scholarly journals Fragmented fields: Professionalisms and work settings in Italian management consultancy

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lara Maestripieri
Keyword(s):  
Professional Service ◽  
Specific Work ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Professional Service Firms ◽  
Work Settings ◽  
Management Consultants ◽  
Self Employment ◽  
Management Consultancy ◽  
Professional Service Firm

Abstract Management consultancy has long been a contested terrain in the sociology of the professions. Although the professionalism of management consultants has always been emphasized by practitioners themselves, the lack of a strong community of peers has been an impediment to their professionalization. In this article, I argue that professionalism is not the outcome of a process of regulation and institutionalization but that it has to be conceived a discourse comprising norms, worldviews, and values that define what is appropriate for an individual to be considered a competent and recognized member of this community. Given the diversity characterizing the field, there are multiple discourses surrounding professionalism of management consultants, and these discourses are shaped by work settings. Work settings are a combination of the type of organization professional partnership or professional service firm and the employment status (employee or self-employed). Drawing on the empirical evidence from various work settings (professional service firms, professional partnership, and self-employment), I investigate four clusters of practitioners identified in 55 biographical and semi-structured interviews conducted with management consultants in Italy. Four types of professionalism emerge from the clusters. Organizing professionalism is the sole professionalism that appears in all work settings. Other discourses (corporate, commercialized, and hybrid professionalism) are context-dependent and more likely to be found in specific work settings.

INNOVATION AWARDS: REWARD, RECOGNITION, AND RITUAL

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (05) ◽  
pp. 1740006 ◽  
Author(s):  
LISA CALLAGHER ◽  
PETER SMITH
Keyword(s):  
Risk Taking ◽  
Professional Service ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Professional Service Firms ◽  
Service Firm ◽  
Detailed Case ◽  
Professional Service Firm ◽  
Pluralistic Contexts

This paper draws on a detailed case study of an innovation awards-giving scheme in a professional service firm to consider the role of discretionary awards in encouraging and displaying innovation capabilities. Because of their association with competition, it might seem that awards are likely tools in pluralistic contexts such as professional service firms where risk-taking and collaboration require deep relationships with clients and with professionals from different specialisations. We intend to show how managers and professionals mobilised around the scheme using the rewarding, recognising, and ritualising of innovation through awards, as a platform to initiate and promote other organisational processes that foster innovation capabilities.

Cooperation in non-financial services

2019 ◽  
pp. 399-416
Author(s):  
John Child ◽  
David Faulkner ◽  
Stephen Tallman ◽  
Linda Hsieh
Keyword(s):  
Financial Services ◽  
Service Sector ◽  
Economies Of Scale ◽  
Professional Service ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
International Expansion ◽  
Professional Service Firms ◽  
Cooperative Strategy ◽  
Service Firm ◽  
Professional Service Firm

Chapter 18 focuses on the non-financial service sector and the professional service firm in particular. It describes how professional service firms bent on expansion are increasingly developing characteristics similar to manufacturing firms, enabling them to take advantage of economies of scale and scope, thereby commoditizing their products/services. They are also digitizing back offices. As such they are making themselves good candidates for globalization by means of cooperative strategy. The chapter also considers the position of the smaller professional service firm, which it views as having more limited opportunities due to the weakness of its brand name in terms of international recognition. However, if the smaller firm focuses on bespoke products and developing a good unique selling proposition (USP), it too may use cooperative strategy successfully to aid its international expansion. Finally the chapter discusses how the collaborative movement has impacted on three specific service sectors, aviation, tourism, and academia.

