scholarly journals Cause-related marketing, legitimacy and internationalization of professional service firms

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 885-899 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmad Arslan ◽  
Ismail Golgeci ◽  
Lauri Haapanen ◽  
Shlomo Tarba ◽  
Cary Cooper ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Business Model ◽  
Service Sector ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Professional Service ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cause Related Marketing ◽  
Football Clubs ◽  
European Football

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to address the role of legitimacy in internationalization to Africa of a Finnish professional service microfirm, which uses cause-related marketing (CRM) as the business model. Design/methodology/approach The paper consists of a single case study of a microfirm (two employees) originating from Finland, which has successfully internationalized to many African countries. Due to the uniqueness of the context, the authors use semi-structured interviews to collect founders’ insights to the issue being addressed. Moreover, along with interviews, secondary sources related to football talent scouting in Africa are also utilized in the paper. Findings The authors found that the case company was established with the aim of helping and uplifting poor African footballers, so the business model is CRM. It has scouted many of them for professional football clubs in Europe. The authors further found that sociopolitical legitimacy plays a major role in dealing with African footballers and local stakeholders, while cognitive legitimacy helped the case firm gain the trust of European football clubs. Originality/value Internationalization of microfirms operating in the service sector is a rather under-researched area compared to the internationalization of SMEs and large MNEs. The paper is one of the first to study internationalization of a professional service microfirm involved in scouting football talent in Africa and matchmaking them with European football clubs. It contributes to extant CRM and internationalization literature by being one of the first to analyze a firm whose business model revolves around CRM and discussing specific roles of different kinds of legitimacies needed for internationalization to Africa in this specific service sector.

Accounting firm partners to public corporation employees

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Edward Pickering
Keyword(s):  
Single Case ◽  
Professional Service ◽  
Company Performance ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Professional Service Firms ◽  
Public Companies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Accounting Firm ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Publicly Owned

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the implications on former accounting firm partners becoming employees of a publicly owned accounting corporation, the responses of the former partners and impacts on the acquiring company. Partners of accounting and other professional service firms selling their firms to publicly owned companies often remain with the acquiring company as employees and receive company shares as consideration for their firms. Agency theory suggests public ownership will result in changes to the roles of senior professionals with potential resistance and motivation consequences. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a case study approach involving the review of publicly available information and interviews with executives and senior professionals of an Australian publicly owned accounting company, Stockford Limited. Findings The Stockford case indicates that selling their firm to a publicly owned company can have significant negative implications for accounting firm partners. The former partners struggled to adapt to their new roles as senior professional employees and shareholders. Their responses had significant impacts on company performance, which ultimately contributed to the collapse of the company, thus reflecting the power senior professionals retain regardless of the change of ownership form. Research limitations/implications Care is required when generalising findings of a single case to other professions and other geographic jurisdictions. Practical implications This paper has significant implications for entrepreneurs and executives consolidating professional service firms, partners considering selling their firms and investors in publicly owned professional service firms. Originality/value Despite the emergence of publicly owned accounting and other professional service companies and the importance and power of senior professionals in professional service firms, this is the first study to explore the implications on senior professionals of selling their firms to public companies.

scholarly journals Segmentation of quantity surveying professional services for focus strategy and diversification

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 294-308
Author(s):  
Michael Adesi ◽  
De-Graft Owusu-Manu ◽  
Frank Boateng
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Simple Random Sampling ◽  
Professional Services ◽  
Professional Service ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Professional Service Firms ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Quantity Surveying ◽  
Focus Strategy

Purpose Notwithstanding that numerous studies have focused on strategy in quantity surveying (QS) professional service firms, there is a paucity of investigation on the segmentation of QS professional services. The purpose of this study is to investigate the segmentation of QS services for diversification and a focus strategy formation. Design/methodology/approach This study adopts the positivist stance and quantitative approach in which a simple random sampling technique was used to select participants. In total, 110 survey questionnaires were administered to registered professional QS, out of which 79 completed questionnaires were returned for analysis. Findings The paper identifies three main QS service segments characterised by low, moderate and high competition. In addition, this study found that the concentration of traditional QS services in the building construction sector is due to the unwillingness of QS professional service firms to diversify into the non-construction sectors such as oil and gas. The diversification of QS services in the low competitive segment requires the adoption of agile approaches. Research limitations/implications The study was limited to numeric analyses and so would be complemented by qualitative research in the future. Practical implications This paper is useful to QS professional service firms interested in diversifying their services into the non-construction sectors to enhance the pricing of their services. Originality/value Segmentation of QS services is fundamental to the formulation of focus strategy for non-construction sectors such as oil and gas and mining to enhance the pricing of QS professional services.

