Portrait of Professor Laura Empson

Professor Laura Empson

Professor of the Management of Professional Service Firms

Bayes Business School, Faculty of Management

Contact

Visit Laura Empson

Room BR4080, Bunhill Row

Postal address

Bayes Business School
106 Bunhill Row
London
EC1Y 8TZ
United Kingdom

About

Overview

For regular updates on my research activities please see my personal website https://www.lauraempson.com.

Current roles:
Professor in the Management of Professional Service Firms
Director of Centre for Professional Service Firms
Head of Group for Organizational Behaviour/HRM
Senior Research Fellow, Harvard Law School

I have dedicated more than 25 years to researching professionals, professional work, and professional service firms. Funded through a series of research council awards from the ESRC and the EU, my research encompasses themes as varied as: leadership and governance; culture and identity; professionalisation of management; mergers and acquisitions; knowledge management and innovation; professional careers and diversity. I have also developed a series of autoethnographic publications about doing impactful research and the challenges of crossing the research-practice divide. I have published three books with Oxford University Press and dozens of articles in leading international academic journals, some of which have been reprinted as “classics”.

I have received numerous awards and marks of recognition for my academic work. In 2020 I was invited to become a founder member of the Strategic Advisory Board of the Journal of Management Studies and also to give the keynote address at the British Academy of Management Conference. I have raised over £1,000,000 in external funding, approximately 50% from research councils to fund my research, and 50% from corporate donors to support my research centres at Bayes and Oxford. I am an Editorial Board Member of Organization Studies, the Journal of Management Studies, and the Journal of Professional Organizations, as well as a Member of the ESRC's Peer Review College.

I am committed to doing research that has practitioner impact; I also act as a government advisor and non-executive director. I am currently a member of the Stakeholder Advisory Group for the Financial Reporting Council. In 2020 I launched the highly successful podcast series “Leading Professional People”. In 2019 I was nominated for the Thinkers 50 Leadership Award and also advised the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority on their Review of the Audit Sector. In 2018 I made a documentary for BBC Radio Four about my research. From 2013 to 2016 I served on the Board of KPMG LLP as an Independent Non-Executive and Chair of the Public Interest Committee. In addition to my series of articles in Harvard Business Review, I regularly contribute to the Financial Times and other leading business publications.

At Bayes Business School I have multiple teaching and leadership responsibilities. I teach the MBA modules on “Organizational Behaviour” and “Succeeding in Professional and Financial Services”. I supervise several PhD students and teach the PhD programme. I am founder and Director of the Centre for Professional Service Firms; Group Head for Organizational Behaviour/ HRM; and Co-leader of Bayes Academic Women. Until recently I was a member of the business school’s Executive Committee.

Before joining Bayes (then Cass) I was Associate Professor (Reader) at the University of Oxford’s Said Business School and Fellow of St Anne’s College. At Oxford I directed the Clifford Chance Centre for Professional Service Firms and established and organised the annual Professional Service Firms conference. I joined Oxford from London Business School, where I completed my PhD and MBA. Before becoming an academic, I worked as an investment banker and strategy consultant. My first degree was in Economics from University College, London.

Qualifications

  • PhD, London Business School, UK
  • MBA, London Business School, UK
  • BSc Econ, University College London, UK

Visiting appointments

  • Senior Research Fellow, Harvard Law School, Sep 2016 – present
  • Visiting Professor, University of Navarra, Jan 2012 – Dec 2014

Expertise

Primary topics

  • Knowledge Management
  • Change Management
  • Mergers & Acquisitions
  • Leadership
  • Organization Theory
  • Organizational Behaviour
  • Organizational Culture
  • Management
  • Management Consulting

Industries

  • accountancy firms
  • investment banking
  • legal services
  • management consulting
  • professional services

Research

Research topics

Leadership dynamics in professional services firms

Collegiality and control in professional partnerships

Hybrid working and professional work

Paraprofessionals and liminal careers

Power and politics among elite professionals

1st supervisor

Research students

2nd supervisor

  • Szilvia Mosonyi, Research Student

Inka Luhrs

Attendance: Sep 2021 – present

Thesis title: New business models in law firms

Role: 1st Supervisor

Veronika Voinovian

Attendance: Sep 2020 – present

Thesis title: Cross cultural practices in professional services firms

Role: 1st Supervisor

Debjyoti Chakravorty

Attendance: Sep 2020 – present

Thesis title: Knowledge, idenity, and power in offshoring professional work

Role: 1st Supervisor

Edwin Lee

Attendance: Sep 2015 – present

Thesis title: Innovation practices in law firm partnerships

Role: 1st Supervisor

Publications

Books (4)

