Client–consultant interaction: Capturing social practices of professional service production

Nikolova, Natalia; Reihlen, Markus; Schlapfner, Jan-Florian

doi:10.1016/j.scaman.2009.05.004

Cited by 70 publications

(100 citation statements)

References 18 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…In particular, we focus on how a client portfolio becomes a source of ambidexterity through a process of attaining and using knowledge across the portfolio. This also advances the understanding of client portfolio management in the KIF literature, which has previously focused on the selection of appropriate clients (Bettencourt et al, 2002;Fosstenløkken et al, 2003;Skjolsvik et al, 2007) and the activities that generate knowledge (Nikolova et al, 2009;Reihlen and Nikolova, 2010), or sharing knowledge internally (Haas and Hansen, 2007;Hansen et al, 1999;Morris, 2001;Werr and Stjernberg, 2003). Our model provides a more complete image of these activities in KIFs, bringing them together as a process of attaining knowledge through a client portfolio and exploring and exploiting within and across those individual relationships and then adjusting this portfolio dynamically.…”

Section: < Insert Figure 2 Here >mentioning

confidence: 81%

Dynamic Client Portfolios as Sources of Ambidexterity: Exploration and Exploitation Within and Across Client Relationships

Bednarek¹,

Burke²,

Jarzabkowski³

et al. 2016

Long Range Planning

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper explains how dynamic client portfolios can be a source of ambidexterity (i.e. exploration and exploitation) for knowledge intensive firms (KIFs). Drawing from a unique qualitative dataset of firms in the global reinsurance market, we show how different types of client relationships underpin a dynamic client portfolio and become a source of ambidexterity for a KIF. We develop a process model to show how KIFs attain knowledge by segmenting their client portfolios, use that knowledge to explore and exploit within and across their client relationships, and dynamically adjust their client portfolios over time. Our study contributes to the literature on external sources of ambidexterity and dynamic management of client knowledge within KIFs.Keywords: Ambidexterity, client relationship management; knowledge intensive firms, strategic business relationship, exploration and exploitation Accepted for publication at Long Range Planning 2 IntroductionSince March's (1991) seminal work, the concept of organizational ambidexterity -the concurrent pursuit of exploitation, "the development of things already known", and exploration, the development of new knowledge (Levinthal and March, 1993, p. 105;Lavie et al., 2010) -has captured the imagination of organizational scholars. Ambidexterity is considered critical for organizational success and yet also extremely difficult to achieve within a single organization (Andriopoulos and Lewis, 2010;He and Wong, 2004;Raisch and Birkinshaw, 2008). In response to this recognized difficulty in achieving ambidexterity internally, interest in the role of external relationships in enabling ambidexterity has recently burgeoned, primarily with a focus on strategic alliances (e.g. Koza and Lewin, 1998;Lavie and Rosenkopf, 2006;Raisch and Birkinshaw, 2008;Rothaermel and Deeds, 2004). Yet, we still have much to learn about other external sources of ambidexterity, foremost among them client relationships. Initial studies highlight clients as sources of knowledge (Im and Rai, 2008), but tell us little about how knowledge is attained and used within and across client relationships to enable ambidexterity over time.The literature on knowledge-intensive firms (KIFs), by contrast, has developed some understanding of how firms can use client relationships for their own knowledge development (Bettencourt et al., 2002;Fosstenløkken et al., 2003;Skjolsvik et al. 2007). 1 Such KIFs critically rely on their ability to create, preserve and replenish a stock of valuable knowledge that they apply in their knowledge-based services (Alvesson, 1995;Moore and Birkinshaw, 1998;Starbuck, 1992;Von Nordenflycht, 2010). KIFs thus offer a useful context in which to study the potential of client relationships to fuel exploration and exploitation. Client knowledge can be a source of both exploration and exploitation within KIFs (He and Wong, 2005;Levinthal and March, 1993;Lavie et al., 2010); either refining existing knowledge, such as improving an existing solution, or 1 To maintain the authenticity of our data we ...

show abstract

Section: < Insert Figure 2 Here >mentioning

confidence: 81%

Dynamic Client Portfolios as Sources of Ambidexterity: Exploration and Exploitation Within and Across Client Relationships

