Client Influence Research Articles

Reducing clients’ influence in property valuation: An exploration of a blockchain-based solution

Clients' influence remains a significant issue in the property valuation industry, particularly in emerging countries like Nigeria, where existing solutions have proven ineffective. This study, therefore, considers blockchain technology as a medium for delivering information transparency and explores the application of a blockchain-based tool for reducing clients' influence in property valuation. Specifically, this study is pioneering in proposing, developing, and testing a blockchain-based solution for reducing client influence in property valuation, suggesting a promising avenue for increasing transparency in the process. This study involves several stages. Firstly, propchain, a blockchain-based mobile application, was developed and deployed on the Hyperledger Fabric Network, a permissioned blockchain network. The efficacy of the proposed solution was qualitatively tested by a single-round focus group held with valuers, bankers, and a loan customer who used the application to simulate a property valuation exercise for a mortgage. The findings suggest that blockchain technology could be a viable tool for reducing client influence in property valuations. However, specific challenges in the Nigerian context, such as data access, information verification, and stakeholder trust, present significant obstacles. These issues highlight the need for robust institutional support systems to enhance the efficacy of blockchain solutions in this domain. This study supports Levy and Schuck's (2005) assertion that increased information transparency can reduce client influence. Nevertheless, our research indicates that the successful implementation of blockchain in property valuation will require overcoming systemic barriers unique to the Nigerian environment. The implication of key findings is also discussed.

Narrating the Client: How stories of parental influence impact teacher professionalism

Abstract This article examines how teachers engage in symbolic institutional work to address client influence, and how this impacts teacher professionalism. The study delves into an intriguing empirical field, using the Swedish school system as an illustrative case for studying the development of professionalism within a highly marketized context. The research employed interviews, observations, and shadowing, enabling a deeper understanding of the symbolic institutional work in a complex institutional environment where market and professional logic collide. The findings demonstrate how teachers utilize a narrative of a threatening and demanding client, which helps them distance themselves from market logic and resist adapting to it in their professionalism. However, there are also indications of a different narrative, where some teachers embrace and integrate client influence as a natural part of their professionalism. Additionally, there is also a form of ambivalence, where teachers are moving between different narratives. By investigating how professionals engage in these narratives, the article provides insights into understudied dimensions within the concept of professionalism. While the existence of different narratives highlights the complexity and fragility of institutional work, the inclination towards distancing from clients illustrates a preservation of traditional professionalism rather than a shift towards the ‘new professionalism’ described in previous literature.

Reconciling Privacy and Byzantine-robustness in Federated Learning

In this talk, we will discuss how to make federated learning secure for the server and private for the clients simultaneously. Most prior efforts fall into either of the two categories. At one end of the spectrum, some work uses techniques like secure aggregation to hide the individual client’s updates and only reveal the aggregated global update to a malicious server that strives to infer the clients’ privacy from their updates. At the other end of the spectrum, some work uses Byzantine-robust FL protocols to suppress the influence of malicious clients’ updates. We present a protocol that offers bidirectional defense to simultaneously combat against the malicious centralized server and Byzantine malicious clients. Our protocol also improves the dimension dependence and achieve a near-optimal statistical rate for strongly convex cases.

The customer is always right? Corporate client influence and women’s attainment in large US law firms

Abstract Drawing on resource dependence and new institutional theories, this article examines the impact of corporate clients on the representation of women among associates and partners of large US law firms. We investigate the influence of women in corporate executive positions, women corporate chief legal officers, and clients who join in collective efforts to advocate for law firm diversity, as well as the role of power and dependence in client–firm relationships. We use longitudinal data on 665 law offices from the 2005 and 2010 editions of the NALP Directory of Legal Employers and incorporate client characteristics from the 2005 National Law Journal client list. We find that women executives among a firm’s corporate clients are linked to greater representation of women among law firm associates, but we observe no effects among partners, and scant effects of client participation in a key collective advocacy effort. Firm independence from client power is negatively linked to gender diversity among associates, while client independence from firm power is positively associated with women’s representation at both the associate and partner levels. In addition, firm independence from client power weakens the influence of female and activist corporate leaders on gender diversity in the case of associates but strengthens their influence in the case of partners.

