Professional Service Firms
Introduction
The Novak Druce Annual Conference on Professional Service Firms, Oxford, 27-29 Jun 2013; Deadline 18 Feb
THE NOVAK DRUCE ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON PROFESSIONAL SERVICE FIRMS
27 – 29 JUNE 2013, OXFORD
‘The Success and Failure of Professional Firms”
Call for Papers
The July 2013 conference on professional firms will take up the question of failure, and success, in professional service firms. Given the recent high-profile failure of investment banks, law firms, and accounting firms, the subject is not only topical but theoretically rich. Given that they are frequently partnerships, professional service firms may define success and failure both in economic and non-economic ways that go beyond the demands of the commercial marketplace. Just what contributes to the virtuous cycle that defines success and the vicious cycle that too often results in failure?
This conference aims to advance our understanding of success and failure in professional services both theoretically and empirically. We welcome a variety of papers that examine success and failure in all professional service sectors. We are interested in scholarly papers that bridge disciplinary divides, and we invite organizational theorists, business historians, evolutionary economists, political scientists, strategists, experts in finance, geographers, and anthropologists to consider the topic of success and failure in profession services. We encourage studies which are concerned with (but not limited to) the following questions:
- How should we define success or failure in professional services? Does failure contribute to ultimate success, and can success itself lead to a form of hubris that will result in failure?
- How does one predict success within professional service firms? How is success perceived, managed, and monitored?
- Which structures, culture, and strategies are associated with success and with the converse of failure within professional service firms?
- Are success and failure largely driven by the external environment or the strategic decisions within professional firms?
- What role do clients play in the failure or success of professional firms? How are clients affected by the success or failure of PSFs?
- How have entrepreneurial cycles, technological booms, and economic downturns contributed to the success and failure of firms?
- How do financial instruments and insurance help professional firms and what risks do they pose?
- How have networks precipitated and contained the success and failure of professional firms?
- How might we better contextualize success and failure of professional firms, through economic, political, and historical analysis?
We welcome contributions from a range of disciplines and academic perspectives on the topic – please do not limit yourself simply to the questions that we have proposed.
Submissions
Please send an abstract of approximately 1000 words to Camilla Stack at camilla.stack@sbs.ox.ac.uk by Monday, 18 February 2013. Abstracts will be reviewed and decisions made in March 2013.
The Journal of Professions and Organization
In conjunction with the forthcoming conference, we are delighted to announce the launch of the Journal of Professions and Organization (JPO) by Oxford University Press. The conference will serve as the launch event for JPO, which seeks to establish itself as the premier journal in the area of professional service firm research. The JPO editors will attend the conference and make a brief presentation to introduce the journal and answer questions. We will circulate additional information once the JPO website is up and running, but until then prospective authors are welcome to contact the editors, David Brock (dmb@bgu.ac.il), Hüseyin Leblebici, (hleblebi@illinois.edu) and Daniel Muzio (daniel.muzio@mbs.ac.uk) to learn more.
Additional Information
There is no fee for registration, accommodation or dinner for those who are invited to attend, but delegates will be expected to cover their own travel costs. Further information will be made available to delegates via the conference website in early 2013.
Dr Christopher McKenna
Director, Novak Druce Centre for Professional Service Firms
Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
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