  1. Empson, L., Muzio, D., Broschak, J. and Hinings, B. (Eds.), (2017). Oxford Handbook of Professional Service Firms (Paperback edition). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  2. Empson, L. (2017). Leading Professionals Power, Politics, and Prima Donnas. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-874478-8.
  3. Empson, L., Hinings, R., Muzio, D. and Broschak, J. (2015). The Oxford Handbook of Professional Service Firms. Oxford University Press, USA. ISBN 978-0-19-968239-3.
  4. Empson, L. (Ed.), (2007). Managing the modern law firm: New challenges, new perspectives. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-929674-3.

Chapters (18)

  1. Empson, L. (2017). My liminal life: Perpetual journeys across the research-practice divide. In Bartunek, J. and McKenzie, J. (Eds.), Academic practitioner research partnerships: Developments, complexities and opportunities Routledge.
  2. Ashley, L. and Empson, L. (2016). Explaining social exclusion and the ‘war for talent’ in the UK’s elite professional service firms. Diversity in Practice (pp. 114–138). Cambridge University Press.
  3. Empson, L. and Langley, A. (2015). Leadership and Professionals: Multiple Manifestations of Influence in Professional Service Firms. In Empson, L., Muzio, D., Broschak, J. and Hinings, B. (Eds.), Oxford Handbook of Professional Service Firms Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  4. Empson, L., Muzio, D., Broschak, J. and Hinings, B. (2015). Researching Professional Service Firms: An Introduction and Overview. In Empson, L., Muzio, D., Broschak, J. and Hinings, B. (Eds.), Oxford Handbook of Professional Service Firms Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  5. Empson, L. (2015). Leadership, Power, and Politics in Law Firms. In Normand-Hochman, R. and Gardner, H. (Eds.), Leadership for Lawyers (pp. 89–102). Globe Law and Business in association with the International Bar Association. ISBN 978-1-909416-78-9.
  6. Empson, L. (2014). My Affair with the “Other”: Identity Journeys across the Research-Practice Divide. In Bell, E. and Willmott, H. (Eds.), Qualitative Research in Business and Management (4 volumes) Sage. ISBN 978-1-4462-8744-6.
  7. Empson, L. (2012). Fear of Exploitation and Fear of Contamination: Impediments to Knowledge Transfer in Mergers Between Professional Service Firms (2001 Reprint). In Avakian, S. and Clark, T. (Eds.), Management Consulting Edward Elgar Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84720-910-8.
  8. Empson, L. (2012). Beyond dichotomies: A multi-stage model of governance in professional service firms. In Reihlen, M. and Werr, A. (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Entrepreneurship in Professional Services Edward Elgar Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84844-626-7.
  9. Empson, L. (2008). Professional Service Firms. In Clegg, S. and Bailey, J.R. (Eds.), International Encyclopedia of Organization Studies (pp. 1311–1315). Sage. ISBN 978-1-4129-1515-1.
  10. Empson, L. (2008). Professions. In Clegg, S. and Bailey, J.R. (Eds.), International Encyclopedia of Organization Studies Sage. ISBN 978-1-4129-1515-1.
  11. Empson, L. (2007). Your partnership - Surviving and thriving in a changing world: the special nature of partnership. In Empson, L. (Ed.), Managing the Modern Law Firm: New Challenges, New Perspectives (pp. 10–36). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-958964-X.
  12. Empson, L. (2007). Wrestling with the intangible: Creating value in knowledge-based mergers. In Angwin, D. (Ed.), Images of mergers and acquisitions: A multidisciplinary perspective Blackwell.
  13. Empson, L. (2006). Professionals in partnership. In Craig, J. (Ed.), Production Values: Futures of Professionalism Demos.
  14. Empson, L. and Chapman, C. (2006). Partnership versus corporation: implications of alternative forms of governance in professional service firms. In Greenwood, R. and Suddaby, R. (Eds.), Professional Service Firms (Research in the Sociology of Organizations, Volume 24) (pp. 139–170). Emerald Group. ISBN 978-0-7623-1302-0.
  15. Empson, L. (2006). Professionals in Partnership. Production values: Futures of Professionalism Demos.
  16. Empson, L. (2000). Lessons from professional service firms. In Dickson, T. (Ed.), Mastering Strategy Financial Times/Pitman Publishing.
  17. Empson, L. (2000). The challenge of managing knowledge. In Dickson, T. (Ed.), Mastering Strategy Financial Times/Pitman Publishing.
  18. Empson, L. (2000). Mergers between professional service firms: Exploring an undirected process of integration. Advances in Mergers and Acquisitions (Volume 1) (pp. 205–237). Emerald. ISBN 978-0-7623-0683-1.

