Strategy-as-practice in Irish construction professional service firms

Much has been said around the dynamics/process of competition and gaining business advantage within the construction sector; however, much less investigation has gone into the practice-based elements of firms in the construction sector, particularly high knowledge-intensive professional service firms (PSFs). The strategy-as-practice viewpoint is one of the most recent approaches to strategic management, which focuses on the people, practices and praxis elements of organisations. There is a lack of research on people within the construction industry who are the link between strategy practice (social, symbolic and material tools and processes) and praxis (how strategic activity is accomplished). These people form the critical link between organisational and extra-organisational levels, making them a critical element in strategic analysis. The realisation of strategic goals depends on these people, and for the strategy to be effective within construction organisations, it needs to be properly interpreted in the organisational context by these people. This study presents a unique strategy-as-practice lens of construction PSFs (architectural, engineering and surveying consultancies) using a sample of 27 Irish firms. The findings advance knowledge on the who (people) is involved in strategy within PSFs, what they engage in for strategising (practices) and how they achieve the same (praxis).