Background: Professional services firms (PSFs) face unique challenges when internationalisingdue to their intangible services and the need to adapt to local markets. Digital technologies havemade internationalisation more efficient since firms utilise digital communication tools (DCTs).However, PSFs still struggle to internationalise due to the need to establish a local presence tocreate competitive advantages where language plays an important role integrated fully into thetargeted countries. Problem: The internationalisation of PSFs is a complex process that involves interrelated researchstreams, such as the utility of digitised tools and the importance of language strategy. However,the research is fragmented and lacks a multidimensional discipline that incorporates all factorsapplied when PSFs internationalise. Therefore, there is a need for more efforts to broaden theconceptualisation of the PSF internationalisation process. Purpose: Provide a multidimensional perspective on the practical and theoretical knowledge PSFsrequire when expanding internationally. The aim is to explore the phenomenon’s complexity tointernationalise as PSFs and the interrelationships with factors such as DCTs and language. Method: The research is a qualitative multiple-case study using semi-structured interviews toretrieve primary data. Triangulation is applied to guarantee an in-depth inquiry, combining primarydata and secondary data consisting of scanning social media platforms of the case companies andnon-responsive textual data in the form of company reports, websites, etc. The data was analysedusing thematic and cross-cage analysis. Conclusion: The results show the importance of relationships when PSFs internationalise and aneed to adapt locally. PSFs perceive the utility of DCTs as an enabler of internationalisation butdiscovered a limitation of DCTs where the importance of relationships and physical meetingscreate a gap when establishing relationships. In addition, language is strategically selected to meetthe market’s needs and increase local adaptiveness by using the local language. We can furtherconclude that the “fluffier stuff decides the game” when PSFs internationalise due to underlyingfactors such as language, cultural context and relationships, guiding how PSFs expand into foreignmarkets.

In professional partnerships, partners have to agree how to split their income between each other. Such a profit sharing system (PSS) must be perceived as being fair and motivating to ensure the enduring success of the partnership. Surprisingly, quite different systems are in use today in otherwise comparable firms. The understanding of a “fair share” and how to motivate best varies con-siderably. Existing literature on professional service firms rarely discusses in which circumstances the different PSS types are adequate; non-economic per-spectives are scarce. Using semi-structured interviews with senior partners from large German law firms, this study evaluates their understanding of trust, fairness and motivation, and how that links to their respective PSS’s. It adds the otherwise missing peer-to-peer perspective to existing organisational research on fairness, trust and motivation. The findings include the presence of both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation through money, but also through peer pressure. Different fairness ideals clearly link to PSS types. Mutual trust, based on knowing each other, is key in all but one PSS type. An important, but yet overlooked differentiator between PSS’s is whether profit distribution decisions are made based on algorithms or on human (committee) decisions. A new framework is developed that links the beliefs and values of the partners with the specific characteristics of the PSS, which are systematically assessed for the first time. This framework offers partners from law firms and potentially other professional service firms a methodical approach to identify and discuss their needs and to identify the most appropriate PSS for their specific situation.

This study is generally concerned with the assumption that the contemporary global flows of people, capital, and commodities, which accelerated dramatically in the age of globalization, have significant impacts on the land use patterns of global cities. With this assumption, the study further questions in the context of polycentric US metropolis, whether or not the distribution of transnational advanced producer service firms define a new form of centrality, in which the traditional central business districts and suburban centers differ from each other in terms of spatial clustering patterns and sectoral distributions of transnational advanced producer service firms. Spatial clustering patterns of advanced producer service firms are evaluated according to high-rise and high-density criteria. In ten selected cities, clusters of advanced producer service firms and high-rise office buildings are identified through the Nearest Neighbor Hierarchical Clustering Method in CrimeStat. To define the polycentric US metropolis, the research employs Lang et al's (2006) classification of metropolitan office space. The results show significant differences between former manufacturing belt cities and Sunbelt cities. / Ph. D.

