Archetypal Change and the Professional Service Firm

Abstract

This chapter explores archetypal change in the context of professional service firms. To understand recent and ongoing changes in professional service firms, we briefly show how the professional archetype has evolved since the 1960s. We then present four theoretical models to describe processes by which institutionalized archetypes can change, and possibly coexist in the same field. Three professional archetypes are described, each in the context of historical development and the change model described earlier. At the one extreme is the traditional professional partnership; at the other the larger, multidisciplinary, corporate, global professional network, or GPN; in between is the “Star” form – relatively specialized, flatter structure, resisting significant growth, with fixations on excellence, and being the leader in a professional niche.

Citation

Brock, D.M., Powell, M.J. and (Bob) Hinings, C.R. (2007), "Archetypal Change and the Professional Service Firm", Pasmore, W.A. and Woodman, R.W. (Ed.) Research in Organizational Change and Development (Research in Organizational Change and Development, Vol. 16), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 221-251. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0897-3016(06)16007-3