ÔProfessional service firms are critical agents of contemporary economies and understanding them has become a central focus of recent scholarship. This very timely and well organized Handbook brings together several leading scholars who explore how we might think and theorize about professional service firms and their entrepreneurial behaviours. The Handbook will become a key source for the growing community of researchers in this area.Õ Ð Royston Greenwood, University of Alberta, Canada ÔFor too long, both researchers and practitioners have presumed that professional service firms follow the status quo when they should better understand how these professionals set the rules for globalization. This Handbook reminds us that professionals are as much the shock-troops of capitalism as the multinational corporations that they serve. As this Handbook shows, the leading firms successfully compete with each other by fostering entrepreneurship and innovation in order to service an institutional system that undergirds the international economy.Õ Ð Christopher McKenna, University of Oxford, UK Professional services are increasingly seen as an important foundation for future economic growth and prosperity. Yet research on innovative and entrepreneurial processes in professional services has been surprisingly scarce. This Handbook provides a collection of original contributions from leading scholars outlining the current stock of knowledge in the area as well as providing directions for further research. The expert contributors discuss entrepreneurship and innovation from a number of different perspectives, including the entrepreneurial professional team, the entrepreneurial firm and the institutional environment. The first part of the book looks at the challenges of entrepreneurship specific to the professional service firm while the second explores the creation and exploitation of entrepreneurial opportunities in the professional service team. Part III turns to the organization and Part IV to the management and growth of the entrepreneurial professional service firm. The final part discusses the interplay between professions, firms and the institutional environment. Researchers, scholars and PhD students in the areas of entrepreneurship and professional service firms along with advanced students of management will find this volume of great value.

The rapid rise of knowledge-based economies has revolutionized the perceptions and practices of globalized business. Recent developments in engineering, electronics, and biotechnology have expanded the very definition of entrepreneurship in today’s international market, weaving discussions of enhanced connectivity and communication, environmental sustainability, and government policy changes into a complex, multidimensional conversation. The Handbook of Research of Entrepreneurship in the Contemporary Knowledge-Based Global Economy provides a comprehensive survey of the most recent developments in the field of entrepreneurship, highlighting their effects on information technology, business networking, knowledge production, distribution, and organization. This timely publication features extensive coverage of the fast-developing entrepreneurial field, illuminating recent technological, social, and strategic innovations in language that is accessible for a worldwide audience of business educators, researchers, and students. This authoritative text showcases research-based articles on entrepreneurship for knowledge economies; academic entrepreneurship; women and entrepreneurship; entrepreneurship education; organizational learning ability; innovations in industry, agriculture, and management; and the evolution of a new, all-inclusive corporate culture.

Over the past years, knowledge-intensive industries have gained significant importance as economic factor, giving rise to professional service firms (PSFs) such as law firms, accounting firms, or consultancies. Following this development, the research interest especially in the strategies pursued by PSFs has grown substantially. However, past research focused mainly on strategies of established, mature PSFs, leaving academics as well as potential entrepreneurs without guidance on what newly founded, entrepreneurial PSFs should pay attention to in order to ensure lasting competitive advantages. Based on an explorative grounded theory analysis of two outstanding commercial law firm spin-offs in Germany, this work advances the research in this field. In addition to a detailed case study report, it offers a comprehensive theoretical framework and argues that PSFs have to employ a set of seven specific entrepreneurial strategies – including for example service delivery, people development, and client acquisition strategies – in order to successfully manage the entrepreneurial phase. In providing examples for the growing PSF industry, the findings on commercial law firm spin-offs also inform entrepreneurship research in other professions

Professions are increasingly linked with enterprise at a number of interrelated levels. By considering the relationship of professions to the enterprise contexts in which they work, this book reveals the dilemmas posed to professional groups, and the opportunities and constraints that can arise in their organisational frameworks. Addressing both private and public sectors, this collection explores questions including: what are the implications for the culture, practices and identities of professions of working in enterprise contexts, including with increased globalisation? Are professions becoming more entrepreneurial in a knowledge economy? What are the tensions between professionalism and enterprise and how are these resolved? These are themes that are extremely important to professionals and their managers, especially with the rise of large-scale professional service firms serving corporate clients with truly global reach. This cutting-edge collection will be of interest to researchers, educators and advanced students studying professional behaviour in fields such as business studies, management, organisational analysis, public administration, political science, social policy and sociology, as well as students on focused programmes of professional study in fields such as health, law and social care.