scholarly journals Born global firms’ growth and collaborative entry mode: the role of transnational entrepreneurs

2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yipeng Liu
Keyword(s):  
Entry Mode ◽  
High Growth ◽  
Professional Service ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Born Global ◽  
Institutional Complexity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Transnational Entrepreneurs ◽  
Born Global Firms

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of transnational entrepreneurs in growing born global firms, with a focus on the growth process facilitated by collaborative entry mode. Design/methodology/approach The author chose the solar photovoltaic industry as the empirical setting. This industry is a particularly good context for the study because many firms in this industry sell knowledge-intensive products internationally from their inception. The primary data consist of 32 in-depth interviews with entrepreneurs, industry association representatives, research institute scholars, and professional service firms. Findings The study highlights the importance of transnational entrepreneurs who develop born global firms to maturity by using their technological knowledge, international connections, and bicultural advantages to navigate and leverage institutional complexity. Collaborative entry mode with distributors enables born global firms’ high growth rapidly, whereas transnational entrepreneurs play a central role in building and expanding international network. Initial public offering in overseas stock exchange accelerates the high growth trajectory of born global firm by signalling its maturity. Research limitations/implications The author took a process perspective by examining the growth and maturity of born global firms by collaborative partnership; the author’s focus on the role of transnational entrepreneurs highlighted entrepreneurs’ sensitivity to institutional complexity along the growth trajectory. Practical implications The author recommends both incumbent and entrepreneurial firms in developed economies collaborate with transnational entrepreneurs in various business areas. Industry firms may be able to cooperate on product and marketing development, and professional service firms can offer services to expand born global firms further, because transnational entrepreneurs follow the global “rules of the game”. Originality/value The author shed important light on the role of transnational entrepreneurs throughout the growth of born global firms via collaborative entry mode. Furthermore, the author develops a multilevel framework for analysing the combined influence of transnational entrepreneur and institutional complexity on the growth of born global firm.

Implementation of lean in IT SME company: an Italian case

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Torri ◽  
Kaustav Kundu ◽  
Stefano Frecassetti ◽  
Matteo Rossini
Keyword(s):  
Manufacturing Industry ◽  
Service Sector ◽  
Manufacturing Sector ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Lean Implementation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Italian Case ◽  
Lean Practices

Purpose In spite of huge advancement of Lean in the manufacturing sector, its advantage in the service sector is not fully investigated. The purpose of this paper is to cover this gap in particular for the information technology (IT) sector through the implementation of the Lean philosophy in a small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME), operating in the IT sector. Design/methodology/approach A case study is conducted and following the A3 model, Lean is deployed in the case company. Data were collected through on-site interviews, waste sources were identified and then countermeasures for their reduction were proposed and adopted. Findings This study reveals that the implementation of the Lean practices in an SME operating in the IT sector offers good operative and financial results, thanks to the higher productivity obtained through the reduction of non-value-added activities. Research limitations/implications This paper reports a single case study, not enough to generalize the results. Moreover, more Lean tools and practices should be tested in IT companies to assess their effectiveness. Practical implications This paper increments the knowledge base for the application of Lean and A3 model outside the manufacturing industry. This paper should assist practitioners and consultants who have the desire to understand a better way of Lean implementation in fast-growing IT industry and in SME. Originality/value Research on Lean implementation in an SME company and in IT sector is scarce. This study aims to assess the efficiency of the adoption of Lean practices following the A3 model. The results could be highly valuable for similar companies (dimension or sector), especially those that are facing transition situations in terms of size and at the same time want to improve their operations performance, efficiency and avoid waste.

