WHAT IS A PROFESSIONAL SERVICE FIRM? TOWARD A THEORY AND TAXONOMY OF KNOWLEDGE-INTENSIVE FIRMS

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: von Nordenflycht, Andrew
• 署名单位: Simon Fraser University
• 刊物名称: ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0363-7425
• DOI: 10.5465/AMR.2010.45577926
• 发表日期: 2010
• 页码: 155-174
• 关键词: corporate-law firm; CAREER MOBILITY; management; performance; OWNERSHIP; bureaucracy; diversification; ORGANIZATION; partnership; INFORMATION

摘要

I develop a theory of the distinctive characteristics of professional service firms and their organizational implications. I identify three distinctive characteristics-knowledge intensity, low capital intensity, and a professionalized workforce-with which I propose a taxonomy of four types of knowledge-intensive firms whose varying degrees of professional service intensity generate different organizational outcomes. The analysis highlights the danger of conflating the implications of professionalization with those of knowledge intensity and calls for comparative research across a wider range of professional services.