This thesis focuses on the meaning of professionalism in the occupation of housing management. It will explore the meaning of being a professional housing manager in a profession which has some of the traits of being a 'semi-profession' (Etzioni, 1969). It asks how housing managers view professionalism and what is its relevance, if any, to their working lives. It is primarily concerned with four key aspects of professionalism: identity, knowledge, boundaries and accountability. Analysis of these four aspects of professionalism are informed by social constructionism, ethnomethodology and ethnography. The sociology of the professions is used as a substantive literature to illuminate fieldwork data and provide new directions for the evolution of theory relating to housing management. Qualitative methods of data collection and analysis have been used to provide detail and depth in presenting a picture of the issues under investigation. Data was primarily collected from forty-nine interviews, supported by data collected from three separate periods of participant observation. The thesis argues that professionalism in housing management is an individualised project of the self rather than a collective project. Professionalism is expressed as an individualised response to, and a mediation of, competing managerial demands. Housing managers work upon themselves to meet the demands of their customers and their employers. The 'professional project of the self is influenced by their backgrounds, specifically their own beliefs and values regarding what it is to be a professional housing manager. Housing managers engage in negotiating the boundaries of knowledge and emotions in order to deliver a professional service. Accountability is expressed as a component part of professionalism, i.e. the ability to give an account of their actions, as well a response to formal performance measures. The thesis identifies two categories of housing managers, 'pragmatists' and 'pro-activists', who are distinguished from each other in their construction of professionalism. This study suggests that the concept of professionalism continues to exert a considerable influence on the thoughts and behaviours of these housing managers.

This thesis uses narrative methods within a social constructivist paradigm to investigate the identity work of managers in a North West England Housing Association, in the context of being ‘in-between’ those whom they directly manage, and those whom they are managed by. Within the complex field of identity studies it draws on a narrative conceptualisation of identity and utilises methods based on narrative structural analysis and the work of Propp (1968), and on a Levi-Straussian (1963, 1983) concept of mythical thought. The thesis is based on an embedded case study strategy in which managers are regarded as individual units of analysis within the bounded system of the case organisation. Data was collected primarily by eliciting stories from managers through interviews, and from observation and document collection over a fifteen month period. The case study organisation is a registered provider of social housing in the North West of England. Management in social housing is an under-studied area, and the complex environment, which makes multiple demands on managers to be both business and socially focused makes it an ideal context in which to investigate manager identity work. The thesis proposes the concept of the ‘medial manager’ as any organisational actor who is both managed themselves and who manages others. Its focus therefore extends from first level supervisors or team leaders through middle managers to senior managers reporting to Executive Board level. It makes a number of contributions to knowledge. First, a conceptual model of medial manager identity is developed through reflexive abductive iteration between primary data and extant literature which allows underlying processes of identity work to be identified, and understanding of identity work to be developed in several ways. These include identifying three distinct but inter-dependent phases of identity work, identifying key affording and constraining factors which help to explain different responses to subject positions by managers, and a more detailed understanding of the role of narrative in identity work. Second, the thesis adds to our understanding of managers. It reveals that the tensions between different interests commonly attributed to the middle manager role are also part of the daily experience of managers at other levels, and perhaps especially at team leader level. Third, the thesis makes a methodological contribution by developing a method of story elicitation and narrative analysis which is shown to be capable of revealing rich and granular detail into the workplace identities and processes of identity work accomplished by medial managers.

Social housing, traditionally provided by not-for-profit (NFP) housing associations, has become increasingly competitive as exchequer subsidy has reduced and the market has opened up to the profit-making private sector. These changes have increased the need for housing associations to engage and collaborate with stakeholders. The author’s research examines stakeholder engagement and collaboration in One Vision Housing, a NFP housing association. A constructivist epistemology, based on an idealist ontology, using primarily inductive logic, is adopted through a case study methodology. Data is collected through interviews, focus groups, surveys, participant observation, direct observation and physical artefacts. The review of literature highlights the relationship between stakeholder theory, stakeholder management, organisational culture, organisational learning and knowledge management. The author has developed a conceptual model in respect of these relationships.