Strategic Business Model Development for Architectural Services: Analyzing Competitor Designs

This study employs a convenience sampling method to investigate the design services industry in Shi Jiazhuang City, focusing on a construction company’s design department employees in senior or middle management roles. Utilizing SWOT analysis and Porters Five Forces, the study identifies strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in the industry, shedding light on crucial factors like quality, communication, and differentiation. The Porters Five Forces analysis reveals challenges from new entrants, supplier bargaining power, client influence, and substitutes. Subsequently, a comprehensive strategic business model is derived, emphasizing dimensions such as finance, response, enterprise, learning, firm, and innovation. This model addresses specific challenges like expertise shortages, brand recognition, and project setbacks, providing a holistic framework for sustained growth and competitiveness. The study encourages adaptability, proactivity, and preparedness in navigating dynamic market conditions. Overall, the research contributes valuable insights for the design service company, offering a strategic guide to position itself effectively within the industry and ensure sustainable success. The findings underscore the importance of efficient financial practices, skill enhancement, brand development, continuous learning, firm optimization, and innovation in navigating challenges and leveraging opportunities. This study provides a nuanced understanding of the industry’s dynamics and offers practical recommendations for the company to thrive in the ever-evolving market landscape.

Client influence in property valuation in Nigeria: a valuer-banker perspective and fuzzy DEMATEL study

PurposeGiven the significant role played by valuers and the evidence of a lack of independence in some property valuation industries, particularly in emerging markets, this study analyses the issue of client influence in property valuation by providing a valuer-client perspective and measuring the interrelationships between the clients' influence factors to identify causal factors of prominence, which can assist in developing solutions to address the clients' influence issue.Design/methodology/approachThe study used a mixed-method approach. Firstly, interviews were conducted with ten property valuers and five financial institution staff in Nigeria, and the data were subject to thematic analysis using Nvivo 12 software. A matrix questionnaire survey was administered to the valuers, and the responses were analysed using the fuzzy Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method.FindingsThe results indicate that institutional clients, loan-seeking customers, property valuers and the perception of corruption within the Nigerian environment fuelled the issue of clients' influence. Based on the measurement of the interrelationship between the 14 identified client influence factors, the type of company, perception the public has of the industry, size of the firm, relationship with the client, type of client and regulatory framework were the factors of prominence.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study bear huge implications for Nigeria and other similar structured property markets facing the issue of clients' influence in property valuation. With the prominent factors bearing root in a mix of client, valuer and environmental factors such as the valuation structure, process and public perception, there is a need for solutions that level the playing field between institutional clients and valuers, reinforce transparency and establish excellent regulatory standards to address the issue of clients' influence.Originality/valueThis study is the first to measure the interrelationships between the clients' influence factors to identify the prominent causal factors. Accordingly, considering the multi-factors, the research is novel as it focusses on those factors that would likely lead to other factors, thereby providing opportunities to develop solutions that focus on those factors of prominence. Secondly, the study deviates from the narrative on clients' influence in property valuation, which pits it as solely a client or valuer factor, by showing how the interplay of the stakeholders' interests and the environment promotes the issue in a non-transparent property market.

Client influence or the valuer's behavior? An empirical study of listed companies' valuation in Taiwan

PurposeValuers should independently assess market value. The purpose of this article is to analyze whether the valuation behavior remains independent when commissioned by publicly listed companies in Taiwan.Design/methodology/approachThis study used both quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative data analysis was used to examine the estimated premium ratio and estimated divergent ratio with the independent sample t test and Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test. To complement and validate the quantitative analysis, open-ended questionnaires were conducted, providing additional insights into the research findings.FindingsThe results showed that there is a significant difference in estimated valuations commissioned by representatives of buyers and sellers, and the estimated premium ratios commissioned by representatives of buyers were higher than those of sellers. Furthermore, the open-ended questionnaires results indicate that these findings may be influenced by clients for less experienced appraisers. However, for senior appraisers, this is seen as an action to gain a better understanding of the valuation purpose and always within a reasonable price range. In addition, client influence is not a static factor; it may transform into the valuer's behavior as the appraiser's experience grows and deepens.Practical implicationsIt is difficult to obtain valuation reports commissioned by representatives of both buyers and sellers for the same property transactions. In this study, data were obtained from the Market Observation Post-System (MOPS) in Taiwan. As valuation reports could not be obtained, estimated valuations and transaction prices are used to calculate estimated premium ratio and estimated divergent ratios.Originality/valuePrevious investigations of the client effect have been conducted using qualitative methods including questionnaire surveys, in-depth interviews and experimental design. However, these studies are subject to moral hazard. This study may be the first study that has access to data on valuations for both buyers and sellers in such a formal setting.

