连锁经营是一种商业组织形式，一般是指经营同类商品或服务的若干个企业，以一定的形式组成一个联合体，通过规模经营以实现规模效益。这些被纳入连锁经营体系的商业企业，如同一条锁链相互连接在一起，所以称之为“连锁商店”。人们通常认为，美国是连锁店的鼻祖，早在1859年 Chain management is a form of business organization. It generally refers to a number of companies that operate similar products or services. They form a consortium in certain forms and achieve economies of scale through scale operations. These commercial enterprises that have been incorporated into the chain management system are linked together like a chain, so they are called “chain stores.” People often think that the United States is the originator of chain stores as early as 1859.