Bednarek¹,

Burke²,

Jarzabkowski³

et al. 2016

Long Range Planning

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Indeed, an interpersonal 'fit' between the consultant and the client is considered a critical success factor in service provision (Fullerton & West, 1996, p. 41). Such a 'fit' is underpinned by trust, cooperation and informal interaction (Nikolova et al, 2009;Sturdy, Schwarz, & Spicer, 2006). The art of creating an interpersonal fit has become more important, as consultants have to make more effort to retain their clients, due to increasingly competitive environments (Nikolova et al, 2009).…”

Section: Informal Client Relationship Development and The Importance mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such a 'fit' is underpinned by trust, cooperation and informal interaction (Nikolova et al, 2009;Sturdy, Schwarz, & Spicer, 2006). The art of creating an interpersonal fit has become more important, as consultants have to make more effort to retain their clients, due to increasingly competitive environments (Nikolova et al, 2009). Recently, this shift has become even more pronounced: with many firms all offering similar high-quality services in a shrinking and sharply regulated market, social interaction emerges as a competitive distinction.…”

Section: Informal Client Relationship Development and The Importance mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In an effort to respond more competitively to client demands, service professionals are seeking to elevate their level of expertise and to enhance their interpersonal skills (Nikolova, Reihlen, & Schlapfner, 2009). These efforts are often manifested in the establishment of informal client relationships, aimed toward creating a mutual bond of trust with existing and potential clients (Taminiau, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Instrumental client relationship development among top-ranking service professionals

Taminiau

Ferguson

Moser

2016

The Service Industries Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Informal client contact forms a crucial part of the daily routine of service professionals, in particular among top-ranking professionals working for consultancy and accountancy firms. In this paper, we investigate how 34 service professionals develop informal client contact, by studying their networking styles. Our study shows many similarities in informal client contact between two groups of service professionals grouped by gender, but we also found subtle differences in what we coin instrumental and expressive relations. Contrary to gender stereotypes, we found that female service professionals tended toward instrumental networking styles, using professionalism and distance and allowing the high quality of their work compensate for network deficits, contingent upon their clients' gender. Male service professionals drew on expressive relations to develop emotional bonding with their male clients in particular, but nonetheless toward instrumental purposes. Our study contributes to service industries literature by theoretically and empirically establishing the different informal networking styles between top-ranking service professionals, and the role of emotional bonding in particular. In doing so, the paper helps to better understand the intricacies of informal client contact as a critical dimension of the professional services industry. ARTICLE HISTORY

show abstract

“…However, although it is considered that the activities of management consulting have obtained a considerable growth in terms of economic significance in recent years (Fincham & Clark, 2002) which consequently should have been translated into further research in this sector, truth is that these results have not been properly followed up with studies focusing on the level of relationships that are created and established between the parties involved in this process, considered by Nikolova, Reihlen and Schlapfner (2009), Hogg (2001, 2009), Fincham (1999Fincham ( , 2003 and Sturdy (1997) as a key factor of success in the development of projects in this sector.…”

Section: The Consulting Industrymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Importance of Relationships for the Produced Knowledge in the Sector of Management Consulting

Costa

Tavares²,

Miguel³

2013

jmr

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

While the management consulting industry has been largely linked to the knowledge produced within the disciplines of strategic management in the academic field, the truth is that very little literature is produced in terms of research in this area, while the researchers focused more on a set of static techniques to be applied in the development of this field of research concerns. This article seeks to bridge this gap as well, showing by example that the consultancy sector is a true field of opportunities for the study of relationships management. This presentation is thus the aim of contributing both theoretically and empirically in the area of relationships through research in the context of management consulting, trying to visualize how the relationships are manifested in a context of high involvement and personal contact, and what's the perception that must be taken into consideration by clients and consultants in terms of the benefits of their greater or lesser degree of involvement.

show abstract

Client–consultant interaction: Capturing social practices of professional service production

Cited by 70 publications

References 18 publications

Dynamic Client Portfolios as Sources of Ambidexterity: Exploration and Exploitation Within and Across Client Relationships

Dynamic Client Portfolios as Sources of Ambidexterity: Exploration and Exploitation Within and Across Client Relationships

Instrumental client relationship development among top-ranking service professionals

The Importance of Relationships for the Produced Knowledge in the Sector of Management Consulting

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About