The Tim Hortons chain has more than 3,000 donut and coffee stores in Canada. The chain's red-and-white store banners are fixtures in many Canadian communities. In 2001, the first Tim Hortons appeared in the United States through a contractual agreement allowing an independent operation to adopt Tim Hortons' entire way of doing business. This agreement is an example of a(n) A strategic alliance B export merchant C) direct investment joint venture E franchise