Li, Y; Ning, Y; Rowlinson, S and Abankwa, D A (2019) Control modes and intensity in design consulting projects: Professionals as agents. In: Gorse, C and Neilson, C J (eds.) Proceedings of 35th Annual ARCOM Conference, 2-4 September 2019, Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, UK.
Abstract
Control as a primary project governance mechanism and a basic managerial function has been extensively utilized in almost any kinds of projects, as long as there exist principal-agent relationships. Prior studies have proven that control is an effective strategy in mainstream principal-agent relationships for principals to motivate their agents to behave in desired manners and deliver satisfactory outputs, such as client-contractor relationships. However, little is known about how principals configure control strategies in professional service projects where agents are professionals who have esoteric knowledge, distinctive service ethics, and desires for autonomy.This study aims to investigate how clients configure control strategies in design consulting projects where the designers are professionals, and the knowledge asymmetry may exist between clients and designers. Drawing upon agency theory and configurational perspective, twofold research objectives are proposed: (1) identifying determinants of control strategies which indicate both the necessity and feasibility of control in client-professional relationships; and (2) configuring control strategies to fit with multiple determinants from the configurational perspective.This study enriches the knowledge about control strategies in client-professional relationships and the application of the configurational perspective. Also, it delineates a particular type of principal-agent relationship of which agents are professionals to expand the application of agency theory. The implication for practice is informing clients on how to configure control strategies to fit with multiple determinants from a holistic perspective in design consulting projects. The fit between control strategies and determinants would contribute more to better design performance. The limitation of this study is that the investigation of configuring control strategies to fit with multiple determinants holistically still stays at the conceptual phase, which needs further empirical studies to validate the conceptual framework.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | client-professional relationship; control mode; control intensity; feasibility; necessity. |
| Index terms: | determinant, agent, professional relationships, agency, conceptual framework, investigation, empirical study, professional service, designer, drawing, strategy, ethics, governance |
| Subjects: | research methods, management, theoretical framing, sociology, business, organization, data collection methods, risk assessment, profession, practitioner, technical documentation, ethical practice |
| Topics: | Design Practice, Organizational Design, Research Practice, Business Strategy, Governance, Risk Management, Roles and Professions |
| Descriptive scope: | 4 PCTA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here