This book is an important contribution to the field of international entrepreneurship. . . it provides a comprehensive account of internationalization strategies adopted by SMEs in a wide range of European countries, and by drawing on a number of empirical studies, it enriches the theory of SME internationalization with a new theoretical framework that can be useful for understanding the complexity of SME internationalization processes in Europe. Julia Korosteleva, Thunderbird International Business Review From Andorra to Wales with stops in more than 35 other European countries along the way, this comprehensive collection of articles is required reading for scholars interested in international entrepreneurship. It provides information on how entrepreneurs and their firms go international from virtually every country in Europe. This unique volume permits researchers to compare how the process of entrepreneurial internationalization is affected by differences in culture, location, technology, and other influences within Europe. Furthermore, the various authors consider a range of theoretically important issues, such as cooperation and trust, venture capital, research and development, learning, networks, and government policy. This book serves as an essential departure point from which scholars can embark on their study of international entrepreneurship in Europe. Benjamin M. Oviatt, Georgia State University, US This is a timely and interesting book that brings together some of the most insightful contributions on the internationalization of new ventures, with an emphasis on the European experiences. Assembling some of the best scholars, the book offers a distinctively European perspective one that deserves recognition, analysis, and discussion. I applaud the editors for doing such a masterful job in bringing a great group of researchers and ideas together. I highly recommend this book for any serious researcher and scholar. Shaker A. Zahra, University of Minnesota, US This remarkable book provides valuable contributions on how the process of SMEs internationalization is operating in 37 different European countries. Researchers in international entrepreneurship will find new materials for theorization. Numerous facets of international business are carefully documented by a great many well-known scholars. Also, given the variety of situations typical of the European small business sector, the book may prove to be helpful to small-scale entrepreneurs wishing to take steps towards internationalization. Overall, this coordinate work makes you realize why Europe is so fascinating. Jean-Jacques Obrecht, University Robert Schuman, Strasbourg, France This unique comparative study of the internationalization of small firms is a milestone in international business research. It compares the internationalization strategies of fast-growing firms across nearly forty different European countries. It shows that the growth trajectories of firms reflect the investing country s geographical location, natural resource endowments, legal and financial institutions and local culture. There are many important new insights to be gained from a careful study of this important new research resource. Mark Casson, University of Reading, UK This unique Handbook illustrates how entrepreneurs across Europe tackle internationalization. This timely and important book identifies patterns and builds a theory of international entrepreneurship in Europe. The contributors discuss the performances of SMEs on the road to internationalization. Each chapter emphasizes how the process of internationalization of SMEs operates, the challenges and opportunities that arise due to each country s specific political and economic situation, and their subsequent internationalization performance. These processes, challenges and performances can be understood through theories of international business and entrepreneurship. Although at times these theories cannot fully

