Professional Services Sector Research Articles

Professional Occupations, Knowledge-Driven Firms, and Entrepreneurship: A National and Regional Analysis

The worldwide dominance of Western nations in commercial knowledge-intensive services has declined between 1995 and 2010, but the slippage in revenue was only from 88 to 79 percent. The European Union and North America remain the two largest regions in consumption and in exporting. Four professional service sectors—accounting, law, engineering, and management consultancy—have shown stability or even growth in the past decade. Entry and expansion requirements in these fields, at home and abroad, constitute barriers for both individual professionals and companies. Entrepreneurship is evident in these sectors, as small and medium size enterprises have maintained their viability against large firms. Only accountancy shows a high degree of concentration, but competition in this sector, too, is expected from the emerging economies, especially China. Professional service firms of the West have forged strong linkages with both domestic and foreign clients via relationship marketing. Technology is an important factor via automation. Although each of the four sectors is facing both external and internal challenges, they continue to grow and appear to be meeting the challenges in part by more innovation and transparency.

Institutions and Maintenance: The Repair Work of Italian Professions

This paper contributes to extending institutional theory by theorizing institutional maintenance as a process of repair and empirically examining repair work in a professional setting. Our in-depth, longitudinal case study illustrates how Italian professions—led by two professional associations—rebuffed the decisive intervention of the Italian Government to coercively reform the professional service sector and reconstituted institutional arrangements that had been severely disrupted. The paper advances theory on the resilience of institutions by showing that maintenance repair work enables powerful incumbents to reverse change and re-establish the status quo.

The Work–Family Interface of Service Sector Workers: A Comparison of Work Resources and Professional Status across Five European Countries

The present paper examines cross‐national differences in the utilisation of work–family resources at the organisational level and the relationships between these resources and work‐to‐home interference (WHI) and satisfaction with work–family balance (SWFB) among professional and non‐professional service sector employees in five Western European countries. Further, it explores cross‐national variations in the gap between professionals and non‐professionals with respect to both outcome variables. Professional service sector employees were consistently found to experience higher levels of WHI and lower levels of SWFB. The use of organisational work–family resources differed across welfare state regimes and levels of national gender equality. It was highest in Sweden and the Netherlands and lowest in Portugal. A family‐supportive supervisor and a family‐supportive organisational culture differentially affected WHI of professional and non‐professional workers, with a family‐supportive supervisor being more beneficial to non‐professionals and a family‐supportive organisational culture being more beneficial to professional employees. Finally, the gap between professionals and non‐professionals was also found to vary across countries for WHI but not for SWFB. It was significantly larger in the UK and in Sweden than in the other three countries.

Management control in accounting outsourcing services

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide evidence of accounting outsourcing practices in Malaysia and the management control strategies undertaken by these practising firms to mitigate inherent risks.Design /methodology/approachThis study employs survey methodology using structured questionnaires and case studies using interviews. A total of 51 companies responded to the questionnaires and two companies participated in the interview.FindingsThe survey data revealed that the primary reason for engaging in accounting outsourcing was to gain quality accounting service from the experts. With regard to management control strategies, it was shown that respondents place high emphasis of behavior, output and social controls. Further investigation using case studies involving a vendor and client companies reveal that the control mechanisms involved were stated in the outsourcing contract, namely the use of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and penalties. Informal controls were also used in both cases to assist in solving conflicts and dissatisfaction among vendors and clients.Research limitations/implicationsThe identification the control strategies in the accounting outsourcing process is useful for companies to manage the inherent risks in outsourcing relationships. The knowledge on the control practices by firms involved in accounting outsourcing provides additional assurance to potentials interested in seeking accounting services in this country.Originality/valueThis paper is driven by the lack of empirical evidence of accounting outsourcing practices in Malaysia and paucity of research into the role of management control in an outsourcing relationship. Despite the growth of the outsourcing industry in Malaysia, little has been done to understand the contribution of a professional service sector such as the accounting services to this industry.

Do Professional Service Organizations Financially Benefit from Conformance and Experiential Quality?