Hiring decisions on certified manpower

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 514-535
Author(s):  
Huei-Wen Pao ◽  
Cheng-Yu Lee ◽  
Pi-Hui Chung ◽  
Hsueh-Liang Wu
Keyword(s):  
Service Sector ◽  
Resource Dependence ◽  
Management Practice ◽  
Resource Dependence Theory ◽  
Resource Scarcity ◽  
Institutional Innovation ◽  
Social Contagion ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Hiring Decisions ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The industry-wide adoption of a novel practice is often considered to be an institutional change. Although research on institutionalization has been accumulating, how and why embedded actors in the field become motivated to embrace change that remains sidelined. Viewing the introduction of a new human resource management practice, the recruitment of non-compulsory certified manpower, which is still in its infancy in the service sector of Taiwan, as a new institution, the purpose of this paper is to identify the distinct motives behind firms’ hiring decisions, and examine the extent to which such hiring decisions are contingent on institutional conditions and firm attributes. Design/methodology/approach The data used to test the hypotheses were drawn from a survey on service firms in Taiwan in the second half of 2011. Hypotheses were examined through moderated hierarchical regression analyses in a sample of 254 Taiwanese service firms across major sectors. Findings Integrating the resource dependency and social contagion views, the study contends that resource scarcity drives, or legitimacy enables, service firms to deviate from traditional hiring patterns and instead adopt new preferences toward certified manpower. The study not only shows that social factors should be incorporated into the diffusion of a new HR recruitment practice in the service sector, which is traditionally based upon economic considerations, but also sheds light on the context-dependent nature of the process of institutional innovation. Originality/value This study is an attempt not only to test a dual-theoretical model on the extent to which a service firm’s new hiring pattern is influenced by two distinct types of motivation, but also to evidence how an institutional innovation, in terms of the regime of service manpower certification, takes root and spreads in the field. The managerially discretional account of the resource dependence theory needs to be reconciled with social contagion theory, which highlights the influence of collective actions and so provides a better understanding of the diffusion of new HR recruitment practices in the service industry.

scholarly journals Managing the communicative organization: a qualitative analysis of knowledge-intensive companies

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 551-571
Author(s):  
Kaisa Pekkala
Keyword(s):  
Behavior Management ◽  
Communication Systems ◽  
Service Sector ◽  
Professional Service ◽  
Communication Management ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Knowledge Intensive Organizations ◽  
Knowledge Intensive

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore how employees' work-related communication is managed in knowledge-intensive organizations.Design/methodology/approachThe study was conducted by applying an exploratory, qualitative approach. The data were collected from six knowledge-intensive organizations operating in the professional service sector in Finland, and the data set used included altogether 23 interviews.FindingsThe interviews confirmed that employees' work-related communication on social media is regarded as an increasingly important area, and that it has required companies to establish new managerial processes that are aimed to affect employees’ communication behaviors (ECB) either as enablers or motivators. How companies apply these processes depends on contextual factors, and three different managerial approaches were identified, namely, individual-, corporate- and business-oriented approaches.Research limitations/implicationsBased on the findings, this article proposes a new field for the communication management literature, management of the communicative organization (MCO), which builds on behavior management knowledge and focuses on managing employee communicators in multivocal organizational communication systems (MOCSs) that are dependent on employee-generated content.Originality/valueThe study advances the field of communication management and ECB by empirically proving that organizations manage their employees' work-related communication and the management processes and practices identified derive from behavioral management tradition. The proposed MCO framework introduces a novel area for academic discussion on how communication management affects ECB and attitudes, such as motivation.

Language at work in the Big Four: global aspirations and local segmentation

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (7) ◽  
pp. 2031-2054 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominic Detzen ◽  
Lukas Loehlein
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Culture ◽  
Professional Service ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Professional Service Firms ◽  
Organizational Relationships ◽  
Native Languages ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Theoretical Concepts ◽  
Big Four

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how professional service firms (PSFs) manage the linguistic tensions between global Englishization and local multilingualism. It achieves this by analysing the work of Big Four audit firms in Luxembourg, where three official languages co-exist: Luxembourgish, French, and German. In addition, expatriates bring with them their native languages in a corporate environment that uses English as its lingua franca. Design/methodology/approach The paper combines the institutionalist sociology of the professions with theoretical concepts from sociolinguistics to study the multifaceted role of language in PSFs. Empirically, the paper draws from 25 interviews with current and former audit professionals. Findings The client orientation of the Big Four segments each firm into language teams based on the client’s language. It is thus the client languages, rather than English as the corporate language, that mediate, define, and structure intra- and inter-organizational relationships. While the firms emphasize the benefits of their linguistic adaptability, the paper reveals tensions along language lines, suggesting that language can be a means of creating cohesion and division within the firms. Originality/value This paper connects research on PSFs with that on the role of language in multinational organizations. In light of the Big Four’s increasingly global workforce, it draws attention to the linguistic divisions within the firms that question the existence of a singular corporate culture. While prior literature has centred on firms’ global–local divide, the paper shows that even single branches of such firm networks are not monolithic constructs, as conflicts and clashes unfold amid a series of “local–local” divides.

