unit operations

International Expansion & Market Entry** Cross-border franchise expansion · market entry strategy · adapting franchise systems to new regulatory and cultural contexts

Franchise Ecosystems & Governance** National franchise association development · franchise industry advocacy and standards · public-private engagement in support of SMEs through franchising

Entrepreneurship & Innovation** SME growth and business development · female entrepreneurship · social entrepreneurship · crowdfunding and startup development · entrepreneurship in cultural and creative industries

Entrepreneurship & Franchising Education** Curriculum design for franchising and entrepreneurship programmes · creativity, design thinking, and presentational skills as applied business capabilities

🤝 Supervisory Approach

Dr Kukec welcomes doctoral and professional doctorate candidates whose research is grounded in real business practice — particularly work embedded in an existing venture, franchise system, or SME growth initiative. Drawing on her own dual identity as scholar and practitioner, she supervises research that is expected to generate a genuine theoretical contribution alongside recommendations of practical value to entrepreneurs, franchise networks, and policymakers. Her extensive client and ecosystem-building experience gives candidates access to live industry context across Central and Southeast Europe and Luxembourg.

🎯 Ideal Candidate Fit

If your research is about\…** **Dr Kukec is a strong match because\…

Franchise system design or scaling a business into a franchise Her core specialism, developed both academically and through founding her own franchise network

International market entry or cross-border expansion Direct experience supporting expansion across Central and Southeast Europe and Luxembourg

Female entrepreneurship Founder of Body Creator, a franchise built and run predominantly by and for women

Franchise ecosystem development or industry governance Leadership of multiple national and European franchise associations

A professional doctorate embedded in your own SME or franchise business Extensive practitioner network and hands-on consulting experience with 150+ companies

Ready to talk about doctoral admissions, supervision, or researcher development? Contact the Knowledge Edge team.