Knowledge Management in Professional Service Firms

2011 ◽  
pp. 650-659
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.

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.

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.

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.

Social and Cultural Barriers for Knowledge Databases in Professional Service Firms

2011 ◽  
pp. 124-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Georg Disterer
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Cultural Barriers ◽  
Professional Service ◽  
One Dimension ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Professional Service Firms ◽  
Complex Problems ◽  
Innovative Solutions

Professional Service Firms (PSF), where professionals (consultants, lawyers, accountants, auditors, tax advisors, engineers ...) work, are interested in knowledge management, because their business is heavily dependent from the knowledge of their employees. Core asset is their ability to solve complex problems through creative and innovative solutions, the basis for this is their employees’ knowledge. Therefore, PSF are on the forefront of knowledge management. Experiences show that Information Technology (IT) is only one dimension of knowledge management, more important are social, cultural, and organizational dimensions.1

scholarly journals Between contestation and collaboration: The internal dynamics of multidisciplinary accounting firm responses to institutional pressures

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvette Taminiau ◽  
Stefan Heusinkveld
Keyword(s):  
Professional Service ◽  
Institutional Pressures ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Professional Service Firms ◽  
Internal Dynamics ◽  
Accounting Firms ◽  
Professional Groups ◽  
Big 4 ◽  
Professional Fields ◽  
Firm Responses

Abstract The colonization of adjacent professional fields has been considered as crucial to understand the success and influence of large accounting firms, such as the Big 4. Yet, given the complexities of managing different professional groups, remarkably little is known about the internal dynamics behind large multidisciplinary accounting firms’ external responses to institutional pressures. In this article, we show how exogenous coercive pressure, such as regulation (in this case Dutch accountancy regulations), not only affect the day-to-day work of accountants, but also that of non-accountants such as tax advisors. From the perception of the tax advisors who confront regulations which are not ‘theirs’, we show how their internal responses evolve and tread a fine line between contestation and collaboration with their colleague accountants/auditors. Using a boundary work perspective, we examine this shift in responses and explain how tensions between professional groups may be reduced. Overall, our study not only furthers our insights into the internal dynamics behind professional service firms’ external responses, but also sheds light on why professional groups stay on board despite unfavorable internal conditions.

The Role of Social Media in Knowledge Management

2017 ◽  
pp. 230-248
Author(s):  
Syed Afzal Moshadi Shah ◽  
Shehla Amjad
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Professional Service ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Professional Service Firms ◽  
Media Usage ◽  
The World ◽  
Knowledge Intensive

The purpose of this chapter is to highlight the importance of social media and theoretically link it with Knowledge Management (KM). A massive increase in social media usage around the world and its enhanced role in everyday life of employees offer enormous opportunities to businesses. One of the most important challenges that management faces in today's dynamic business environment is knowledge management. This becomes the key concern in professional service firms that are knowledge intensive in nature. The chapter discusses the association between social media and knowledge management. A theoretical model (SECI-SM) proposed by Shah, Khan, and Amjad (2013) is presented and discussed which is an extension of the seminal work of Nonaka and Takeuchi (1995). The model puts social media at the heart of knowledge management system and processes. It purports social media as an ideal vehicle for knowledge sharing and retaining. The chapter discusses the superiority of SECI-SM Model and lays out some useful suggestions for businesses.

Impediments for Knowledge Sharing in Professional Service Firms

2005 ◽  
pp. 1391-1396
Author(s):  
Georg Disterer
Keyword(s):  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Knowledge Sharing ◽  
Professional Service ◽  
Service Firms ◽  
Professional Service Firms ◽  
Complex Problems ◽  
Innovative Solutions

Professional service firms (PSFs), where professionals (consultants, lawyers, accountants, tax advisors, etc.) work, are interested in knowledge management, because their businesses are heavily dependent on the knowledge of their employees. A core asset is their ability to solve complex problems through creative and innovative solutions, and the basis for this is their employees’ knowledge. The “product” that PSFs offer their clients is knowledge (Kay, 2002; Ofek & Sarvary, 2001; Chait, 1999).

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