The professional service industry encompasses a major part of the U.S. economy and yet, several factors that affect its financial sustainability remain largely unknown. When catering to their customers, professional service providers have to combine conformance quality – adherence to strict technical standards, with experiential quality – ability to adapt service delivery to the unique customer. Conformance quality and experiential quality reflect respectively the dimensions of efficiency and flexibility of the service delivery process. Studies show that ambidexterity, or the ability to reconcile efficiency and flexibility, improves financial performance in many settings. However, professional services face unique challenges that make this relationship uncertain. This research investigates the financial benefits from ambidexterity using secondary data from a professional service sector, namely from 2830 hospitals, collected over a three-year time period. Financial performance is measured through both occupancy rate, which reflects potential for revenue generation, and cost effectiveness dimensions. Findings reveal no direct relationship between experiential quality and cost effectiveness, and a negative relationship between experiential quality and occupancy rates. However, we find strong synergies between conformance quality and experiential quality with regard to both cost effectiveness and occupancy rates. This suggests that ambidexterity is a financially beneficial strategy for professional service organizations. We discuss implications for theory and practice.

The career path to instructional design project management: an expert perspective from the US professional services sector

There are well‐documented competency standards for instructional/training designers and for project managers. However, there is little research about what skills and abilities employers expect from those seeking to become instructional/training design project managers, particularly within specific industry sectors. Focusing on the US professional services sector, the sector in which firms have a global impact and in which human capital is the largest asset, this article addresses the ‘must have’ skills/competencies, characteristics and organizational conditions associated with career advancement from instructional designer to instructional design project manager by means of an expert study that is grounded in an in‐depth literature review. In addition to enhancing knowledge of instructional designers’ competency development for career advancement in the professional services sector, this study also offers some concrete recommendations and implications for research and practice.

The Impact of Buddying on Psychological Capital and Work Engagement: An Empirical Study of Socialization in the Professional Services Sector

AbstractThis article reports on a study investigating the impact of new employees' satisfaction with buddying on work engagement and explores the role of psychological capital in mediating this relationship. The study took place within a professional services organization wherein data were collected from 78 graduate newcomers in receipt of buddying. Satisfaction with buddying was found to have a positive relationship to both work engagement and psychological capital. The satisfaction with the buddy/work engagement relationship was fully mediated by psychological capital, providing support for Saks & Gruman's (2011) socialization resources theory. The results underscore the valuable role buddying can play as part of organizational socialization from a positive organizational behavior perspective. The research contributes to the growing evidence that positively oriented human resource practices can develop personal resources of newcomers within organizations. Recommendations are made for how the organization can improve and build upon this resource, thus developing the psychological capital of newcomers. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Who's got the balance? A study of satisfaction with the work–family balance among part-time service sector employees in five western European countries

Working part-time is frequently considered a viable strategy for employees to better combine work and non-work responsibilities. The present study examines differences in satisfaction with work-family balance (SWFB) among professional and non-professional part-time service sector employees in five western European countries. Part-time employees were found to be more SWFB than full-time employees even after taking varying demands and resources into account. However, there are important differences among the part-timers. Employees in marginal part-time employment with considerably reduced working hours were the most satisfied. Professionals were found to profit less from reduced working hours and experienced lower levels of SWFB than non-professionals. No significant differences in SWFB were found between male and female part-time workers.

The evolving knowledge base of professional service sectors

The objective of the paper is to analyse the degree of heterogeneity across Professional Service sectors. While previous research concentrates on the criteria of industrial classification of these sectors, we propose an empirical analysis of employment structures and the associated skill bases. By shifting the focus from sectoral ‘boundaries’ to sectoral ‘structures’ we are able to appreciate under a novel perspective the emergence and evolution of specialization patterns.

The European Union as a market for professional services

The European Union (EU) is the largest importer and exporter of services and plays a dominant role in the global services economy. Although such key economic indicators suggest the EU's services market is open to both EU and non-EU service providers alike, a number of administrative, legal and regulatory barriers remain in place—potentially restricting cross-border trade in services, in particular in the professional services sector. In order to overcome these potential trade barriers, the EU has adopted a number of legislative measures to improve the operation of its internal services market. The EU Services Directive and the Directive on the Recognition of Professional Qualifications aim to make the EU a more open and efficient marketplace for EU service providers, notably for professional services providers. The EU's long-lasting process in providing market access and the recognition of professional qualifications for EU professionals underscores the difficulties of creating a well-integrated economy by progressively reducing the member states’ competences and prerogatives. This process also emphasises the challenges faced by non-EU service providers attempting to provide professional services across EU member states. This article critically examines the effectiveness of the EU as a market for professional services for both EU and non-EU professionals, and argues that there is still much work to be done in the implementation of these directives before the EU achieves its aim as a leader in the global market for professional services.