Conference papers and proceedings (35)

  1. Gustafsson, S. and Empson, L. (2018). Climbing invisible walls: The construction of career (im)mobility in liminal professional roles.
  2. Empson, L. (2012). Complexity leadership and professional service firms: When everyone and no one is a leader. European Group for Organization Studies Aalto University & Hanken School of Economics, Helsinki, Finland.
  3. Ashley, L. and Empson, L. (2012). Convenient Fiction or Inconvenient Truth? Making sense of the �Business Case� for gender diversity in the UK�s leading accountancy firms. European Group for Organization Studies Aalto University & Hanken School of Economics, Helsinki, Finland.
  4. Empson, L., Cleaver, I. and Allen, J. (2011). Management professionals and managing partners: Institutional entrepreneurship in professional partnerships. European Group for Organization Studies Gothenburg University, Sweden.
  5. Empson, L. (2011). Navigating ambiguity: Collective leadership processes in professional service firms. Academy of Management San Antonio, Texas.
  6. Ashley, L.E. and Empson, L. (2011). Differentiation and discrimination: Understanding social class and social exclusion in the UK's leading law firms. EGOS - Reassembling Organizations Gothenburg, Sweden.
  7. Empson, L. (2010). Evolution and revolution in the governance of law firms. Law firm evolution: Brave new world or business as usual University of Georgetown: Washington.
  8. Empson, L. (2010). Navigating ambiguity: Collective leadership processes in professional service firms. Academy of Management Montreal.
  9. Empson, L. (2010). Navigating ambiguity: Collective leadership processes in professional service firms. European Group for Organization Studies Conference Lisbon.
  10. Empson, L. (2009). Beyond dichotomies: A multi-stage model of governance in professional service firms. European Group for Organization Studies Conference Barcelona.
  11. Empson, L. (2009). Changing power dynamics in professional service firms. Academy of Management Chicago.
  12. Empson, L. (2009). Partnership: Meaning and metaphor. Future of large law firms Harvard Law School.
  13. Empson, L., Broschack, J. and Leblebici, H. (2008). Beyond received wisdom: An integrative perspective on organising professionals. European Group for Organization Studies Conference Amsterdam.
  14. Empson, L. (2008). Partnership matters. Symposium on the legal profession Georgetown University.
  15. Empson, L., Broschak, J. and Leblebici, H. (2007). Beyond received wisdom: Professionals and professional service firms. Academy of Management (OMT and BPS Divisions) Philadelphia.
  16. Empson, L. (2007). My affair with the �other�: The interpenetration of research and practice. Organization Studies Summer Workshop Crete.
  17. Empson, L. (2006). Professionals in partnership: Continuity and change. Professions and the knowledge-based economy conference Lancaster University.
  18. Empson, L. (2006). Surviving and thriving in a changing world: The special nature of partnership. European Group for Organization Studies Conference Bergen.
  19. Alvesson, M. and Empson, L. (2006). The construction of organizational identity: Comparative case studies of consulting firms. Academy of Management Conference (OMT Division) Atlanta.
  20. Empson, L. and Chapman, C. (2005). Partnership versus corporation: Implications of alternative forms of governance for managerial authority and organizational priorities in professional service firms. Academy of Management Conference (OMT Division) Honolulu.
  21. Chapman, C. and Empson, L. (2005). Performance measures, pay, and accountability: A comparison of two professional service firms. European Accounting Association Conference Gothenberg.
  22. EMPSON, L. (2004). ORGANIZATIONAL IDENTITY CHANGE: MANAGERIAL REGULATION AND MEMBER IDENTIFICATION IN AN ACCOUNTING FIRM ACQUISITION.
  23. Empson, L. (2003). Changing organizational identity: Identity regulation and re-identification in an accounting firm acquisition. European Group for Organization Studies Conference Copenhagen.
  24. Empson, L. and Chapman, C. (2003). Consequences of changing forms of governance for the management of professional service firms: Emerging themes. Cllifford Chance Conference on Professional Service Firms University of Oxford.
  25. Empson, L. and Chapman, C. (2002). Implications of alternative forms of governance in Professional Service Firms. Professional Service Firms Conference University of Alberta.
  26. Empson, L. (2002). Organizational identity in accounting firms: Continuity and change post acquisition. EURAM Conference Stockholm.
  27. Greenwood, R. and Empson, L. (2002). The professional partnership: Relic or exemplary form of governance. European Group for Organization Studies Conference Barcelona.
  28. Empson, L. (2000). The triumph of commercialism: Mergers between accounting firms and the transformation of the professional archetype. Academy of Management Conference (OMT Division) Toronto.
  29. Empson, L. (1999). Fear of association and fear of contamination: Exploring impediments to knowledge transfer in mergers between professional service firms. Professional Service Firms Conference University of Alberta.
  30. Empson, L. (1999). Phoney wars and high school dances: The evolving process of integration in mergers between professional service firms. Academy of Management Conference (OMT Division) Chicago.
  31. Empson, L. (1999). The twin fears: Knowledge transfer in mergers between professional service firms. Professional Service Firms in Transition Conference London School of Economics.
  32. Empson, L. (1997). Impediments to knowledge transfer in mergers between knowledge-based organizations. Academy of Management Conference (BPS Division) Boston.
  33. Empson, L. and Morris, T. (1997). When knowledge is power: Knowledge transfer and mergers between professional service firms. Modes of Organizing Conference University of Warwick.
  34. Empson, L. (1996). Managing successful knowledge-based mergers and acquisitions: Overcoming impediments to integration. British Academy of Management Conference Birmingham.
  35. Empson, L. (1996). Merging professional service firms: How the distinctive organizational characteristics influence the process of value creation. Strategic Management Society Conference Arizona.