Yes / Purpose – The management of reputation and status is central to creative professional service firms (CPSFs) rendering the internationalisation process a particular challenge. We build on arguments that internationalisation requires moving from outsidership to insidership within client networks and focus on how CPSFs build signals about quality to start this process. Design/methodology/approach – The exploration draws from the international business, professional services and organizational status bodies of literature. A multiple case study design is developed comprising ten Irish architecture firms. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted. Findings - The findings clarify how relationships start in the internationalisation process through signal building. This allows firms to join client networks moving from outsidership to insidership. Our findings systemise three different approaches for CPSFs: from outsidership to insidership within a local market network, within a global industry network and within a global project network. Research Limitations/Implications – Research within other sectoral and geographical contexts could support transferability of the findings. Practical implications – The study has implications for CPSF’s international business strategies as it identifies multiple paths to gaining network insidership and the tactics employed to achieve this.

The information service sector e.g. utilities, telecommunications and banking has grown rapidly in recent years and is a significant contributor to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the world’s leading economies. Though, the information service sector has grown significantly, there have been relatively few attempts by researchers to explore this sector. The lack of research in this sector has motivated my PhD research that aims to explore the pre-established relationships between dependability, quality and customer satisfaction (RQ1) within the context of information service sector. Literature looking at the interrelationship between the dependability and quality (RQ2a), and their further impact on customer satisfaction (RQ2b) is also limited. With the understanding that Business to Business (B2B) and Business to Customer (B2C) businesses are different, exploring these relationships in these two different types of information firms will further add to existing literature. This thesis also attempts to investigate the relative significance of dependability and quality in both B2B and B2C information service firms (RQ3a and RQ3b). To address these issues, this PhD research follows a theory testing approach and uses multiple case studies to address the research questions. In total five cases from different B2B and B2C information service firms are being investigated. To explore the causality, the time series data set of over 24 to 60 months time and the ‘Path Analysis’ method has been used. For the generalization of the findings, Cumulative Meta Analysis method has been applied. The findings of this thesis indicate that dependability significantly affects customer satisfaction and an interrelationship exists between dependability and quality that further impacts customer satisfaction. The findings from B2C cases challenges the traditional priority afforded to relational aspect of quality by showing that dependability is the key driver of customer satisfaction. However, B2B cases findings shows that both dependability and quality are key drivers of customer satisfaction. Therefore, the findings of this thesis add considerably to literature in B2B and B2C information services context.

This study explores how service firms incorporate CSR activities within the internal brand building process. It was found that CSR does influence and is implemented in every stage of our theoretical framework of the internal brand building process. The study was based on interviews conducted on managers and employees of service firms in the Netherlands and in Sweden.  CSR is an evolving concept, increasingly becoming important in affecting the consumption decisions of service firm’s customers. Service firms are now resorting to incorporating CSR in their internal brand building to appeal to consumers. Consumers who are trying to minimize the inherent risk in buying an intangible product typical of a service product are now shifting their focus from the firm’s product to the firm itself.  The purpose of this study was to explore if and how CSR influences the internal brand building processes of service firms. We did not seek to generalize the findings. We carried out eight interviews where the respondents were able to broadly shared their thoughts and opinions. The research questions we sought to answer were: In what way does CSR influence the internal brand building process in service firms? And, how do service firms implement CSR in their internal brand building process?  It was found that the service firms do define CSR as a responsibility for their Employees, Community, Environment, Clients/Customers as well as Ethical Responsibility. We also found out that CSR influences the internal brand building in service firms through their employees, brand audit, brand identity, brand positioning and brand communication, which we then included in our empirical developed model of the internal brand building processes in service firms. CSR is implemented in service firm’s employees’ management through employee education, training, recruitment and motivation. CSR is implemented in a service firm’s brand audit through a flat/hierarchical organizational structure, multicultural organization, ethics, sustainability, transparency and honesty. CSR is implemented in a service firm’s brand identity through quality assurance, creativity/innovation and compliance. CSR is implemented in a service firm’s brand positioning through partnership, accessibility, quality, trust. CSR is implemented in a service firm's brand communication through intranet, meetings, publications and teams.  Future researchers are recommended to study service firms that are equally divided based on their size, age and wealth to get a deeper understanding. More employees could also be studied since employees might have different viewpoints and since it is found that employees are the most important asset for service firms.