NETWORK DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION IN HEALTHCARE SECTOR: A STUDY OF SYSTEMATIC SERVICES

The starting point for deliberations in the article is the issue of the essence and attributes of a network organisation as one of the contemporary forms of co-operation between health care organizations. The main aim of the article is to analyse the influence of a network development process on the service structure and its characteristics in health care. In the article the systemic product concept is introduced, which can be defined as a product that simultaneously satisfies a specified set of needs and expectations of the clients/patients. The clients indicate sets (clusters) of needs that appear simultaneously in some period of human life, for example those related to medical care. The service quality theory recognizes the need for integrated service delivery systems, requiring the whole organizations to be attuned to customer service and integration of the service delivery systems. The services literature emphasizes the need for the organization-wide commitment to service characteristics, quality and orientation for the client. A case-based research design is used to explore professional service sector (health care), providing two case studies in a rapidly expending market (Poland).

Invisible Businesses: The Characteristics of Home-based Businesses in the United Kingdom

Mason C. M., Carter S. and Tagg S. Invisible businesses: the characteristics of home-based businesses in the United Kingdom, Regional Studies. Home-based businesses comprise a significant proportion of the small business sector. But because they are invisible, their economic significance is assumed to be minor. This paper challenges this view. The majority are full-time businesses. One in ten has achieved significant scale. They create jobs for more than just the owner(s). They are concentrated in computer-related, business, and professional service sectors. They also have a distinctive geography. Rural areas and non-metropolitan parts of Southern England have the highest proportion of home-based businesses. Urban–industrial regions have the lowest proportion. This suggests a need to reconsider the role of home-based businesses in local economic development. Mason C. M., Carter S. et Tagg S. Les entreprises invisibles: les caractéristiques des entrepises à domicile au Royaume-Uni, Regional Studies. Les entreprises à domicile constituent une proportion non-négligeable du parc des petites entreprises. Cependant, étant donné qu'elles sont invisibles, on suppose que leur importance économique soit mineure. Cet article fait changer l'opinion. La majorité sont des entreprises à plein temps. Une sur dix a atteint une importance non-négligeable. Elles créent des emplois non seulement pour les propriétaires. Elles se concentrent dans les secteurs liés à l'informatique, au commerce et aux services aux entreprises. Elles ont aussi une géographie particulière. Les zones rurales et non-métropolitaines du sud de l'Angleterre sont dotées de la proportion la plus élevée des entreprises à domicile. Les régions urbano-industrielles ont la proportion la moins élevée. Cela laisse supposer qu'il faut repenser le rôle des entreprises à domicile dans le développement économique local. Travail à domicile Entreprises à domicile Petites entreprises Economie rurale Economie urbaine Développement économique local Mason C. M., Carter S. und Tagg S. Unsichtbare Unternehmen: Merkmale der von zu Hause aus geführten Unternehmen in Großbritannien, Regional Studies. Von zu Hause aus geführte Unternehmen machen einen erheblichen Anteil des Sektors der Kleinunternehmen aus. Doch da diese Unternehmen unsichtbar bleiben, wird angenommen, dass sie nur einen geringen Beitrag zur Wirtschaft leisten. In diesem Beitrag wird diese Ansicht in Frage gestellt. Die Unternehmen sind mehrheitlich Vollzeit tätig. Jedes zehnte von ihnen hat eine signifikante Größe erreicht. Die Unternehmen schaffen Arbeitsplätze für mehr Personen als nur den bzw. die Eigentümer. Sie sind konzentriert in den Sektoren der Informationstechnologie sowie der geschäftlichen und professionellen Dienste angesiedelt. Ebenso zeichnen sie sich durch eine charakteristische Geografie aus. Den höchsten Anteil an von zu Hause aus geführten Unternehmen weisen ländliche und nicht-metropolitane Gebiete in Südengland auf. In urbanen bzw. industriellen Regionen finden sich die niedrigsten Anteile. Diese Tatsache legt nahe, dass die Rolle der von zu Hause aus geführten Unternehmen bei der lokalen Wirtschaftsentwicklung überdacht werden muss. Heimarbeit Von zu Hause aus geführte Unternehmen Kleinunternehmen Wirtschaft in ländlichen Gebieten Wirtschaft in städtischen Gebieten Lokale Wirtschaftsentwicklung Mason C. M., Carter S. y Tagg S. Negocios invisibles: las características de los negocios desde el hogar en el Reino Unido, Regional Studies. Los negocios desde el hogar representan una proporción significativa del sector de pequeños negocios. Pero como son invisibles, se da por sentado que su importancia económica es menor. En este artículos cuestionamos esta opinión. En la mayoría de los negocios se trabaja a jornada completa. Uno de cada diez ha logrado un tamaño considerable. Los negocios también dan empleo a más personas aparte de los propietarios. Se centran en sectores relacionados con la informática y los servicios para negocios y profesionales. También presentan una geografía distintiva. Las áreas rurales y zonas no metropolitanas del sur de Inglaterra tienen el porcentaje más alto de negocios desde el hogar. Las regiones urbanas industriales tienen el porcentaje más bajo. Esto indica que es necesario reconsiderar el papel de los negocios desde el hogar en el desarrollo económico local. Trabajo desde el hogar Negocio desde el hogar Pequeño negocio Economía rural Economía urbana Desarrollo económico local