Journal articles (25)

  1. Empson, L., Langley, A. and Sergi, V. (2023). When Everyone and No One is a Leader: Constructing individual leadership identities while sustaining an organizational narrative of collective leadership. Organization Studies, 44(2), pp. 201–227. doi:10.1177/01708406221135225.

    [publisher’s website]

  2. Empson, L. and Howard-Grenville, J. (2021). How Has the Past Year Changed You and Your Organization? Harvard Business Review, HBR on-line(https://hbr.org/2021/03/how-has-the-past-year-changed-you-and-your-organization).
  3. Empson, L. (2021). Researching the post‐pandemic professional service firm: Challenging our assumptions. Journal of Management Studies. doi:10.1111/joms.12697.
  4. Empson, L. and Alvehus, J. (2020). Collective Leadership Dynamics among Professional Peers: Co-constructing an unstable equilibrium. Organization Studies, 41(9), pp. 1234–1256. doi:10.1177/0170840619844291.

    [publisher’s website]

  5. Empson, L. (2020). The Emperor’s New Clothes: How Our Fear of Seeming Stupid Became a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 19(2), pp. 227–229. doi:10.5465/amle.2020.0121.

    [publisher’s website]

  6. Mosonyi, S., Empson, L. and Gond, J. (2020). Management Consulting: Towards an Integrative Framework of Knowledge, Identity, and Power. International Journal of Management Reviews, 22(2), pp. 120–149. doi:10.1111/ijmr.12218.

    [publisher’s website]

  7. Empson, L. (2019). Ambiguous authority and hidden hierarchy: Collective leadership in a professional service firm. Leadership. doi:10.1177/1742715019886769.
  8. Empson, L. (2019). How to lead your fellow rainmakers: Collectively, dynamically- and very carefully. Harvard Business Review, March-April, pp. 114–123.
  9. Costas, J., Ekman, S., Empson, L., Kärreman, D. and Muhr, S.L. (2018). Working time regimes: A panel discussion on continuing problems. German Journal of Human Resource Management: Zeitschrift für Personalforschung, 32(3-4), pp. 271–282. doi:10.1177/2397002218791389.

    [publisher’s website]

  10. Lupu, I., Spence, C. and Empson, L. (2018). When the past comes back to haunt you: The enduring influence of upbringing on the work–family decisions of professional parents. Human Relations, 71(2), pp. 155–181. doi:10.1177/0018726717708247.

    [publisher’s website]

  11. Empson, L. (2018). If you're so successful why are you still working 70 hours a week? Harvard Business Review, (February).
  12. Empson, L. (2017). Elite interviewing in professional organizations. Journal of Professions and Organization. doi:10.1093/jpo/jox010.
  13. Ashley, L. and Empson, L. (2016). Convenient fictions and inconvenient truths: Dilemmas of diversity at three leading accountancy firms. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 35, pp. 76–87. doi:10.1016/j.cpa.2015.05.002.

    [publisher’s website]

  14. Ashley, L. and Empson, L. (2016). Understanding social exclusion in elite professional service firms: Field level dynamics and the 'professional project'. Work, Employment & Society, 31(2), pp. 211–229. doi:10.1177/0950017015621480.
  15. Lupu, I. and Empson, L. (2015). Illusio and overwork: playing the game in the accounting field. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 28(8), pp. 1310–1340. doi:10.1108/aaaj-02-2015-1984.