Quality systems in health care: a situational approach

1998 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 65-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.D. van der Bij ◽  
T. Vollmar ◽  
M.C.D.P. Weggeman
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Quality Control ◽  
Quality Management ◽  
Iso 9000 ◽  
Professional Services ◽  
Professional Service ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Quality Systems ◽  
Professional Service Firms ◽  
Professional Service Firm

Many views on quality management in professional service firms derived from ideas of industrial quality management. It seems that in the area of professional services these ideas are taken over without much criticism. For instance, the ideas on quality control and quality assurance generally are heavily based on the ISO 9000 standards. In The Netherlands the PACE‐standards have been deduced from the ISO 9000 standards for application in hospitals. In this paper it has been argued that in many cases a more situational approach will be preferable. A global framework for a quality system in a professional service firm has been presented.This framework has been compared with the restrictions for quality systems in hospitals, following from the PACE‐standards.

scholarly journals Internationalization and knowledge management strategies of service firms: impact of regulatory environment in regional markets

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher Findlay ◽  
Hussain Gulzar Rammal ◽  
Elizabeth Rose ◽  
Vijay Pereira
Keyword(s):  
Market Entry ◽  
Mutual Recognition ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Professional Service ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Professional Service Firms ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Uk

Purpose This study aims to the influence and impact of regulations and highlights the barriers to market entry faced by Australian professional service firms in the European Union (EU) and their strategies to manage and transfer tacit knowledge. Design/methodology/approach The authors collected data by reviewing relevant regulatory documents and conducting semi-structured interviews with key informants from Australian architecture firms and senior representatives from the professional, trade and regulatory bodies in Australia and Europe. Findings Historically, Australian professional service firms use the United Kingdom (UK) as their EU base. The mutual recognition of qualifications and prior experiences are barriers to intra-organizational expatriation and knowledge transfer. The study identifies the dual nationality of the architects as a way of circumventing the residency/nationality restrictions. Originality/value The study discusses Brexit and how the uncertainty surrounding the UK and EU’s agreement adds to the complexity for non-European firms’ market entry and operations in the region.

Career equality

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 451-465 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura E.M. Traavik
Keyword(s):  
Professional Service ◽  
Work Place ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Professional Service Firms ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Firm ◽  
Professional Service Firm ◽  
Cross Sectional Design

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate inclusion, perceived opportunities and discrimination between men and women, across career levels, in a professional service firm in Norway. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional design with a survey was used. Employees across six different career levels in a large Norwegian professional service firm responded, resulting in a sample size of 912. Findings Men report higher levels of inclusion and more opportunities and less discrimination in the work place than women do. Patterns of differences between men and women vary across career levels. At early mid-career, men and women have the largest differences in opportunities and inclusion experiences. Research limitations/implications A limitation with this study is the cross-sectional design and data collected from one company. This could limit the generalizability of the findings. Future research should include longitudinal designs. The empirical data demonstrate that men and women continue to have dissimilar experiences in the professional services, with women facing more career obstacles than men. Practical implications Organizations can implement policies that foster inclusive environments and ensure career equality by providing development opportunities for both men and women. It is important that professional service firms recognize that at different career levels, perceptions of inclusiveness can vary. Originality/value This study provides empirical evidence that women continue to face different types of treatment in professional service firms, and offers suggestions for addressing these inequalities by introducing the concept of inclusiveness.

scholarly journals From outsider to insider: how creative professional service firms internationalise

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 869-888 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deirdre McQuillan ◽  
Pamela Sharkey Scott ◽  
Vincent Mangematin
Keyword(s):  
International Business ◽  
Professional Services ◽  
Professional Service ◽  
Business Strategies ◽  
Local Market ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Professional Service Firms ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business Professional

Purpose The management of reputation and status is central to creative professional service firms (CPSFs) rendering the internationalisation process a particular challenge. The authors build on arguments that internationalisation requires moving from outsidership to insidership within client networks and focus on how CPSFs build signals about quality to start this process. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach The exploration draws from the international business, professional services and organisational status bodies of literature. A multiple case study design was developed comprising ten Irish architecture firms. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted. Findings The findings clarify how relationships start in the internationalisation process through signal building about quality. This allows CPSFs to join client networks moving from outsidership to insidership. The findings systemise three different approaches for CPSFs: from outsidership to insidership within a local market network, within a global industry network and within a global project network. Research limitations/implications Research within other sectoral and geographical contexts could support transferability of the findings. Practical implications The study has implications for international business strategies as it identifies multiple paths to relevant network insidership and the tactical responses managers can use to achieve this. Originality/value The authors believe that incorporating signal-building mechanisms into the internationalisation process is a novel approach to theorizing about how CPSFs move from outsidership to insidership. The authors offer important theoretical insights into the international business, professional service firm and organisational status literatures. CPSF business leaders should benefit as it helps them to focus on a portfolio of signal-building approaches that can start the internationalisation process.