Businesses must “adapt or die”, warns industry expert

PurposeDiscusses the need for businesses to adapt or die. This theme was explored at a pro.manchester – the membership organisation for the financial and professional services sector – meeting held in 2010.Design/methodology/approachBy way of example, this article describes how changes, brought about by irreversible economic and technical developments, are about to transform the predominantly conservative legal industry.FindingsThe thought leaders in every business need to wake up one morning soon, clear their desks, take the phone off the hook, hang out the “NOT NOW” sign and ask themselves why their business is where it is, doing what it does and where it will be in three/five years' time.Practical implicationsThe authors have all stepped into a new economic and technological landscape where most of the accepted goalposts seem to have moved. This article gives advice on what CEOs can be doing about it?Originality/valueProfessor Stephen Mayson is a leading strategic adviser and business coach. He serves on the Legal Services Board's research strategy group, the Solicitors Regulation Authority's ABS (Alternative Business Structures) reference group, he has a PhD in law firm valuation, is a fellow of the College of Law Practice Management, and is the director of the Legal Services Institute at the College of Law.

Estimating the Middle Class in Pakistan

The middle class is primarily an urban phenomenon generally associated with professional occupations, service sector and salaried jobs. Yet despite a general acceptance of the important economic, political and social role that the middle class plays in society, the term itself remains ambiguous and arbitrary. In much of recent literature the middle class is equated with middle income which does not reflect what „class‟ refers to in classical writings. The present paper takes a multidimensional approach to measure the middle class in Pakistan through a weighted composite index that takes into account all possible factors associated with the concept, including income, occupation, education, housing and lifestyle. Using the Pakistan Social and Living Measurement Survey (PSLM) 2007-08, the magnitude of the middle class in the country, as represented by the „expanded middle class‟, is estimated at around 35 percent of the total population. The proposed measure of the middle class has a sense of stability attached to it, making it less susceptible to sudden inflationary shocks than an income-based measure. JEL classification: Z13, R20, A14 Keywords: Pakistan, Middle Class, Multidimensional

Nuevos patrones espaciales en las derramas de empleo en la zona metropolitana de la Ciudad de México

<p>En la Zona Metropolitana de la Ciudad de México (ZMCM) la generación de derramas en el empleo puede estar asociada, entre otros factores, a la adopción de nuevas tecnologías (vía inversión extranjera directa), a la inmigración de gente calificada o talentosa, y/o a la presencia de centros de investigación y desarrollo. En este trabajo se analiza el papel de las derramas en el empleo del sector manufacturero y en el sector de servicios profesionales a través de dos grupos que hemos clasificado como creativos y tecnológicos. El resultado central de este trabajo es que los patrones de derrama de empleo se han modificado durante las últimas dos décadas y han estado condicionados por la intensificación del proceso de terciarización que ha experimentado la ZMCM. En particular se propone que este proceso de reconversión económica de la metrópoli ha generado que los efectos derrama de empleo operen en distancias cortas de difusión espacial.</p>

The role of knowledge transfer and network relationships for stimulating growth in the professional services sector

This paper examines the central role of knowledge transfer and network relationships in the context of services, focusing especially on professional service firms (PSFs). It develops a conceptual framework applying the knowledge-based view (KBV) of the firm to explain how knowledge transfer capability and network relationships impact the ability of PSFs in stimulating growth via innovation and internationalisation. This conceptual framework is supported by three propositions and emphasises the close and interdependent relationship of knowledge transfer and network relationships. It is proposed that the strategy of a PSF needs to specifically address the role of knowledge and networks for success in innovation and internationalisation, with ultimate impact on PSFs growth. Areas of future research and managerial implications are outlined.