    [publisher’s website]

  16. Empson, L., Cleaver, I. and Allen, J. (2013). Managing partners and management professionals: Institutional work dyads in professional partnerships. Journal of Management Studies, 50(5), pp. 808–844. doi:10.1111/joms.12025.
  17. Empson, L. (2013). My Affair With the "Other": Identity Journeys Across the Research-Practice Divide. Journal of Management Inquiry, 22(2), pp. 229–248. doi:10.1177/1056492612446068.
  18. Ashley, L. and Empson, L. (2013). Differentiation and discrimination: Understanding social class and social exclusion in leading law firms. Human Relations, 66(2), pp. 219–244. doi:10.1177/0018726712455833.
  19. Alvesson, M. and Empson, L. (2008). The construction of organizational identity: Comparative case studies of consulting firms. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 24(1), pp. 1–16. doi:10.1016/j.scaman.2007.10.001.
  20. Empson, L. (2004). Organizational identity change: managerial regulation and member identification in an accounting firm acquisition. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 29(8), pp. 759–781. doi:10.1016/j.aos.2004.04.002.

    [publisher’s website]

  21. Greenwood, R. and Empson, L. (2003). The professional partnership: Relic or exemplary form of governance? Organization Studies, 24(6), pp. 909–933.
  22. Empson, L. (2001). Fear of exploitation and fear of contamination: Impediments to knowledge transfer in mergers between professional service firms. Human Relations: Knowledge management in professional service firms (Special Issue), 54(7), pp. 839–862.
  23. Empson, L. (2001). Knowledge management in professional service firms. Human Relations: Knowledge management in professional service firms (Special Issue), 54(7), pp. 811–818.
  24. Empson, L. (2000). Merging Professional Service Firms. Business Strategy Review, 11(2), pp. 39–46. doi:10.1111/1467-8616.00136.

    [publisher’s website]

  25. Morris, T. and Empson, L. (1998). Organization and expertise: An exploration of knowledge bases and the management of accounting and consulting firms. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 23(5-6), pp. 609–624.

Professional activities

Editorial activity (5)

  1. Journal of Professions and Organizations, Member of Editorial Board, 2013 – present.
  2. ESRC Peer Review College (Academic Member), Member of Editorial Board, 2012 – present.
  3. Journal of Management Studies, Member of Editorial Board, 2008 – present.
  4. Organization Studies, Member of Editorial Board, 2006 – present.
  5. Journal of Management Inquiry, Member of Editorial Board, 2003 – 2007.

Events/conferences (83)

