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Delivering 'effortless experience' across borders: Managing internal consistency in professional service firms

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  • Segal-Horn, Susan
  • Dean, Alison

Abstract

This article explores how professional service firms (PSFs) manage across borders. When clients require consistent services delivered across multiple locations, especially across borders, then firms need to develop an organization that is sufficiently flexible to be able to support such consistent service delivery. Our discussion is illustrated by the globalization process of law firms. We argue that the globalization of large corporate law firms primarily takes place in terms of investments in the development of protocols, processes and practices that enhance internal consistency such that clients receive an 'effortless experience' of the service across multiple locations worldwide. Over the longer term the ability to deliver such effortless experience is dependent upon meaningful integration within and across the firm. Firms that achieve this are building a source of sustainable competitive advantage.

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  • Segal-Horn, Susan & Dean, Alison, 2009. "Delivering 'effortless experience' across borders: Managing internal consistency in professional service firms," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 41-50, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:worbus:v:44:y:2009:i:1:p:41-50
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    Cited by:

    1. Yuliani Suseno & Ashly H. Pinnington, 2018. "Building social capital and human capital for internationalization: The role of network ties and knowledge resources," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 35(4), pages 1081-1106, December.
    2. Brauer, Matthias & Heitmann, Mark, 2013. "Antecedents and temporal dynamics of strategic divergence in multinational corporations: Evidence from Europe," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 110-121.
    3. Markus Reihlen & Sascha Albers & Tuulia Kewitz, 2009. "Internationalization as Strategic Change: The Case of Deutsche Treuhand-Gesellschaft," management revue - Socio-Economic Studies, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 20(2), pages 209-233.
    4. Karl Breunig & Katja Hydle, 2013. "Remote control: measuring performance for value creation and governance of globally distributed knowledge work," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 17(3), pages 559-582, August.
    5. Boussebaa, Mehdi, 2015. "Control in the multinational enterprise: The polycentric case of global professional service firms," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 50(4), pages 696-703.
    6. Brock, David M. & Hydle, Katja Maria, 2018. "Transnationality – Sharpening the Integration-Responsiveness vision in global professional firms," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 117-124.
    7. Faulconbridge, James R. & Muzio, Daniel, 2020. "Karl Polanyi on strategy: The effects of culture, morality and double-movements on embedded strategy," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    8. Breunig, Karl Joachim & Kvålshaugen, Ragnhild & Hydle, Katja Maria, 2014. "Knowing your boundaries: Integration opportunities in international professional service firms," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 49(4), pages 502-511.

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