Researching Professional Service Firms

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bob Hinings ◽  
Daniel Muzio ◽  
Joseph Broschak ◽  
Laura Empson
Keyword(s):  
Societal Perspective ◽  
Professional Service ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Professional Service Firms ◽  
Scholarly Research ◽  
Service Firm ◽  
Integrative Framework ◽  
Professional Service Firm ◽  
Knowledge Governance

The chapter begins by examining the significance of Professional Service Firms (PSFs) in terms of their scale and significance from an economic and societal perspective, and the insights they offer for academic theory. The authors examine how PSFs have remained “in the shadows,” in terms of their visibility within the economy and within scholarly research, and how and why that situation is changing. The chapter discusses “what exactly is a Professional Service Firm?” and highlights four defining characteristics relating to: customization, knowledge, governance, and identity, which frame this definition. After presenting an overview of each of the twenty chapters in the Handbook, the authors conclude by proposing various key themes for future research and by developing an integrative framework for the analysis of PSFs.

The Oxford Handbook of Professional Service Firms

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Economy ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Coming Of Age ◽  
Professional Service ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Professional Service Firms ◽  
Business Services ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Professional Service Firm ◽  
And Performance

Over the past three decades the Professional Service Firm (PSF) sector has emerged as one of the most rapidly growing, profitable, and significant in the global economy. In 2013 the accountancy, management consulting, legal, and architectural sectors alone generated revenues of US$1.6 trillion and employed 14 million people. PSFs play an important role in developing human capital, creating innovative business services, reshaping government institutions, establishing and interpreting the rules of financial markets, and setting legal, accounting, and other professional standards. The study of PSFs can offer insights into the contemporary challenges facing organizations within the knowledge economy, and deepen understanding of more conventional organizations. Despite their significance, however, PSFs have until recently remained very much in the shadows of organizational and management research. The Oxford Handbook of Professional Service Firms marks the coming of age of PSF scholarship with a comprehensive and integrative exploration of current research and thinking on PSFs, featuring contributions from internationally renowned scholars in the fields of organizational and management studies. It examines the professions, the firms, and the professionals that work within them and covers subjects from governance and leadership to regulation, entrepreneurship, and diversity. Bringing together a broad range of empirical and theoretical perspectives, the Handbook offers many important insights into the contemporary challenges of organizations in the knowledge economy and suggests new lines of inquiry that may shed further light on the activities and performance of PSFs and the professionals who work within them.

Client Relationships in Professional Service Firms

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Broschak
Keyword(s):  
Structure Learning ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Professional Service ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Professional Service Firms ◽  
Market Strategy ◽  
Service Firm ◽  
Professional Service Firm ◽  
Client Relationships

This chapter reviews the research literature on professional service firm–client relationships. Client relationships are a defining feature of professional service firms, but are also critical strategic assets and an indicator of the market strategy of professional service firms. To assess the state of knowledge about client relationships the chapter is organized around three themes. First is the different ways that professional service firm–client relationships have been characterized and how this shapes researchers’ assumptions about and focus on client relationships. Second, it examines the life cycle of client relationships, focusing specifically on research that addresses the formation, maintenance, and dissolution of client relationships. The third theme examines research that has identified how client relationships affect professional service firms, particularly in the areas of strategy, structure, learning, and human resource practices. The author identifies important gaps in our understanding of client relationships and suggests several potential avenues for future research.

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