  1. Leadership, Power, and Professionals. (Conference) London (2016). Chair.
  2. Harvard Law School Seminar Series. (Seminar) Cambridge MA (2016). Invited speaker.
    Paper: Co-constructing plural leadership dynamics among professional peers
    Author: Empson L
    Co-authors: Johan Alvehus
  3. Boston College Seminar Series. (Seminar) Boston (2016). Invited speaker.
    Paper: Ambiguous authority and hidden hierarchy: collective leadership dynamics in a professional service firm
    Author: Empson L
  4. EGOS. (Conference) Naples (2016).
    Paper: Brothers, fathers, and friends: Collective leadership dynamics in a professional partnership
    Author: Empson L
  5. Academy of Management. (Conference) Los Angeles (2016).
    Paper: Co-constructing plural leadership dynamics among professional peers
    Author: Empson L
    Co-authors: Johan Alvehus
  6. Academy of Management. (Conference) Los Angeles (2016).
    Paper: Managing paradoxes at the research-practice interface: A boundary management framework
    Author: Gond JP
    Co-authors: Cabantous, L
  7. Academy of Management. (Conference) Los Angeles (2016).
    Paper: My liminal life: Perpetual journeys across the research-practice divide
    Author: Empson Laura
  8. Newcastle Business School Seminar. (Seminar) (2015).
    Paper: The co-construction of leadership among professional peers
    Author: Empson L
    Co-authors: Johan Alvehus
  9. HEC Montreal Seminar Series. (Seminar) Montreal (2015). Invited speaker.
    Paper: Co-constructing plural leadership dynamics among professional peers
    Author: Empson L
    Co-authors: Johan Alvehus
  10. Pluralistic perspectives of leadership and leadership development. (Conference) Henley Business School (2015).
    Paper: The co-construction of leadership among professional peers
    Author: Empson L
    Co-authors: Johan Alvehus
  11. Academy of Management Meeting. (Conference) Vancouver (2015).
    Paper: Professional Service Firms: New Developments and Directions
    Author: Empson L
  12. Academy of Management Meeting. (Conference) Vancouver (2015).
    Paper: Illusio and overwork: Playing the game in the accounting field
    Author: Lupu L
    Co-authors: Laura Empson
  13. McGill University Seminar Series. (Seminar) Montreal (2014). Invited speaker.
    Paper: Co-constructing plural leadership dynamics among professional peers
    Author: Empson L
    Co-authors: Johan Alvehus
  14. Invited Academic Speaker Series. (Seminar) University of Lancaster (2014). Invited speaker.
    Paper: Leading autonomous followers: Indirect, overt, and covert leadership practices in professional service firms
    Author: Empson L
  15. Researching Professionals, Their Work, and Organizations Paper Development Masterclass for Early Career Researchers/Doctoral Students. (Workshop) Newcastle University (2014). Invited speaker.
    Paper: "Master" for early career researchers
    Author: Empson L
  16. Profession Fest. (Conference) University of Edinburgh (2014). Invited speaker.
    Paper: Leading autonomous followers: Indirect, overt, and covert leadership practices in professional service firms
    Author: Empson L
  17. Improving Political Leadership through Cross-Disciplinary Research. (Conference) London, UK (2014). Invited speaker.
    Paper: Leading Autonomous Followers: Indirect, Overt, and Covert Leadership in Professional Service Firms
    Author: Empson L
    Co-authors: J Alvehus
  18. CRESC Conference 2014. (Conference) Manchester (2014).
    Paper: Theorising Social Closure in Leading Professional Service Firms:
    Author: Ashley L
  19. Researching Professionals, Their Work, and Organizations: Paper Developement Masterclass for Early Career Researchers. (Conference) University of Newcastle Business School (2014). Chair.
  20. Leading autonomous followers. (Conference) Cass Business School (2014). Chair.
  21. European Group for Organization Studies. (Conference) Montreal (2013).
    Paper: ‘Exclusive Inclusivity’: Securing Status and Legitimacy in the UKs Elite Professional Service Firms
    Author: Ashley L
  22. American Bar Foundation "Pursuing Diverse Talent in Legal and Professional Services". (Conference) Chicago (2013).
    Paper: Understanding social exclusion and the ‘war for talent’ in the UK's elite professional service firms
    Author: Ashley L
    Co-authors: Empson, L
  23. Academy of Mangement. (Conference) Orlando (2013).
    Paper: Leading Professionals
    Author: Empson L
    Co-authors: Ann Langley
  24. Academy of Management. (Conference) Orlando (2013).
    Paper: Identity journeys across the research-practice divide
    Author: Empson L
  25. Invited Academic Speaker Series. (Seminar) Stockholm School of Economics (2013). Invited speaker.
    Paper: Cult(ures) in collaborative communities: Reconciling the logics of autonomy and control
    Author: Empson L
  26. Invited Academic Speaker Series. (Seminar) HEC Montreal (2013). Invited speaker.
    Paper: Paper Dynamics of collective leadership: Ambiguous authority and emergent hierarchy in a professional service firm
    Author: Empson L
  27. Invited Academic Speaker Series. (Public lecture) University of Lund, Sweden (2013). Invited speaker.
    Paper: Cult(ures) in collaborative communities: Reconciling the logics of autonomy and control
    Author: Empson L
  28. European Group for Organization Studies. (Conference) Montreal (2013).
    Paper: Cult(ures) of collegiality and control: Elite professional service firms as collaborative communities