Influence of Stakeholder Dynamics on Performance of Free Maternal Healthcare Project in Kenya, a Case of Homabay County

Purpose: The study examined the influence of sponsor, client, project team and regulatory dynamics, on project performance of free maternity in Homabay County, Kenya.The research focused on factors other than healthcare costs to ensure adequate infrastructure and health personnel in order to offer quality care for the growing number of clients. Besides it added to the existing body of knowledge pertaining to the delivery of free maternity services thereby reducing and eliminating maternal and perinatal deaths. It was conducted in eight sub-county hospitals in the county.
 Methodology: A total of 167 respondents were selected to participate in the study. The data were entered and analyzed by SPSS version 16. The coefficient of determination showed that sponsor dynamics had a major contribution to the project performance.
 Findings: There was a significant positive relationship between sponsor dynamics and project performance of free maternal healthcare in Homabay County, Kenya.
 Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The study therefore recommended that Donors and other implementing agencies ought to make their procedures flexible in order to accommodate input from other project stakeholders.

Retraction of Robinson et al. (2015).

Reports the retraction of "Crying as communication in psychotherapy: The influence of client and therapist attachment dimensions and client attachment to therapist on amount and type of crying" by Noah Robinson, Clara E. Hill and Dennis M. Kivlighan Jr. (Journal of Counseling Psychology, 2015[Jul], Vol 62[3], 379-392). The following article is being retracted (https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000090). This retraction is at the request of coauthors Kivlighan and Hill after the results of an investigation by the University of Maryland Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB found that the study included data from between one and four therapy clients of the Maryland Psychotherapy Clinic and Research Laboratory (MPCRL) who either had not been asked to provide consent or had withdrawn consent for their data to be included in the research. Robinson was not responsible for obtaining and verifying participant consent but agreed to the retraction of this article. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2015-23479-001.) Nelson (2005) associated 3 types of crying (inhibited, protest, despair) with 3 dimensions of attachment (avoidant, anxious, and secure). To test this theory, trained judges rated the intensity of inhibition, protest, and despair in 347 crying episodes for 40 clients and 14 therapists in 1,074 psychotherapy sessions. Crying occurred once out of every 7 sessions, and usually was characterized by protest or inhibition. Pre-therapy attachment dimensions of both therapist and client influenced crying. Therapists with high attachment avoidance had clients who cried frequently but less over time, whereas therapists with high attachment anxiety had clients who cried with more protest over time. Clients with high attachment anxiety initially cried with more protest and inhibition, but decreased over time, whereas clients with low attachment anxiety increased protest over time. Throughout the course of psychotherapy, therapists who were seen by their clients as establishing a secure attachment elicited more overall crying and a higher intensity of protest, whereas therapists who were seen by their clients as establishing insecure attachments had clients who cried less. Clients who established a secure or avoidant relationship with their therapists, relative to other clients of that therapist, cried infrequently and with inhibition, whereas clients who established a preoccupied relationship cried relatively often. Changes are suggested for Nelson's (2005) typology. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Does local vs. national government ownership, and auditor choice matter for audit pricing? Evidence from China

Purpose The Chinese data setting allows researchers to explore the influence of local versus national (central) government ownership on companies. This study aims to examine the influence of government ownership (local versus national) and auditor choice (choosing larger or smaller firms) on audit pricing in China. Design/methodology/approach This study executed three panel data regressions to examine the two hypotheses using 19,626 observations from 2009 to 2017 in the Chinese data setting. This study also uses the Sobel test to investigate the moderating effect of auditor choice. Findings This study first examines whether choosing a large audit firm positively influences audit pricing and whether listed state-owned enterprises (SOEs) charge less audit fees to audit firms after controlling for various variables. However, the interaction influence of government ownership and audit firm size on audit pricing is positive, suggesting that a large audit firm charges a client company more, even if the client is an SOE. More importantly, when we divide SOEs into national- and local-SOEs, the results of the influence of auditor choice, government ownership and the interaction of government ownership on audit pricing are consistent (plus, minus, plus), and audit firms charge local-SOEs less than national-SOEs. Furthermore, from the additional analysis, this study finds that the strong auditor type has a moderate effect on the case of local-SOEs on audit pricing and local-SOEs choose smaller auditors. Originality/value Research on the differences between local and national government ownership is limited. This study adds empirical results from this perspective. In particular, the findings suggest a further audit pricing research direction to consider the influence of client companies’ ownership types and auditor choice, especially in countries with planned economies.

