<![CDATA[This study examines how digital transformation and artificial intelligence (AI) adoption may reconfigure asset management in education franchising through a resource-based view (RBV). A systematic narrative literature review (SNLR) was conducted using studies retrieved from Scopus, Google Scholar, and Garuda and supplemented by foundational RBV and franchising literature. The documented final analytical corpus comprised 18 sources selected using relevance to digital transformation, AI adoption, intangible resources, human capital, franchise governance, asset management, and competitive advantage as the main criteria. The synthesis identified six recurring themes: digital transformation as a strategic asset; AI-enabled capability development; resource constraints and leadership; human-capital and knowledge integration; franchise governance and asset control; and sustainability and competitive advantage. The findings indicate that digital platforms and AI can support service consistency, resource coordination, knowledge integration, and data-supported decision-making, but their strategic value is contingent on complementary resources and organizational conditions. In particular, AI or digital transformation should not be treated as automatically satisfying all VRIN criteria. Instead, the relevant strategic unit is a firm-specific resource bundle combining technology, proprietary and accumulated data, tacit pedagogical and franchising knowledge, human capital, and organizational routines. The study contributes a conceptual VRIN mapping that connects these complementary resources with franchisor–franchisee governance conditions and clarifies the distinction between RBV and dynamic capabilities. Practically, the framework provides a governance and capability lens for managing digital platforms, data, curriculum, AI, and human resources across education-franchise networks.]]>