<p>AbstractPurposeTo study which and how project management methodologies are applied in consulting firmsApproachThe study begins by reviewing literature on Traditional Project Management (TPM) andAgile Project Management (APM) methodologies ending with characteristics of the twomethodologies that identify a project as applying one methodology or another. The literaturethen reviews the nature of consulting firms emphasising on elements such as the professional,professional services and professional service firms before reviewing how projects areimplemented in consulting firms. A case study design is adopted and semi-structuredinterviews were conducted with PricewaterhouseCoopers-Ghana staff. Patterns from theinterviews are identified and compared with the characteristics of both Traditional and Agileproject management before drawing conclusions on which methodologies are applied andhow they are applied. Since APM is presumed to deal with problems of TPM in complexenvironments, challenges in applying TPM in consulting firms are assessed and the extent towhich APM responds to those challenges are also discussed.FindingsThe findings indicate that TPM is applied in consulting firms mainly for structured projects,whilst APM methods are also applied for some structured projects but very much forunstructured and ‘executory’ projects. APM also deals with some challenges of TPM butthose which are organisation related are not solved by applying APM methods.Research limitationThe limited number of people interviewed for this research is one key issue that limitsgeneralization to all consulting firms. However, it is hoped that this work serves as a basis forfurther research in this field.Practical implicationsThe study shows that whilst TPM will continuously be applied in consulting firms due to thenature of some projects, APM can also be applied to the benefit of consulting projects that areunstructured and ‘executory’. Therefore consulting firms do not need to ‘force’ structure intoall projects.Paper typeMasters Thesis – Research paperKeywordsTraditional project management, agile project management, consulting firms, professional,professional service, professional service firms</p>

AbstractPurposeTo study which and how project management methodologies are applied in consulting firmsApproachThe study begins by reviewing literature on Traditional Project Management (TPM) andAgile Project Management (APM) methodologies ending with characteristics of the twomethodologies that identify a project as applying one methodology or another. The literaturethen reviews the nature of consulting firms emphasising on elements such as the professional,professional services and professional service firms before reviewing how projects areimplemented in consulting firms. A case study design is adopted and semi-structuredinterviews were conducted with PricewaterhouseCoopers-Ghana staff. Patterns from theinterviews are identified and compared with the characteristics of both Traditional and Agileproject management before drawing conclusions on which methodologies are applied andhow they are applied. Since APM is presumed to deal with problems of TPM in complexenvironments, challenges in applying TPM in consulting firms are assessed and the extent towhich APM responds to those challenges are also discussed.FindingsThe findings indicate that TPM is applied in consulting firms mainly for structured projects,whilst APM methods are also applied for some structured projects but very much forunstructured and ‘executory’ projects. APM also deals with some challenges of TPM butthose which are organisation related are not solved by applying APM methods.Research limitationThe limited number of people interviewed for this research is one key issue that limitsgeneralization to all consulting firms. However, it is hoped that this work serves as a basis forfurther research in this field.Practical implicationsThe study shows that whilst TPM will continuously be applied in consulting firms due to thenature of some projects, APM can also be applied to the benefit of consulting projects that areunstructured and ‘executory’. Therefore consulting firms do not need to ‘force’ structure intoall projects.Paper typeMasters Thesis – Research paperKeywordsTraditional project management, agile project management, consulting firms, professional,professional service, professional service firms

