Promoting continuous streams of innovation: evidence from professional service providers

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 3
Author(s):  
Nader Seyed Kalali ◽  
Ali Heidari
Keyword(s):  
Service Providers ◽  
Professional Service

scholarly journals Diversification, Branding, and Performance of Professional Service Firms

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 353-364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolina Castaldi ◽  
Marco S. Giarratana
Keyword(s):  
Service Providers ◽  
Professional Service ◽  
Panel Regression ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Professional Service Firms ◽  
Specific Product ◽  
The Core ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Consulting Firms ◽  
And Performance

This article analyzes the effects of diversification and brand breadth on firm performance for professional service firms (PSFs). The research aim is two-fold. First, we test whether moving into products may put at risk the core resources that sustain PSFs’ competitive advantage. Second, we study which branding strategies best match their diversification attempts. Broad (narrow) brands characterize a branding strategy with scarce (plentiful) associations to specific product characteristics. We analyzed trademark portfolios of 47 U.S.-based management consulting firms in the 2000 to 2009 time period. Panel regression results suggest that (1) PSFs always benefit from diversification when they remain pure-service providers; (2) performance is positively related to a strategy of specialized narrow brands.

Musings on the legal framework for resolution of foreign investment disputes in Nigeria

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 251-259
Author(s):  
Princess Pat Ada Ajudua
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Investment ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Professional Service ◽  
Foreign Investments ◽  
Business Interests ◽  
Trade Dispute ◽  
Investment Arbitration ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Dispute Resolution Mechanism

Resolution of dispute arising from foreign investments in Nigeria is achieved through non-judicial and judicial mechanisms, otherwise known as arbitration and litigation in courts. Foreign investors are expected to seek redress using one of the aforementioned mechanisms. Although the principles of public international law seem to be in contention with the business interests of an investor and the host country, there has been a rapid growth and development in investment arbitration as a trade dispute resolution mechanism in the past years, and the courts in Nigeria, through her decisions, have made pronouncements regarding the disputes from foreign investments. Consequent to this, it has become critically important for investors, solicitors, professional service providers and trainers, to understand the intricate legal elements involved in the resolution of disputes involving foreign investment. This study examines the legal framework for resolution of foreign investment disputes in Nigeria. Concepts such as nationalisation and expropriation of foreign investments, stability clauses and foreign investment disputes, renegotiating and the stability of contractual agreement as well as legal infrastructure were discussed and fully analysed.

Knowledge Management in Professional Service Firms

2011 ◽  
pp. 1841-1850
Author(s):  
Dieter Fink ◽  
Georg Disterer
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
High Potential ◽  
Professional Service ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Professional Service Firms ◽  
Professional Groups ◽  
Capacity To Act ◽  
Market Pressures ◽  
War For Talent

For professional service firms, such as consultants, accountants, lawyers, architects, and engineers, knowledge is a capacity to act. Knowledge can be used to take action and to serve the client. As market pressures increase, so does the demand for securing and exploiting knowledge for the firm. In addition, a shortage of high-potential professional service providers has increased the ‘war for talent’ in which firms compete in employing the most talented professionals. These situations are exacerbated by the decrease in lifelong loyalty, a traditional value within professional groups, and the departure and retirement of professionals, often the most experienced ones.

Gaining insights into why professionals continue or abandon pro bono service

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul G. Patterson ◽  
Janet R. McColl-Kennedy ◽  
Jenny (Jiyeon) Lee ◽  
Michael K. Brady
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Study ◽  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Institutional Logics ◽  
Professional Service ◽  
Purchase Behavior ◽  
Behavior Model ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Pro Bono ◽  
Personal Recognition

Purpose The purpose of this study is to empirically examine the personal/situational and business factors that encourage or discourage pro bono service of professionals based on the theory of institutional logics framework and the extended purchase behavior model. Design/methodology/approach This paper collected the data using a mixed-method approach: 30 qualitative interviews and 443 cross-sectional surveys from professional service providers across industries. The constructs of interest were measured with the scales compiled from the literature, industry reports and the preliminary interviews. Findings The results highlight emotional value derived from personal/situational factors (intrinsic motivation, personal recognition, philanthropic disposition and lack of appreciation) drove professionals’ intentions to continue to undertake pro bono work. While employer encouragement motivated professionals to engage in pro bono service, the prospect of gaining business opportunities and time constraints discouraged this important practice. Research limitations/implications While there has been considerable empirical study undertaken on charitable behavior, little attention has been given to this form of giving (pro bono work by service professionals). Overall, the results show that personal satisfaction with and feeling good about the study undertaken are required for continuation. Professionals who are intrinsically motivated, philanthropic-natured and properly-acknowledged through positive feedback and recognition tend to experience positive feelings that engender their good intentions to help the underprivileged, those in need and society more generally. The findings thus complement and extend the academic and industry literature on charitable giving. Practical implications This research identifies the drivers of service professionals’ continuation of pro bono work that the third sector relies heavily on its sustainability. As the study findings suggesting the importance of personal recognition, nonprofit organizations should demonstrate genuine gratitude and recognition of these professionals so that they continue to give their services pro bono. Originality/value The research is the first empirical study to develop a conceptual model that delineates the drivers and/or barriers to professionals continuing pro bono service. Unlike the previous study lacking a theoretical basis, this paper proposed and tested the conceptual model derived from the institutional logics framework and the extended purchase behavior model.

Knowledge Management in Professional Service Firms

2011 ◽  
pp. 381-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dieter Fink ◽  
Georg Disterer
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
High Potential ◽  
Professional Service ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Professional Service Firms ◽  
Professional Groups ◽  
Capacity To Act ◽  
Market Pressures ◽  
War For Talent

For professional service firms, such as consultants, accountants, lawyers, architects, and engineers, knowledge is a capacity to act. Knowledge can be used to take action and to serve the client. As market pressures increase, so does the demand for securing and exploiting knowledge for the firm. In addition, a shortage of high-potential professional service providers has increased the ‘war for talent’ in which firms compete in employing the most talented professionals. These situations are exacerbated by the decrease in lifelong loyalty, a traditional value within professional groups, and the departure and retirement of professionals, often the most experienced ones.

Cocreation of tourism experiences: are food-related activities being explored?

2020 ◽  
Vol 122 (3) ◽  
pp. 910-928 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susana Rachão ◽  
Zélia Breda ◽  
Carlos Fernandes ◽  
Veronique Joukes
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Systematic Literature Review ◽  
Web Of Science ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Scientific Information ◽  
Professional Service ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Food Tourism ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeThis study analyses the dimensions of cocreation in on-site food-related activities.Design/methodology/approachA systematic literature review was conducted in two databases (Scopus and Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) Web of Science), and 67 peer-reviewed articles were identified on cocreation in tourism experiences.FindingsThe study reveals that food-related activities involving active participation are more likely to be successfully performed in more informal environments, in which culinary experiences cocreated by both tourists and hosts are favoured. Moreover, tourists who learn something new appreciate the value of cocreation within food tourism experiences better.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the researchers used two renowned databases to conduct the systematic literature review, there is the risk that some manuscripts related to the topic were excluded.Practical implicationsThe transfer of new skills and knowledge through direct contact between tourists and hosts are prerequisites for the raise of the value of the cocreation process itself and of the final outcome of the cocreation experience. As a result, professional service providers should dedicate more attention to the inclusion of cocreative ‘learning’ elements in the food tourism experiences they create.Social implicationsDue to the changing structure of the tourism ecosystem (technological advances), the manner in which experiences are designed, distributed and consumed (cocreated) is being transformed. The present study highlights some aspects to be developed by tourism destination managers.Originality/valueThis study is the first to explore food-related tourism experiences through the lens of cocreation.

scholarly journals What Gets Measured Gets Done: Can Self-Tracking Technologies Enhance Advice Compliance?

