This book is intended to assist managers of professional firms involved in construction, to confront the issues that face them from a position of greater understanding, by exposing them to relevant research results and the views of other experienced practitioners. A second purpose is to establish a benchmark for research in the field of practice management in order to stimulate further work. Lastly, the material brought together here should prove a valuable source for teaching purposes. In the editors' view, it is important that, without ignoring findings in adjacent fields of study, the theory and practice of managing the professional firm should be advanced in its own right. In this way solutions tailored to the particular characteristics of the construction-related professions may be developed. The topics covered emerged from groupings of the papers submitted, but reflect the main interactions described in the editorial. The material starts with general factors affecting all professional firms and then moves into various facets of the firm itself. Part two considers the general business environment,// which leads naturally into part three, where the changing roles of the constru

First Published in 2004. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.