Entrepreneurship and professional service firms: The team, the firm, the ecosystem and the field

Research output: Contributions to collected editions/worksContributions to collected editions/anthologiesResearchpeer-review

Authors

Although professional services have been among the fastest growing sectors in the past decades and described as ‘innovative by their nature’ (Hargadon and Bechky 2006; Nikolova 2012), research on entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial renewal in professional service firms has been rather limited (see, for example, Reihlen and Werr 2012, 2015). Previous research on professional service firms indicates that these represent a unique and complex context for entrepreneurial activity. First, the motivational disposition of the professional, with its focus on interesting tasks and learning opportunities (Alvesson 2004; Løwendahl 2005), creates a fertile ground for continuous learning, innovation and individual entrepreneurial initiatives (Heusinkveld and Benders 2002). At the same time, however, professionals’ strong preference for autonomy counteract the dissemination and institutionalisation of such innovations as professionals may be reluctant to adhere to corporate ‘best practices’ developed based on such innovations. Second, the locus for innovation in professional service firms is typically the ongoing service delivery in interaction with colleagues and clients rather than a dedicated research and development function (Fosstenlókken, Lówendahl and Revang 2003; Heusinkveld and Benders 2002; Skjólsvik et al. 2007). Solving clients’ unique problems in inter-organisational and often crossfunctional teams represents opportunities for innovation that are, however, not always easy to realise. Third, the relationship-based nature of professional service markets both enables and restricts the creation and exploitation of entrepreneurial opportunities. Many entrepreneurial initiatives have been enabled by close client relationships. At the same time professional service firms’ embeddedness in current networks, and the costs associated with extending these networks, represent an effective barrier to entrepreneurial initiatives beyond established networks (Glückler and Armbrüster 2003; Hanlon 2004).

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProfessions and Professional Service Firms : Private and Public Sector Enterprises in the Global Economy
EditorsMike Saks, Daniel Muzio
Number of pages24
Place of PublicationLondon
PublisherRoutledge Taylor & Francis Group
Publication date01.01.2018
Pages110-133
ISBN (print)9781138675957
ISBN (electronic)9781317197898
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 01.01.2018

DOI

Recently viewed

Publications

  1. Subversive Gamification
  2. Kreativitätsbegriffe. Von der Kritik zu Assimilation, Vergiftung, Ausschlag
  3. Rechtsprobleme zweistufiger Tarifvertragssysteme
  4. Transdisciplinarity
  5. Positional income concerns and personality
  6. Beweismaterial
  7. Institutional challenges for space activities in Europe
  8. The Business Case for Corporate Social Responsibility
  9. Charisma
  10. Von der "Elternarbeit" zur "Partnerschaft"
  11. Steuerliche Gewinnermittlung bei Unternehmen
  12. Laborgespräch: Aus dem Tagebuch eines Selbstaufzeichners
  13. Listening to birdsong: Impression management of VW on Twitter during Dieselgate
  14. Methoden-Muster: Presse- und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit
  15. Warrant price responses to credit spread changes
  16. Inklusiver Fremdsprachenunterricht (FU)
  17. Fachkräfte gewinnen
  18. Rethinking megafauna
  19. Singing, Playing and Performing in Popular Music in the Age of Liquid Modernity
  20. The role of organized publics in articulating the exnovation of fossil-fuel technologies for intra- and intergenerational energy justice in energy transitions
  21. Struggling for open awareness – Trajectories of violence against children from a sociological perspective
  22. Sustainability-Oriented Business Model Assessment—A Conceptual Foundation
  23. Erweiterung des Emissionshandels löst aktuelles Klimaschutzproblem nicht
  24. Human–nature connection
  25. Adopters build bridges: Changing the institutional logic for more sustainable cities
  26. Internet-Supported Sustainability Reporting - Expectations and Reality
  27. Transferring an Analytical Technique from Ecology to the Sport Sciences
  28. Performance measurement in sustainable supply chain management
  29. Internet-Supported Sustainability Reporting
  30. Mit Geist unterrichten
  31. By Means of Which
  32. Culture and sustainable development in the city
  33. Article 80 CISG
  34. Pre-Collaboration virtual exchange planning sheet
  35. Goal Orientation and Planfulness
  36. Risk, financial stability and FDI
  37. Nachhaltigkeitsmanagement auf dem Vormarsch
  38. The exact determination of subjective risk and comfort thresholds in car following