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 281-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina Wittkowski ◽  
Jan F. Klein ◽  
Tomas Falk ◽  
Jeroen J. L. Schepers ◽  
Jaakko Aspara ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Self Efficacy ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Professional Service ◽  
Smart Devices ◽  
Lab Experiment ◽  
Psychological Mechanisms ◽  
Personal Performance ◽  
Fitness Training

Self-tracking technologies (STTs) in the form of smart devices and mobile applications enable consumers to monitor, analyze, and interpret personal performance data on health and physical or financial well-being. As a result of self-tracking, consumers are not only expected to check their personal performance more actively but also to implement service professionals’ advice to improve their well-being more accurately. Despite the growing popularity of STTs, empirical evidence on the extent to which STT use enhances advice compliance remains scant. A field experiment with 538 participants in a health-care setting suggests that STT use does not increase advice compliance per se. Rather, the effectiveness of STTs depends on consumers’ self-efficacy. For consumers low in self-efficacy, STT use can even undermine advice compliance. A lab experiment with 831 participants replicates and generalizes the findings to a nonmedical professional service (i.e., fitness training). As assessments of self-efficacy might be difficult in practice, service providers in health care can use consumers’ body mass index as an easy-to-measure proxy to predict STT effectiveness. Finally, the lab experiment also identifies perceived empowerment and personalization as psychological mechanisms mediating the influence of STT use on advice compliance.

scholarly journals Guidance For The Audit Committee: Acquiring Professional Services

2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Janet L. Colbert
Keyword(s):  
Audit Committee ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Internal Audit ◽  
Professional Services ◽  
Audit Committees ◽  
Professional Service ◽  
Font Size ◽  
External Audit ◽  
Sarbanes Oxley ◽  
The Board Of Directors

<p class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify; margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt; tab-stops: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">Outside firms are often called upon to provide an entity with professional services.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Such services might include external audit, systems, accounting, appraisal and valuation, actuarial, consulting, tax, or agreed-upon procedures work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>The audit committee of the Board of Directors is typically the party within the entity responsible for hiring and overseeing these outside professional service providers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify; margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt; tab-stops: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">&nbsp;</span></span></p><p class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify; margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt; tab-stops: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 mandates that certain professional services, which may have previously been performed by the firm engaged to do the external audit, cannot be performed by that public accounting firm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Thus, audit committees may be forced to contract with other professionals for services previously provided by the external auditors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>The task of locating, contracting with, and overseeing the work of qualified firms for these professional services may seem daunting to the audit committee.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span></span></span></p><p class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify; margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt; tab-stops: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">&nbsp;</span></span></p><p class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify; margin: 0in 0.5in 0pt; tab-stops: .5in;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">This article presents steps the audit committee should take in selecting a professional service provider and overseeing that firm&rsquo;s work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">&nbsp; </span>Also given are ways in which the entity&rsquo;s internal audit activity can provide significant assistance to the audit committee undertaking its tasks. </span></span></p>

scholarly journals Eroding Rights, Crafting Solidarity? Shifting Dynamics in the State–Civil Society Nexus in Flanders and Brussels

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 106-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robin Vandevoordt
Keyword(s):  
Service Providers ◽  
Senior Citizens ◽  
Governance Structure ◽  
Professional Service ◽  
Diverse Population ◽  
Political Actor ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Neoliberal Reforms ◽  
Political Conditions ◽  
Citizenship Regime

In 2015, hundreds of new civil initiatives emerged to provide stopgap help to refugees arriving in Belgium. This article zooms out from this moment of solidarity and explores the broader socio-political conditions that allowed these initiatives to emerge and, in some cases, solidify into professional service-providers or powerful political actors. The article focuses on two case studies, one in Flanders and one in Brussels. In Flanders, the Hospitable Network brings together local civil initiatives which have drawn upon the networks and skills of senior citizens with considerable experience in civic associations, NGOs and social movements. While these initiatives have partly filled the gaps that were created by a series of neoliberal reforms in Flanders’ citizenship regime, the same neoliberal outlook has prevented these initiatives from being institutionalised. In Brussels, the Citizen Platform for the Support of Refugees has mobilised largely among the city’s super-diverse population. The Platform’s development has been shaped by Brussels’ continuing attractiveness to immigrants, as well as by the city’s complex governance structure, which has provided it with both material support and increasing opposition. As a result, the Platform has become a highly visible political actor offering partly professionalised support to refugees.

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