In recent years, the global creative economy has experienced unprecedented growth. Considerable research has been conducted to determine what exactly the creative economy is, what occupations are grouped together as such, and how it is to be measured. Organizations on various scales, from the United Nations to local governments, have released ‘creative’ or ‘cultural’ economy reports, developed policies for creative urban renewal, and directed attention to creative placemaking – the purposeful infusion of creative activity into specific urban environments. Parallel to these research and policy interests, academic institutions and professional organizations have begun a serious discussion about training programs for future professionals in the creative and cultural industries. We now have entire colleges offering undergraduate and graduate programs, leading to degrees in arts management, arts entrepreneurship, cultural management, cultural entrepreneurship or cultural economics. And many professional organizations offer specialized training and certificates in cultural heritage, museums studies, entertainment and film. In this book, we bring together over fifty scholars from across the globe to shed light on what we collectively call ‘cultural entrepreneurship’ – the training of professionals for the creative industries who will be change agents and resourceful visionaries that organize cultural, financial, social and human capital, to generate revenue from a cultural and creative activity. Part I of this volume begins with the observation that the creative industries - and the cultural entrepreneurship generated within them - are a global phenomenon. An increasingly mobile, international workforce is moving cultural goods and services across national boundaries at unprecedented rates. As a result, the education of cultural professionals engaged in global commerce has become equally internationalized. Part II looks into the emergence of cultural entrepreneurship as a new academic discipline, and interrogates the theoretical foundations that inform the pedagogy and training for the creative industries. Design thinking, humanities, poetics, risk, strategy and the artist/entrepreneur dichotomy are at the heart of this discussion. Part III showcases the design of cultural entrepreneurship curricula, and the pedagogies employed in teaching artists and culture industry specialists. Our authors examine pedagogy and curriculum at various scales and in national and international contexts, from the creation of entire new schools to undergraduate/graduate programs. Part IV provides case studies that focus on industry- or sector-specific training, skills-based courses (information technology, social media, entrepreneurial competitions), and more. Part V concludes the book with selected examples of practitioner training for the cultural industries, as it is offered outside of academia. In addition, this section provides examples of how professionals outside of academia have informed academic training and course work. Readers will find conceptual frameworks for building new programs for the creative industries, examples of pedagogical approaches and skillsbased training that are based on research and student assessments, and concrete examples of program and course implementation.

Nearly half of small consultancies fail within their first five years, but over 250 are sold every month. How do you ensure you are in the right group? How can you successfully grow a consulting firm? How do you maximise the value of your consultancy for an exit or investment? This is the first evidence-based book to tackle these questions. Based upon interviews with 72 founders who grew and sold their firms, two international surveys, and a long career researching and advising consultancies, Professor Joe O’Mahoney provides a detailed, evidence-based approach to successful growth and exit for consultancy leaders. Accessible, evidence-based and written by a leading expert in the field, this book is essential reading for anyone looking to set up, grow or sell their own consultancy business.

Providing an overview of the marketing principles and tools that pertain to the area of heritage conservation services, this book combines research and practice to offer an alternative to the classical transactional marketing approach. Instead, the author argues for the relationship marketing approach, promoted and adopted by the Nordic School of Service Marketing. Offering a startlingly rare, but logical and practical marketing approach, this book also provides food for thought for academics dealing with managerial and marketing aspects in the field of cultural heritage and cultural heritage services.

This innovative volume provides a comprehensive overview of improvisation as a pervasive organizational process, essential in ever-changing business environments. Exploring theories of organizational action as well as contemporary challenges, it highlights improvisation’s rich potential in theory building and practice. The value and relevance of improvisational capabilities and processes in organizations are more apparent than ever: the global pandemic has forced organizations to reinvent themselves and to adapt to dramatic change on a massive scale. This surge in improvised activity starkly illustrates how the capability to improvise is key to organizational resilience: organizations that are able to improvise effectively are better prepared to bounce back and even thrive. From the latest thinking on improvisation in organizations to future avenues for research, this volume demonstrates the rich potential for both theory building and practice and provides a valuable resource for researchers and advanced students in organizational strategy, entrepreneurship, product development, information systems, disaster management, and HRM.

The Oxford Handbook of Professional Service Firms discusses firms providing services in the traditional professions such as law, accounting, and architecture as well as newer sectors such as, management consulting, advertising, and engineering. It provides a critical overview of contemporary research on PSFs, and suggests avenues of future inquiry.