Bakgrund och problem: Konsultbranschen kännetecknas av en hög omsättning av aktörer. En anledning till att det ständigt alstras nya mindre aktörer till branschen är att den kan vara lukrativ med låga inträdesbarriärer. Men varför försvinner många aktörer lika fort som de kommer upp? Är det en brist på strategi och styrverktyg som ligger till grund för problemet? Kan det bero på svårigheten för småföretag att skapa sig en solid varumärkeslegitimitet, och finns det en möjligt att med hjälp av styrverktyg stärka företagets varumärkeslegitimitet? Fallföretaget som använts i den här studien är ett litet konsultföretag som vill stärka varumärkeslegitimiteten med hjälp av differentieringsstrategi på marknaden. Syfte: Syftet med den här studien är att med hjälp av en egenarbetad utvärderingsmodell utvärdera olika långsiktiga styrverktyg inriktade mot små konsult- och tjänsteföretags. Genom att utvärdera för- och nackdelar för tre utvalda styrverktyg och sedan applicera de på ett litet konsultföretag är förhoppningen att studien kan leda fram till rekommendationer gällande styrverktygens nytta och möjlighet till anpassning. Metod: I metodavsnittet förklaras vilka metodiska val som har använts i studien. En presentation av vilken forskningsansats som författarna har utgått efter förklaras också. Vidare så tydliggörs kritiken mot de källor som har använts i studien samt urvalet av data. Slutsats: Efter att styrverktygen utvärderats med hjälp av en egenarbetad utvärderingsmodell konstaterades det att det inte fanns ett optimalt styrverktyg men att alla innehöll värdefulla funktioner. Emellertid visade analysen att det styrverktyg som var mest användbart utifrån fallföretagets förutsättningar var det balanserade styrkortet på grund av dess multipla användbara funktioner och möjlighet till styrning enligt utvald strategi och mål. / Background and Problem: The consulting branch can be recognized by having a high turnover of operators. One reason for this is that the market can be lucrative with its low entry barriers. But why do many operators disappear as soon as they enter the market? Is it because of a lack of strategy and management tools? Could it be due to the difficulty for small businesses to create solid brand legitimacy, and is there a possibility to strengthen it by using management tools? The company used in this study is a small consulting company that desires to strengthen their brand legitimacy with the aid of differentiation strategy in the market. Purpose: With the help of a self-made evaluation model, the purpose of this study is to evaluate different long-term management tools geared towards small consulting and service companies. By evaluating the pros and cons of the three selected management tools and then apply those at a small consulting company, an expectation is that the study could lead to recommendations regarding the management tools benefits and possibilities for adaption. Method: In the methodology section the methodological choices of the study are explained. There is also a presentation of the research approach that has been used. Furthermore, the selection of data and the criticism of the sources used in the study are discussed. Results and conclusion: After that the management tools had been evaluated using the evaluation tool, it was found that there was no optimal management tool but that they all contained valuable features. However, the analysis showed that the management tool that was most advantageous based on the company’s prospects was the balanced scorecard because of its multiple useful features and its ability to control according to the company’s strategy and goal.

TV- och mediabranschen drivs på av teknikutveckling och är under förändring där allt fler konsumenter väljer att konsumera video via internet vilket ställer krav på aktörerna i TV-branschen. Traditionella TV-operatörer försöker förändra sina affärsmodeller, branschgränser blir mer otydliga där bolag som tidigare ansvarat för it-infrastrukturen försöker ta större del av värdekedjan, nystartade företag ser sin chans att konkurrera samt globala aktörer som Google och Apple blir allt större hot. För konsultbolag finns det i TV-branschen därför möjligheter att fylla ett marknadsbehov av branschspecifik rådgivning och resurser för att hjälpa TV- aktörerna med att anpassa sig till digitaliseringen. Konsultbolag som försöker etablera sig inom TV- och mediamarknaden behöver ta ställning till frågeställningar som hur brett erbjudande de ska ha, vilka kompetenser och roller de ska erbjuda och hur de uppnår en stark marknadsposition. Eftersom den framtida utvecklingen av den övergripande marknadskonfigurationen är oklar så skapar det också behov för sådana konsultbolag att förstå hur de skapar förutsättningar för långsiktig konkurrenskraft. Denna undersökning syftar därför till att undersöka positioneringsstrategier för långsiktig konkurrenskraft i konsultbolag inriktade mot branschen av media- och TV- lösningar. Studien har genomförts på företaget Eyevinn med hjälp av en kvalitativ fallstudie. Undersökningens metodik följer det Wahlbinska U:et och har haft ett explorativt angreppssätt för att skapa en bred förståelse för deras positioneringssituation. Den insamlade empiriska datan för studien baseras främst på intervjuer som är genomförda med anställda på fallföretaget Eyevinn och deras kunder. Analysen har utförts med ett holistiskt tillvägagångssätt och är uppdelad i två huvudsakliga områden. Det ena området har sin grund i affärsmodellssynsättet kompletterat med dynamiska förmågor. Det andra området har en bas i generell litteratur inriktat på positioneringsstrategi kompletterat med litteratur för positioneringsstrategi som är specifikt inriktat för konsultbolag. De underliggande analyserna har således blivit Utvärdering av långsiktig konkurrenskraft med grund i företagets förmågor och resurser, Matchning mellan fallföretaget och dess önskade position, Position relativt konkurrenter, Värdeerbjudandets konkurrenskraft, Position i värdekedjan och Utnyttjande av företagets marknadsroll. Resultatet av undersökningen visar att det är relevant för konsultbolag inom branschen av media- och TV-lösningar att förstå vilka mekanismer som finns tillgängliga i deras befintliga och eftersträvda marknadsroll för att förstärka deras konkurrenskraft. Vidare så visas att en differentieringsstrategi som specialist ställer höga krav på värdeerbjudandets substantiering men också att en sådan differentiering i sig själv kan användas för att förstärka substantieringen samt resonansen av värdeerbjudandet. Det visas även betydelsefullt att det internt, bland konsultbolagets personal, säkerställs att det finns en gemensam och enhetlig syn för konsultföretagets positioneringsstrategi och marknadsinriktning. ii Resultatet av affärsmodellsanalysen visar med hjälp av logiken i fallföretagets aktivitetssystem att det finns ett cyklist och självförstärkande samband (virtuos cycle) i aktiviteterna som leder till konsultföretagets förmåga att skapa legitimitet på marknaden för sin expertkunskap. Denna aktivitetscykel identifieras som kritisk för fallföretagets möjlighet att ta ut premiumarvoden och att förflytta sig närmre sin önskade marknadsposition som kunskapsledande. För att skapa förutsättningar för långsiktig konkurrenskraft i ett konsultbolag med en specialistdifferentiering så visar undersökningen att strukturer för hantering av kunskap blir betydelsefulla. Kunskapsstrukturerna bör stödja införskaffande, bevarande samt utvärderande för dess möjlighet att kommersialiseras med anledning att stärka en marknadsposition som kunskapsledande. Rekommendationerna som framtagits är riktade till fallföretaget Eyevinn för att hjälpa de att förstärka sin befintliga marknadsposition och förflytta dem närmre sin önskade position med långsiktig konkurrenskraft. Dessa är att på sikt ersätta deras interna befintliga kommunikationsverktyg och etablera en struktur för kunskapshantering, kunskapsbevarande och kunskapsdelning. I deras marknadsroll ska de för att stärka och skydda sin position hos sina kunder utnyttja mekanismer som förstärker kundernas switching costs. För att hantera interna skillnader i uppfattningen om Eyevinns positioneringsstrategi så föreslås fem grundläggande frågeställningar som de gemensamt bör gå genom. Uppsättning av rutiner för snabb kommersialisering av ny kunskap rekommenderas för att förflytta företaget närmre en position som kunskapsledande. Förbättrad redundans av företagets tillgängliga kompetenser föreslås göras genom ett tillvägagångssätt som innebär att kunduppdrag även stödjs “back office”. Eyevinns säljkommunikation rekommenderas anpassas för att främja deras möjlighet att samla på sig mer erfarenheter och därmed förstärka deras substantiering. Eyevinn rekommenderas att förstärka förtroendet från kunderna genom att fokusera på de aktiviteterna som är inkluderade i den virtuos cycle som skapar legitimitet i att besitta expertkunskap. / The TV and media market is affected by the modern development in technology which is transforming the industry and making it easier for consumers to consume video through the web which in turn puts new requirements and demands on the companies active in that market. Traditional TV-operators are trying to change their business models, market boundaries are becoming more unclear, firms that were previously responsible for the IT-infrastructure are now trying to expand their grasp on the value chain, new start-ups see their chance to compete and global actors such as Google and Apple are becoming an increasing threat. Consulting firms that are active in this market therefore have the opportunity to fulfill customers’ needs of market specific consulting and resources to help companies adapt to the