    Author: Empson L
    Co-authors: Anna Jonsson
  29. European Group for Organization Studies. (Conference) Montreal (2013).
    Paper: The autonomous follower? On leadership in professional service organizations
    Author: Alvehus J
    Co-authors: Laura Empson
  30. European Group for Organization Studies. (Conference) Montreal (2013).
    Paper: The struggle to maintain organizational identification: identity work processes of professional service firm partners
    Author: Cleaver I
  31. Researching Professionals, Their Work and Organizations - Paper Developement Masterclass for Early Career Researchers. (Conference) Cass Business School (2013). Chair.
  32. Academy of Management Symposium - Professional service firms: Key debates and potential contributions. (Conference) Orlando (2013). Chair.
  33. Who’s in charge? Understanding leadership dynamics in professional service firms. (Conference) Cass Business School (2013). Chair.
  34. Oxford Handbook of Professional Service Firms Colloquium. (Conference) Cass (2013). Chair.
  35. Invited Academic Speaker Series. (Seminar) HEC Montreal (2012). Invited speaker.
    Paper: Dynamics of collective leadership: Ambiguous authority and emergent hierarchy in a professional service firm
    Author: Empson L
  36. Invited Academic Speaker Series. (Seminar) Stockholm School of Economics (2012). Invited speaker.
    Paper: Dynamics of collective leadership: Ambiguous authority and emergent hierarchy in a professional service firm
    Author: Empson L
  37. Invited Academic Speaker Series. (Seminar) University of Lund, Sweden (2012).
    Paper: Dynamics of collective leadership: Ambiguous authority and emergent hierarchy in a professional service firm
    Author: Empson L
  38. European Group for Organization Studies. (Conference) Aalto University & Hanken School of Economics, Helsinki, Finland (2012).
    Paper: Complexity leadership and professional service firms: When everyone and no one is a leader
    Author: Empson L
  39. European Group for Organization Studies. (Conference) Aalto University & Hanken School of Economics, Helsinki, Finland (2012).
    Paper: Convenient Fiction or Inconvenient Truth? Making sense of the ‘Business Case’ for gender diversity in the UK’s leading accountancy firms
    Author: Ashley L
    Co-authors: Empson, L
  40. Academy of Management. (Conference) Boston (2012).
    Paper: Complexity leadership and professional service firms: When everyone and no one is a leader
    Author: Empson L
  41. Academy of Management Symposium: Leadership in the Plural: Insights from Professional Organizations. (Conference) Boston (2012). Chair.
  42. Leading Professionals - Academic Conference & Doctoral Masterclass. (Conference) Cass Business School (2012). Chair.
  43. European Group for Organization Studies. (Conference) Gothenburg University, Sweden (2011).
    Paper: Management professionals and managing partners: Institutional entrepreneurship in professional partnerships
    Author: Empson L
    Co-authors: Cleaver, I and Allen, J
  44. Academy of Management. (Conference) San Antonio, Texas (2011).
    Paper: Navigating ambiguity: Collective leadership processes in professional service firms
    Author: Empson L
  45. Academy of Management Symposium - Leadership in the Plural: Forms, Practices and Dynamics. (Conference) San Antonio, Texas (2011). Chair.
  46. Law firm evolution: Brave new world or business as usual, University of Georgetown. (Conference) University of Georgetown: Washington (2010).
    Paper: Evolution and revolution in the governance of law firms
    Author: Empson L
  47. Globalisation and the Changing Role of Professional Services, University of York. (Conference) University of York (2010). Invited speaker.
    Paper: Beyond dichotomies: a multi-stage model of governance in professional service firms
    Author: Empson L
  48. European Group for Organization Studies Conference. (Conference) Lisbon (2010). Invited speaker.
    Paper: Navigating ambiguity: Collective leadership processes in professional service firms
    Author: Empson L
  49. Challenge of Change in Professional Service Firms. (Conference) Cass (2010). Chair.
  50. Future of large law firms, Harvard Law School. (Seminar) Harvard Law School (2009). Invited speaker.
    Paper: Partnership: Meaning and metaphor
    Author: Empson L
  51. European Group for Organization Studies Conference. (Conference) Barcelona (2009). Invited speaker.
    Paper: Beyond dichotomies: A multi-stage model of governance in professional service firms
    Author: Empson L
  52. Academy of Management. (Conference) Chicago (2009).
    Paper: Changing power dynamics in professional service firms
    Author: Empson L
  53. Identity and Contested Concepts of Professionalism. (Conference) Cass (2009). Chair.
  54. Symposium on the legal profession. (Conference) Georgetown University (2008). Invited speaker.
    Paper: Partnership matters
    Author: Empson L
  55. European Group for Organization Studies Conference. (Conference) Amsterdam (2008).
    Paper: Beyond received wisdom: An integrative perspective on organising professionals
    Author: Empson L
    Co-authors: Broschack, J and Leblebici, H
  56. Organization Studies Summer Workshop. (Conference) Crete (2007).
    Paper: My affair with the ‘other’: The interpenetration of research and practice
    Author: Empson L