Location-induced client influence in valuation for loan security: the new terra incognita for emerging property sub-markets

PurposeConsidering the changing dimensions of client influence in the emerging sub-market in Nigeria, different from previous general insinuations, this article examines the new strategies adopted by clients to influence estate surveyors and valuers (ESVs), factors that predispose ESVs to client influence and the effects of clients' influence on valuation outcomes and real estate markets in emerging sub-market, using Ibadan market as the study area.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is situated within a client influence assessment framework, modified to reflect contextual incidents. Contextualization was made possible with the involvement of both practitioners and academic researchers. Validated copies of the questionnaire were administered to the registered practicing ESVs in an intact group during their monthly state (provincial) meeting and through direct delivery at their firms. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.FindingsContrary to the previous studies, the authors found no significant relationship between ESV professional qualifications, the firm's staff strength and the frequency of clients' influence in valuation assignments. Hiding important information and clauses, begging, lobbying, and seeking undue favor and promises for future jobs or appointments are the influencing strategies clients employ to pressure valuer. The topmost factors are emerging sub-market and economic-induced factors, lack of due process, and adequate transparency on the parts of firms and Valuers. It was established that the new dimension of client influence leads to the mortgage valuation accuracy dilemma, discredit of professional confidence, default and financial distress, and generating mistrust in the property market.Practical implicationsThe implication is the new dimension of client influence, different from the previous studies, thus calling for professional and policy attention. As real estate investment and transactions transcend globally, understanding the local sub-market condition is imperative.Originality/valueThe novelty of the paper is the exposition on the dimensions of client influence within the economy and the implication for the professional body regulatory policy.

A federated transfer learning method with low-quality knowledge filtering and dynamic model aggregation for rolling bearing fault diagnosis

Intelligent mechanical fault diagnosis techniques have been extensively developed in recent years. Owing to the advantage of data privacy protection, federated learning has recently received increasing attention; this approach can utilize monitoring data from multiple local clients to train an optimal global diagnosis model. However, low-quality data are often present for some clients, including mislabeled data and incomplete data that lack some health states. Furthermore, the data distributions are usually different across different clients owing to variations in machine operating conditions. Therefore, the performance of the federated diagnostic model may be limited by low-quality data and data distribution discrepancies. To address this issue, a federated transfer learning method with low-quality knowledge filtering and dynamic model aggregation is proposed. First, a dynamic filter is designed by filtering out low label probabilities predicted by low-quality source domain models to construct high-confidence pseudo-labels for the target domain data. Then, the batch normalized maximum mean discrepancy (BN-MMD) distance metric is introduced into the training loss function to reduce the data distribution discrepancy between the source clients and the target client without private data leakage. While building the global model in each training round, a dynamic model aggregation algorithm is proposed to mitigate the influence of low-quality clients. This algorithm evaluates the weight of each client according to its contribution to the total consensus diagnostic knowledge and then aggregates the local models with adaptive weights. Consequently, it can overcome the drawback of the classical federated averaging (FedAvg) algorithm, where all local clients are assigned the same weight when constructing the global model. Experiments are conducted on three bearing datasets under various loads and speeds. Compared with some existing diagnostic methods, the proposed federated transfer learning method can reduce the impact of low-quality data and achieve higher diagnostic accuracy while preserving data privacy.