digitalization. Consulting firms trying to establish themselves in the TV and media market needs to ask themselves questions such as what spread their offering should have, what competencies and roles they should offer, and how they should act to attain a strong market position. Since the future development of the marketplace is unclear, there is also a need for such consulting firms to understand how they create foundations for sustainable competitive advantages. This study therefore has the objective to examine positioning strategies that achieves sustainable competitive advantages for consulting firms in the TV and media market. The study has been conducted as a qualitative case study at the consulting firm Eyevinn. The research methods used for the study were based on the principles of Lekvall &amp; Wahlbin and had an exploratory approach to create a genuine understanding of the problem. The collected data was primarily based on interviews conducted with employees at the company Eyevinn and their customers. The analysis has been performed with a holistic approach and is separated into two main areas. The first area has its basis in the business model approach complemented with dynamic capabilities. The second area has a basis in general management literature focused on positioning strategies complemented with literature for positioning strategies that is specifically targeted to consulting firms. The underlying analyses are Evaluation of sustainable competitive advantages with a basis in the company’s capabilities and resources, The fit between the case company and its wanted position, Position in relation to competitors, The value propositions competitive advantages, Position in the value chain and exploiting the company’s market role. The results of the study shows that it is relevant for consulting firms within the TV and media market to understand the mechanisms available in their current and desired market role to strengthen their competitive advantages. It’s also shown that a differentiating strategy as a specialist puts high demands on the value proposition’s substantiation however such a differentiation strategy in itself can also be used to strengthen the substantiation together with the resonance of the value proposition. It’s also of importance that the firm internally, amongst the company’s personnel, makes sure that there is a common and unified view of the consulting firms’ positioning strategy and market direction. iv The result of the business model analysis shows through the logic of the case company’s activity system that there is a cyclic and reinforcing connection (virtuous cycle) in the activities that lead to the consulting firms ability to create legitimacy on the market for their expertise and knowledge. This activity cycle is identified as critical for the case company’s ability to receive a premium price and to move closer to their wanted position as a knowledge leader. To create conditions for sustainable competitive advantages in a consulting firm with a specialist differentiation the study shows that structures for handling of knowledge are important. The knowledge structures should support acquiring, preserving and evaluating its possibility to be commercialized with the reason to strengthen the market position as a knowledge leader. The recommendations that have been formulated are aimed to help the case company Eyevinn with strengthening their current market position and to move them closer to their wanted position with sustainable competitive advantages. In a long term perspective Eyevinn should replace their current internal communication tool and establish a structure for knowledge gathering, knowledge preservation and knowledge sharing. Eyevinn should exploit switching costs-mechanisms available in their current market role to protect and strengthen the position they have. To handle the internal discrepancies in the understanding of Eyevinns positioning strategy we suggest that they should go through five basic questions together to address the situation. Eyevinn should establish processes to support quick commercialization of new knowledge in order to move Eyevinn closer to its wanted position of knowledge leaders in their market. An improvement of the redundancy of the firm’s available competencies is recommended by a process which includes back office support to its customer assignments. Eyevinn’s sales communication is recommended to be adapted to support their ability to gather more experiences which strengthens their substantiation. Eyevinn is recommended to strengthen the trust perceived by their customers by focusing on the activities included in the virtuos cycle that creates legitimacy for their expert knowledge.