The impact of the corporate identity mix on corporate reputation

The concepts of corporate identity (CI) and corporate reputation (CR) receive extensive investigation within their separate domains. Recent strategic marketing literature calls for these two fields of study to be brought closer together. This article answers this call by developing a five-construct research model with four hypotheses. The model proposes that the corporate identity mix (CIM) plays a distinct and independent role in driving CR alongside daily experiences of business operations (BO). Furthermore, the model proposes that the impact of CIM on CR is mediated through corporate brand beliefs. The study is based on the professional service sector and assesses the model and hypotheses using data collected from a questionnaire completed by 126 customers. Partial least squares structural equation modelling technique is used to analyse the data. Results indicate that customer experiences of the CIM and daily BO of the organization have independent and significant impacts upon the development of CR. As a further contribution, the study operationalizes, and provides new measure of, the CIM.

An Investigation of the Industrial Ecology of New Firm Survival - Executive Summary

This study examines the influence of external economies on the survival and longevity of new independent businesses in the continental U.S. It hypothesizes that new firms with access to the sources of specialized inputs, labor, product markets and knowledge spillovers will outlive those in areas of relative isolation. The size of the region and the diversity of its industrial base are also considered as possible sources of beneficial external economies.The findings show that while external economies have a statistically significant influence on new firm survival, the effects are typically very modest. The most consistently significant effects are found for localization, which lowers the risk of new firm failure in five of the nine detailed study industries examined: farm and garden machinery, metalworking machinery, motor vehicle parts, advertising and computer and data programming services. After controlling for other sources of external economies, the size of the region is insignificant for most industries. By contrast, regional industrial diversity reduces hazard rates for new firms in drugs, advertising, computer and data processing, and research and testing services.Measures representing the specific sources of localization are statistically significant in fewer industries than the broadly defined measures of localization, but when significant they often have a stronger influence on new firm longevity. Among the specific sources of localization, proximity to specialized input suppliers is the most consistently significant, reducing hazard rates for new firms in metalworking machinery, advertising, and computer and data processing services. Proximity to intermediate product markets is only significantly beneficial in the professional services sector. Labor pooling is either insignificant or found to increase new firm hazard rates, but only after the other sources of localization are controlled. Industry knowledge spillovers significantly reduce hazard rates for new firms in the drugs and motor vehicle parts industry, but the accuracy of the variable may be sensitive to industry-specific differences in the economic value of patenting.This study also investigates whether and how the size of the establishment influences new firms' ability to benefit from their external environment. The evidence suggests that smaller businesses are the most common beneficiaries of external economies, but not in all cases. There are several examples, most commonly for urbanization, where external economies increase the failure rates of larger plants while having little effect on smaller ones. There are also several industries where an increase in external economies produces a relative reduction in hazard rates for medium sized plants, but have little effect on smaller plants.Overall the research implies that entrepreneurial development strategies are likely to be more effective if designed to capitalize upon a region's existing strengths and assets. The beneficial influence of localization and diversity are often strongest when estimated at larger spatial scales, i.e. those approximating the size of commuting sheds and labor market areas. That provides some conditional support for rural development strategies aimed at strengthening ties to nearby metropolitan areas.

Unconsciously Competent: Academia's Neglect of Marketing Success in the Professions

The professional service sector is vast and varied. Estimates put its revenues at $700 billion worldwide—or approximately 11.4% of the gross domestic product in the United States. Professional services are based on skill and people rather than scaleable processes. Their knowledge is the barrier to entry, earning them large profits from this “asymmetry of information.” The professions include some of the most successful, enduring, and profitable businesses that have evolved a number of unique strategic approaches. The partners, being some of the most driven, sophisticated, and intelligent of businesspeople, become unconsciously competent at service marketing and go-to-market strategy. Yet this phenomenon is not well researched by service marketing specialists.

FACTORS THAT IMPACT TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION ADOPTION AMONG IRISH PROFESSIONAL SERVICE SECTOR SMES

This paper disseminates the findings from a study into the factors impacting technological innovation adoption and diffusion specific to the deployment of electronic-commerce strategies within professional service sector SMEs in Ireland. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed and seven factors relating to a firm's external/internal environment were found to underpin adoption. These are: electronic-commerce capability; willingness to change/rate of response to new technologies; technological opportunity recognition; customer orientation; sensitivity to competitive/customer environments; perceptions of technology feasibility; and e-skills development mechanisms. t-tests revealed differences between adopters and non-adopters, and forward stepwise logistic regression is used to assess the extent to which these seven factors actually predict electronic-commerce adoption. It was found that electronic-commerce capability and the willingness to change/rate of response to new technologies are the two most important factors affecting adoption behaviours.