Client influence in property valuation: a scoping literature review

PurposeThe property valuation process involves the property valuer expressing expertise in reaction to a client' instruction. However, there are instances where clients, driven by self-interest, impose their will to influence valuers into returning property valuation figures that are not the true reflection of the valuer's assessment. This paper set out to revisit the issue of client influence in property valuation by conducting a scoping review to establish key findings, gaps, implications and solutions.Design/methodology/approachIn total, 21 articles on client influence published from 1997 till date were systematically obtained from Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar and through citation searching and reviewed through a “Patterns, Advances, Gaps, Evidence for practice and Research recommendations (PAGER)” framework. Further analysis and visualisation were performed using VOSviewer software.FindingsThis study found that based on the number of studies, the issue of client influence has received empirical attention, which is few and far between, with financial institutions identified as the major culprits in most of those studies. One core reason for this is the stakes involved in the finance sector, which relies on property valuation for loan disbursement and performance measurement. Furthermore, previous studies have focused on identifying the issue through the lens of the property valuer without giving recourse to the client's perspective on what may drive the issue.Research limitations/implicationsThis study provides evidence that the issue of client influence persists, with some elements of bias in the methodology. Furthermore, the solutions proffered have focused on the valuer and have not been tested to ascertain their effectiveness. Future studies can consider examining the issue from the perspective of financial institutions.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first review studies on client influence on property valuation. It is also the first to identify a pattern in client influence studies that points to the issue being perpetuated by financial institutions. Furthermore, it is the first in recent time to reveal how limited study has been conducted in the area as well as the solutions which have neither been tested nor implemented.

Clients’ Demographics and Strategies Influence on Loan Repayment during Covid-19 Pandemic: Evidence from Tanzanian Savings and Credits Cooperative Societies (SACCOS)

The study assessed the influence of the clients’ demographics and strategies on loan repayment during the Corona Outbreak (COVID-19) in Tanzania. The study used Morogoro and Mvomero Teachers SACCOS (MMTS) as its case. The cross-sectional and explanatory designs, survey strategy and random sampling were applied to selected 98 SACCOS borrowers for the study. IBM SPSS software was used to enter the data and analysis was executed using descriptive and Ordinary Least Square (OLS) techniques. The study unveiled that COVID-19 deteriorated the loan portfolio during the pandemic. The findings further uncovered that the business owners were mostly affected by the pandemic and the majority of the borrowers repaid their loans using alternative sources of income. The regression analysis revealed that the amount of loan borrowed positively and significantly influenced the loan repayment while age, level of education and economic activity negatively and significantly influenced the loan repayment. The study concluded that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the repayment of loans for Tanzanian SACCOS was not conducive because of poor repayment strategies and the influence of clients’ demographic factors. The study recommended policymakers to design policies that would enhance the repayment of loans for SACCOS borrowers during pandemics. The study contributed to the contingency theory by recommending borrowers’ diverse loan repayment strategies during contingency situations.

Valuers' Perception on Mitigating Material Uncertainty in Property Valuation

Property valuation is the process of estimating the market price of an asset, especially one carried out by a professional valuer. The estimated price significantly affected by uncertainties in the market where the impact of these uncertainties will be reflected in the output figure, i.e., the valuation. Thus, careful consideration is essential for valuation assignment in the relevant market. The existence of recent or contemporary evidence, and the degree of trustworthiness of that evidence when determining the level of uncertainty at a specific valuation date is a requirement to minimize the level of material uncertainty in property valuation process. In this context, the main purpose of this study is to figure out valuers’ perception on best mitigation measures for material uncertainty in property valuation procedure. The population of the study are the professional valuers who engaged in property valuation in Sri Lanka; members of Institute of Valuers of Sri Lanka (IVSL) and Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). The sampling techniques of the study is cluster sampling and total of 270 members answered the questionnaire distributed via email. The analysis results confirmed that COVID-19 pandemic situation, valuation assumptions and clients’ influence are major contributory factors on valuation uncertainty. However, the factor extraction and rotation confirmed that only uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic situation and valuation assumptions are two significant elements on material uncertainty of valuation. The findings suggest that client influence may not be seen as a threat to the emergence of material uncertainty. Furthermore, the study identifies measures such as developing a digital land registration database, defining valuation procedures as per the guidelines of respective valuation institution, use of realistic valuation assumptions, and analysing long-term market behaviour are appropriate measures for mitigating material uncertainty in property valuation.

A Truthful and Reliable Incentive Mechanism for Federated Learning Based on Reputation Mechanism and Reverse Auction

As a distributed machine learning paradigm, federated learning (FL) enables participating clients to share only model gradients instead of local data and achieves the secure sharing of private data. However, the lack of clients’ willingness to participate in FL and the malicious influence of unreliable clients both seriously degrade the performance of FL. The current research on the incentive mechanism of FL lacks the accurate assessment of clients’ truthfulness and reliability, and the incentive mechanism based on untruthful and unreliable clients is unreliable and inefficient. To solve this problem, we propose an incentive mechanism based on the reputation mechanism and reverse auction to achieve a more truthful, more reliable, and more efficient FL. First, we introduce the reputation mechanism to measure clients’ truthfulness and reliability through multiple reputation evaluations and design a reliable client selection scheme. Then the reverse auction is introduced to select the optimal clients that maximize the social surplus while satisfying individual rationality, incentive compatibility, and weak budget balance. Extensive experimental results demonstrate that this incentive mechanism can motivate more clients with high-quality data and high reputations to participate in FL with less cost, which increases the FL tasks’ economic benefit by 31% and improves the accuracy from 0.9356 to 0.9813, and then promote the efficient and stable development of the FL service trading market.