Career patterns of marketing managers in top European football clubs

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Karolina Nessel
Keyword(s):  
Sports Management ◽  
Career Patterns ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Marketing Managers ◽  
Football Clubs ◽  
European Football ◽  
Main Activity ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Functional Experience ◽  
Football Industry

PurposeThe goal of this research was to explore career patterns of senior marketing managers in the best European football clubs (SMMEFCs).Design/methodology/approachThe data came from the LinkedIn profiles of current and past SMMEFCs. Firstly, the optimal matching algorithm was used to determine clusters of pathways leading to a first SMMEFC position based on the main activity of the employing organisation. Secondly, these patterns were compared in terms of variables depicting the career paths, clubs and managers. Finally, the evolution of the post-SMMEFC careers was analysed.FindingsPeople in their first SMMEFC positions are mainly male with a university degree in business and marketing, and with a predominantly functional experience in marketing. There are five ways to become an SMMEFC: through business (40% of the sample), football (32%), other sports (11%), marketing and communication (11%), and media (6%). As the majority of SMMEFCs come to their positions from outside the sporting world, the specificity of the football industry is not a serious obstacle. Instead, the careers are bounded by functional marketing experience. Among the individual sequences leading to a first SMMEFC position, only around half of the football cluster may be considered traditional careers. Football, and sports in general, seem attractive for post-SMMEFC career development for the majority of managers coming from all pathways.Originality/valueThe study is the first one to quantify career patterns in professional sports management. It provides new insights about marketing careers and practice in European club football.

Effect of interactive marketing channels on service customer acquisition

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kashef A. Majid
Keyword(s):  
Service Sector ◽  
Marketing Channels ◽  
Marketing Communications ◽  
Hazard Models ◽  
Customer Acquisition ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Interactive Marketing ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Over Time

Purpose The cost of customer acquisition is one of the largest expenses that service firms incur due to loss-generating quotes/proposals. This paper aims to connect interactive marketing communications channels with increased customer acquisition and non-interactive marketing communications channels with decreased customer acquisition by service firms. Design/methodology/approach Two field studies using hazard models were used to assess the probability of acquiring a new customer after the prospect first contacts the firm. Multiple discrete hazard models were used to compare channels against each other. Findings Three interactive marketing communications channels (word-of-mouth, online review forum, search engine optimization) increased the rate of acquiring a customer over time. I also compared non-interactive channels (billboard/signage, direct mail), but the analysis did not reveal any significant impact on acquisition rate by the non-interactive marketing communications channels. Originality/value The present study illustrates why the cost of acquisition is so high in the service sector and takes the unique step of linking interactive marketing communications channels with higher customer acquisition rates over time in a services context. Specifically, interactive marketing channels enable customers to find firms that offer the attributes that they seek, thereby increasing acquisition probabilities and decreasing acquisition costs.

scholarly journals Water accounting knowledge pathways

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 258-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanne Tingey-Holyoak ◽  
John D. Pisaniello
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Sustainability ◽  
Professional Services ◽  
Knowledge Generation ◽  
Professional Service ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
Water Accounting ◽  
Sustainability Problems

Purpose There are increasing demands on professional accountants in practice to generate water accounts for clients using knowledge from other disciplines within and outside their firms. Whilst many professional service firms have a broad range of in-house and consulting expertise, professional groups within and between these organisations may not be generating and sharing the knowledge required for successful water accounting. The purpose of this paper is to explore how additional disciplinary skills for water volumetric measurement, understanding of licensing and allocations can effectively and efficiently be shared between the disciplines required to be involved. Design/methodology/approach Two cross-sectional semi-structured surveys developed using a social network lens were disseminated to Australian accountants operating in professional services firms, and the results were descriptively analysed. Findings The authors find that, whilst accounting and engineering are acknowledged as core disciplines for water accounting, there is a need for more standardised measures and frameworks across diverse scales to fit in with current reporting practices and meet stakeholder needs. These need to be nested in a water accounting regulatory model that includes the accountancy professional bodies as a platform for knowledge generation and sharing. Originality/value The paper provides evidence of perceived barriers to and pathways for interdisciplinary knowledge networks for a new type of accounting. It demonstrates how regulatory frameworks can potentially assist rather than impede accountants in their contribution to solving of complex corporate sustainability problems.

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