Professional service firms hold a particular significance for organisational scholars. This is partly to do with the critical position that they occupy in the economic, social, and political realms, and partly because any developments in professional service firms can have far-reaching implications for the study of organisations more generally.

A working paper, Beyond received wisdom: An integrative perspective on organizing professionals by Laura Empson, Joseph P. Broschak (University of Arizona), and Huseyin Leblebici (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), contends that most existing studies of professional service firms are limited by focusing only on the firm itself. They neglect the fundamental role played by the individuals who enact their professional lives within the firm, and the clients and professional regulators who shape the context within which firms must operate.

Professor Laura Empson is the Director of the Centre for Professional Service Firms at Cass Business School.