Význam raně renesanční architektonické skulptury na lombardské a moravské umělecké periferii

This case study examines the importance of artistic periphery in the field of early Renaissance architectural sculpture in the years circa 1480 – 1550. The Renaissance style spread to Central Europe especially from Italy. In the older historical art literature opinions often emerged that Central European stonemasons did not understand the principles of Italian Renaissance art, and because of this misunderstanding they combined Renaissance style with Gothic. The author has undertaken long-lasting terrain research of early Renaissance architectural sculpture in one Central European and one Italian region of artistic periphery: the Moravian part of the Dyje valley and Val Camonica in Lombardy. In both regions were very elaborately stylistically examined stone decorations of architecture in the years circa 1480 – 1550. When the information about client´s social status, travel itinerary was known, also the influence of client on the style of architectural culpture was researched. On the basis of terrain research, the author comes to the conclusion that stonemasons in the Moravian part of the Dyje valley in the time of early Renaissance created architectural sculptures in the same styles that Italian artists in Val Camonica did: Romanesque Renaissance, a mixed style combining Gothic with Renaissance, early Renaissance architectural sculptures closely following the antique models, early Renaissance architectural sculptures created as an innovative modification of antique models.

Isomorphism of Client Satisfaction and Client Sophistication in Client Influence on Valuations: A Systematic Content Analysis

Isomorphism of Client Satisfaction and Client Sophistication in Client Influence on Valuations: A Systematic Content Analysis

Don’t you forget about me: Independence of evaluations from the perspective of US evaluation clients—An exploratory study

Policy evaluation literature has stressed the importance of independence of evaluations to guarantee objective evidence collection. The evaluator–client relationship is critical in this respect, since it contains inherent tensions due to the necessity for independent assessments alongside requirements for increased responsiveness to clients’ interests. Despite this distinct relationship, the client perspective has only recently received attention in research. This article presents findings from a survey among US evaluation clients and compares these to existing evidence from Switzerland. Unlike previous studies, we distinguish between constructive and destructive client influences. We show that professional experience and client familiarity with evaluation standards increase the likelihood of constructive influences aimed at improving evaluation results. Nevertheless, the findings indicate that dissatisfaction with an evaluation increases client’s attempts at influence that may be destructive. By discussing both motives behind influence and potential preventive measures, this article seeks to contribute to the increased social impact of policy evaluations.

A journey through languages: A systematic literature review on the multilingual experience in counselling and psychotherapy with children and adolescents

AbstractThe purpose of this research was to address the gap in the existing literature on the multilingual aspect of language in psychotherapy with children and adolescents. This research aimed at interpreting possible meanings for clients of being multilingual in the therapeutic process as well as reflect on the influence of clients’ multilingualism in the therapeutic relationship. The researcher used a systematic literature review (PRISMA guidelines, 2009) to select articles based on empirical qualitative/mixed studies with participants up to 25 years old or adults referring to childhood/adolescence. The researcher used thematic synthesis (Thomas & Harden, 2008) to extract, analyse and interpret data. The rigour of this study was enhanced by the use of auto‐ethnography as a source of evidence (McLeod, 2015). The auto‐etnography documents self‐reflections on personal experience of being multilingual contributing to deeper contextualised knowledge. The findings confirm previous research on the existence of a link between multilingualism and “identity” (Costa, 2020, p. 5). This research suggests that the meaning a client gives to bilingualism can be co‐constructed within an attuned therapeutic relationship. In this co‐construction journey, there is a significant opportunity for children and young people in finding their way through languages, hence reaching emancipation and affirmation in the world. The main limitation of this research relates to the fact that there are not many studies with children/young people. This led the researcher to also include studies based on a mixed sample and with adults referring to childhood/adolescence, which might have influenced the interpretation of findings.