Constructing project business around professional identity: business model strategizing of architectural firms

Creative professional service firms experience difficulties in establishing healthy and sustainable business models, as they must reconcile the often competing value systems upon which the models are based. They continuously negotiate between professional values and beliefs and the firm’s commercia...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Marina Bos -de Vos, Kristina Lauche, Leentje Volker
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Delft University of Technology 2018-12-01
Series:A+BE: Architecture and the Built Environment
Online Access:https://aplusbe.eu/index.php/p/article/view/89
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849221830431211520
author Marina Bos -de Vos
Kristina Lauche
Leentje Volker
author_facet Marina Bos -de Vos
Kristina Lauche
Leentje Volker
author_sort Marina Bos -de Vos
collection DOAJ
description Creative professional service firms experience difficulties in establishing healthy and sustainable business models, as they must reconcile the often competing value systems upon which the models are based. They continuously negotiate between professional values and beliefs and the firm’s commercial goals, resulting in struggles between identity and strategy. Adopting a work lens, this study investigates the reciprocal tensions between identity and strategy in 17 business model design workshops with members of architectural firms. Observational data show that practitioners collaboratively construct their business models around professional values, thereby strengthening organizational identity, but constraining innovation in their business models. The research contributes to the body of literature on business model design processes by articulating how professional aspects of identity enable and constrain practitioners in shaping and being shaped by their strategic actions and decisions.
format Article
id doaj-art-d3e88f7dbd7d487ba92d02777600863e
institution Kabale University
issn 2212-3202
2214-7233
language English
publishDate 2018-12-01
publisher Delft University of Technology
record_format Article
series A+BE: Architecture and the Built Environment
spelling doaj-art-d3e88f7dbd7d487ba92d02777600863e2025-08-26T11:32:04ZengDelft University of TechnologyA+BE: Architecture and the Built Environment2212-32022214-72332018-12-0113Constructing project business around professional identity: business model strategizing of architectural firmsMarina Bos -de Vos0Kristina Lauche1Leentje Volker2TU Delft, Architecture and the Built EnvironmentRadboud UniversiteitTU Delft, Architecture and the Built Environment Creative professional service firms experience difficulties in establishing healthy and sustainable business models, as they must reconcile the often competing value systems upon which the models are based. They continuously negotiate between professional values and beliefs and the firm’s commercial goals, resulting in struggles between identity and strategy. Adopting a work lens, this study investigates the reciprocal tensions between identity and strategy in 17 business model design workshops with members of architectural firms. Observational data show that practitioners collaboratively construct their business models around professional values, thereby strengthening organizational identity, but constraining innovation in their business models. The research contributes to the body of literature on business model design processes by articulating how professional aspects of identity enable and constrain practitioners in shaping and being shaped by their strategic actions and decisions. https://aplusbe.eu/index.php/p/article/view/89
spellingShingle Marina Bos -de Vos
Kristina Lauche
Leentje Volker
Constructing project business around professional identity: business model strategizing of architectural firms
A+BE: Architecture and the Built Environment
title Constructing project business around professional identity: business model strategizing of architectural firms
title_full Constructing project business around professional identity: business model strategizing of architectural firms
title_fullStr Constructing project business around professional identity: business model strategizing of architectural firms
title_full_unstemmed Constructing project business around professional identity: business model strategizing of architectural firms
title_short Constructing project business around professional identity: business model strategizing of architectural firms
title_sort constructing project business around professional identity business model strategizing of architectural firms
url https://aplusbe.eu/index.php/p/article/view/89
work_keys_str_mv AT marinabosdevos constructingprojectbusinessaroundprofessionalidentitybusinessmodelstrategizingofarchitecturalfirms
AT kristinalauche constructingprojectbusinessaroundprofessionalidentitybusinessmodelstrategizingofarchitecturalfirms
AT leentjevolker constructingprojectbusinessaroundprofessionalidentitybusinessmodelstrategizingofarchitecturalfirms