In dit online opiniestuk zetten de auteurs uiteen hoe advocatenkantoren en andere professional service firms zich kunnen onderscheiden met hun marketingstrategie. Regels uit de klassieke marketingschool met de vier P's als uitgangspunt gelden niet voor de zakelijke dienstverlening op dezelfde manier. Zakelijke dienstverleners volgen een noodzakelijke code om aan de verwachtingen van hun klanten te voldoen. Die code zorgt ervoor dat marktleidende zakelijke dienstverleners er voor 90 procent hetzelfde uitzien als hun concurrenten en allemaal elkaars benchmark zijn. De resterende 10 procent waarin ze niet hetzelfde zijn als hun peers worden volledig bepaald door ‘zachte’, niet-meetbare kenmerken. De auteurs beschrijven vier abstracte begrippen, namelijk attitude, cultuur, imago en reputatie. Nu klanten diensten steeds gedifferentieerder inkopen, kunnen deze vier symbolen op verschillende momenten belangrijk zijn.
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The objective of this study is to shed light on the added value of the services of five disciplines in M&A advisory in the SME domain: accountants, bankers, business brokers, fiscalists and lawyers. Theory is inconclusive in the added value of advisory services and research on the subject is hardly available. RBV predicts direct benefits in using advisory services in M&A, leading to less obstacles in and directly after M&A or lagged effects on more renewal of the firm. The theory of structural holes, agency theory and management entrenchment theory on the other hand predict neutral or negative effect of advisory services in M&A. The dataset includes 899 mergers and acquisitions (1) completed before 2003; (2) with an acquirer having bought 100% of target shares or assets; (3) of German, Belgian or Dutch origin; (4) of non-listed firms; (5) where acquirer and target firm are not member of the same family. Using (M)ANOVA’s and controlling for the effects of more than one advisor involved, the outcomes show consistently that the M&A advisory services do not reduce obstacles like financing, misinformation and culture and staff problems during or immediately after M&A. Looking at lagged effects of advisory services in the period of two years after M&A strategic more renewal by innovation occurs if bankers, fiscalists and lawyers are involved. Involvement of accountants and business brokers on the other hand decrease renewal.
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This article focuses on how length of participation in professional youth work is associated with five outcome variables: prosocial skills, self-mastery, social network, civic participation (volunteering and organizing activities) and finding support from social care services. The study was designed as a longitudinal cohort study of four waves during a 16-month period, gathering the data of 1597 youngsters aged 10–24 who participated in Dutch professional youth work. The results show that, on average, youngsters who participated longer in youth work scored significantly higher on the outcome variables. Respondents did not show individual improvements on outcome variables over the period, but the results demonstrate a cautious positive trend over time in volunteering. Referring youngsters (33%) by youth workers to care services could prevent an exacerbation of existing problems. The results provide knowledge that legitimizes the role of professional youth workers and which can be used by them to improve the support of socially vulnerable youngsters in their personal development and social participation.
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The paper explores the process of early growth of entrepreneurial science-based firms. Drawing on case studies of British and Dutch biopharmaceutical R&D firms, we conceptualize the speed of early growth of science-based firms as the time it takes for the assembly (or combined development) of three types of critical resources - a functionally-diverse management team, early fundraising and development of technology. The development of these resources is an unfolding and interrelated process, the causal direction of which is highly ambiguous. We show the variety of paths used by science-based firms to access and develop these critical resources. The picture that emerges is that the various combinations of what we call "assisted" and "unassisted" paths combine to influence the speed of firm growth. We show how a wide range of manifestations of technology development act as signaling devices to attract funding and management, affecting the speed of firm development. We also show how the variety of paths and the speed of development are influenced by the national institutional setting.
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accepted abstract Quis14 conference Field findings show that value dimensions in legal services are functional, social and emotional. The last category emerges not only within but also outside the interaction with the lawyer. Recommendation of others or the trackrecord of lawyers for example, which play a role before or after the service, contribute to emotional values like trust and reassurance and help clients to reduce the perceived purchase risk, which is inherent to the nature of credence services. Also due to the credential character of legal services we conclude that not only professional skills but also service aspects as client involvement play an important role in the emergence of value because professional skills are difficult to judge even by routine buyers.
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Creative SMEs are heavily focusing on the creating process designing new products and services. Consequently, their managers tend to loose contact with crucial management issues. Especially their knowledge of the financial aspects of their business can be so limited that they fail to connect with the financial viability of their business, which can lead to serious business problems. This paper draws on a number of studies that examine the role of outsiders -contracted professional service providers- in relation to business success of SMEs. In the light of the potential growth of Flemish creative SMEs on international markets the question can be raised as to what extent outsiders, and more specifically financial service providers like accountants and banks, contribute to the export success of these firms. In this paper therefore the role played by accountants and banks was explored to solve export-related questions by small furniture designers in Flanders, Belgium. Export can be considered as the most successful growth and therefore raises interesting management issues for creative SMEs. Little is known about the content and intensity of services of accountants and bank employees in relation to export-related questions of owner-managers of small creative firms. In order to examine the fit between supply and demand the focus is on outsider contribution during six phases of export.
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In many Western welfare states, social work services that have traditionally been provided by paid employees are being replaced by family support, community support, informal networks and volunteering. For the field of social work, it is relevant to know what it matters to beneficiaries whether services are provided by volunteers or by paid employees. The central question of this article is therefore as follows: What are the differences between unpaid and paid social services for beneficiaries? The article is based on literature review and focus groups.Our results suggest that beneficiaries do experience some differences regarding the advantages of volunteer services for beneficiaries that can be summarized in three propositions: (1) Services provided by volunteers are more relational than are services provided by paid employees, and they are therefore perceived as more equal, flexible and sincere. (2) The effects of volunteer services for beneficiaries are not exclusively positive. (3) Although particular tasks may appear to be interchangeable to some extent, the relative advantages of a given task depend upon whether it is performed by a paid worker or by a volunteer. Additional research is needed in order to provide further validation.