  57. Academy of Management (OMT and BPS Divisions). (Conference) Philadelphia (2007).
    Paper: Beyond received wisdom: Professionals and professional service firms
    Author: Empson L
    Co-authors: Broschak, J and Leblebici, H
  58. Clifford Chance Conference on Professional Service Firms, co-organised with University of Illinois (Urbana-Champaign). (Conference) Chicago (2007). Chair.
  59. Professions and the knowledge-based economy conference. (Conference) Lancaster University (2006). Invited speaker.
    Paper: Professionals in partnership: Continuity and change
    Author: Empson L
  60. European Group for Organization Studies Conference. (Conference) Bergen (2006).
    Paper: Surviving and thriving in a changing world: The special nature of partnership
    Author: Empson L
  61. Academy of Management Conference (OMT Division). (Conference) Atlanta (2006).
    Paper: The construction of organizational identity: Comparative case studies of consulting firms
    Author: Alvesson M
    Co-authors: Empson, L
  62. Clifford Chance Conference on Professional Service Firms, co-organised with IESE Business School, University of Navarra. (Conference) Barcelona (2006). Chair.
  63. European Accounting Association Conference. (Conference) Gothenberg (2005).
    Paper: Performance measures, pay, and accountability: A comparison of two professional service firms
    Author: Chapman C
    Co-authors: Empson, L
  64. Academy of Management Conference (OMT Division). (Conference) Honolulu (2005).
    Paper: Partnership versus corporation: Implications of alternative forms of governance for managerial authority and organizational priorities in professional service firms
    Author: Empson L
    Co-authors: Chapman, C
  65. Clifford Chance Conference on Professional Service Firms. (Conference) Saïd Business School, University of Oxford (2005). Chair.
  66. Academy of Management Conference (OMT Division). (Conference) New Orleans (2004).
    Paper: Organizational identity change: Managerial regulation and member identification in an accounting firm acquisition
    Author: Empson L
  67. European Group for Organization Studies Conference. (Conference) Copenhagen (2003).
    Paper: Changing organizational identity: Identity regulation and re-identification in an accounting firm acquisition
    Author: Empson L
  68. Cllifford Chance Conference on Professional Service Firms. (Conference) University of Oxford (2003).
    Paper: Consequences of changing forms of governance for the management of professional service firms: Emerging themes
    Author: Empson L
    Co-authors: Chapman, C
  69. Professional Development Workshop on Professional Service Firms, Academy of Management Conference (OMT Division). (Conference) Seattle (2003). Chair.
  70. Clifford Chance Conference on Professional Service Firms. (Conference) Saïd Business School, University of Oxford (2003). Chair.
  71. European Group for Organization Studies Conference. (Conference) Barcelona (2002).
    Paper: The professional partnership: Relic or exemplary form of governance
    Author: Greenwood R
    Co-authors: Empson, L
  72. EURAM Conference. (Conference) Stockholm (2002).
    Paper: Organizational identity in accounting firms: Continuity and change post acquisition
    Author: Empson L
  73. Oxford Conference on Professional Service Firms. (Conference) Christ Church College, University of Oxford (2001). Chair.
  74. Academy of Management Conference (OMT Division). (Conference) Toronto (2000).
    Paper: The triumph of commercialism: Mergers between accounting firms and the transformation of the professional archetype
    Author: Empson L
  75. Symposium: Professional Service Firms: Variation and Transformation, Academy of Management Conference (OMT Division). (Conference) Toronto (2000). Chair.
  76. Oxford Workshop on Professional Service Firms. (Conference) St Anne’s College, University of Oxford (2000). Chair.
  77. Professional Service Firms in Transition Conference. (Conference) London School of Economics (1999).
    Paper: The twin fears: Knowledge transfer in mergers between professional service firms
    Author: Empson L
  78. Professional Service Firms Conference. (Conference) University of Alberta (1999).
    Paper: Fear of association and fear of contamination: Exploring impediments to knowledge transfer in mergers between professional service firms
    Author: Empson L
  79. Academy of Management Conference (OMT Division). (Conference) Chicago (1999).
    Paper: Phoney wars and high school dances: The evolving process of integration in mergers between professional service firms
    Author: Empson L
  80. Modes of Organizing Conference. (Conference) University of Warwick (1997).
    Paper: When knowledge is power: Knowledge transfer and mergers between professional service firms
    Author: Empson L
    Co-authors: Morris, T
  81. Academy of Management Conference (BPS Division). (Conference) Boston (1997).
    Paper: Impediments to knowledge transfer in mergers between knowledge-based organizations
    Author: Empson L
  82. Strategic Management Society Conference. (Conference) Arizona (1996).
    Paper: Merging professional service firms: How the distinctive organizational characteristics influence the process of value creation
    Author: Empson L
  83. British Academy of Management Conference. (Conference) Birmingham (1996).
    Paper: Managing successful knowledge-based mergers and acquisitions: Overcoming impediments to integration
    Author: Empson L