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Looking at the trends in the four quarters of 2021, it is clear that (partial) lockdowns of sectors have been very bad news for business performance. Also not directly hit sectors like the care and service industry underperformed. The horeca, retail and cultural sectors were hit hardest by recurring lockdowns. Business services and technical professionals were more resilient. We have observed a strong decrease in sales, net margins, investment (willingness), solvability and entrepreneurial wages in periods of lockdown. They are (far) below the levels of the pre-Corona year 2019. Start-ups and the self-employed were the most vulnerable. The type of market in which entrepreneurs operate is of great importance. Turnover, net margins and entrepreneurial wages in the B2B markets are significantly higher than in the B2C markets. We were unable to establish any direct positive effects of the degree of digitization of businesses on net margins (Q2 special). Rather, the utilization of too many applications seems to deteriorate business performance. Entrepreneur digital skills are able to predict net margins better and positively. We will repeat this special in the near future as many businesses have only recently started to digitize. Entrepreneurs have lost their way in the forest of local, provincial, national and EU subsidies (Q3 special), halving the number of applications compared to 2015. Tax deduction programs seem far more effective than the dazzling diversity of subsidies. Owners of businesses with staff are especially willing to pay specialized advisors to detect and apply for subsidies on a “no cure, no pay” basis. There appears to be a strong link between the self-estimated sales skills of entrepreneurs and their turnover, and the short-term growth expectations (Q4 special). The more experienced and skilled in sales, the higher the quarterly turnover and the higher the growth expectation. However, 62% of entrepreneurs are unskilled or untrained in sales skills. And 30% of entrepreneurs indicate that they are not effective at selling. Overall, the lockdowns resulted in a growing number of entrepreneurs developing into marginal companies. Financial reserves, such as saved pensions and private/partner/family capital were depleted. Lockdowns also increased firm and private debts, which the majority of companies are unable to repay. Poverty is knocking at the door of many Dutch entrepreneurs and, even with the support of a partner income, only 4 out of 10 entrepreneurs earn a more than marginal living. Our main recommendations in the quarterly reports of 2021 are: 1. Strengthen the solvability of micro-businesses by converting tax debts in subordinate loans. 2. Pro-actively contact entrepreneurs to support them with support possibilities, (poverty alleviation) allowances and free coaching and sales, financial and digital training possibilities. 3. Start proactively discussing the viability of the firm and business model and possible ways to resolve debts. There is strong demand and shortages on the labor market, which makes this the perfect time to guide depleted entrepreneurs to (far) better paid jobs.
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Paperbijdrage conferentie EARLI SIG 14, 11-14 september 2018, Genève Universities of Applied Sciences (UAS) that offer Professional Studies (PS) are required to educate students to become starting professionals with research competence, that enable them to deal with challenging tasks that professionals face in a dynamic knowledge society (e.g. Heggen, Karseth, & Kyvik, 2010). To assess professional and research competence, students at UAS in the Netherlands mostly develop a professional product for an external bidder as their graduation project. The professional product is an artefact that is ideally representative for students’ future professions within a specific domain, e.g. a strategic advice within the economic domain (e.g. Losse, 2016). Due to the integrative and complex character of this task, supervision is essential and we thus need to understand what expertise supervisors need and which are good pedagogic strategies. However, little is known about graduation project supervision at UAS. This literature review aims at providing knowledge about graduation project supervision and at revealing what further inquiry on graduation project supervision should aim at, by answering the following questions: 1. What expertise do supervisors need and what is known about pedagogic strategies in graduation project supervision at UAS? 2. What should further inquiry after graduation project supervision at UAS aim at?
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Summary Project objectives This study fits into a larger research project on logistics collaboration and outsourcing decisions. The final objective of this larger project is to analyze the logistics collaboration decision in more detail to identify thresholds in these decisions. To reach the overall objectives, the first step is to get a clearer picture on the chemical and logistics service providers industry, sectors of our study, and on logistics collaboration in these sectors. The results of this first phase are presented in this report. Project Approach The study consists of two parts: literature review and five case studies within the chemical industry. The literature covers three topics: logistics collaboration, logistics outsourcing and purchasing of logistics services. The five case studies are used to refine the theoretical findings of the literature review. Conclusions Main observations during the case studies can be summarized as follows: Most analyzed collaborative relationships between shippers and logistics service providers in the chemical industry are still focused on operational execution of logistics activities with a short term horizon. Supply management design and control are often retained by the shippers. Despite the time and cost intensive character of a logistics service buying process, shippers tendering on a very regular basis. The decision to start a new tender project should more often be based on an integral approach that includes all tender related costs. A lower frequency of tendering could create more stability in supply chains. Beside, it will give both, shippers and LSPs, the possibility to improve the quality of the remaining projects. Price is still a dominating decision criterion in selecting a LSP. This is not an issue as long as the comparison of costs is based on an integral approach, and when shippers balance the cost criterion within their total set of criteria for sourcing logistics services. At the shippers' side there is an increased awareness of the need of more solid collaboration with logistics service providers. Nevertheless, in many cases this increased awareness does not actually result in the required actions to establish more intensive collaboration. Over the last years the logistics service providers industry was characterized by low profit margins, strong fragmentation and price competition. Nowadays, the market for LSPs is changing, because of an increasing demand for logistics services. To benefit from this situation a more pro-active role of the service providers is required in building stronger relationships with their customers. They should pay more attention on mid and long term possibilities in a collaborative relation, in stead of only be focused on running the daily operation.
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