Autonomy of independent professionals: A political process perspective

Pichault, François; Fatien Diochon, Pauline; Nizet, Jean

doi:10.1016/j.emj.2019.12.007

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Autonomy of independent professionals: A political process perspective

Pichault, François; Fatien Diochon, Pauline; Nizet, Jean

2020 • In European Management Journal, 38 (4), p. 623-633

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https://hdl.handle.net/2268/244099

DOI
10.1016/j.emj.2019.12.007

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Keywords :

Agency; Autonomy; Independent professionals; Power strategies; Work practices

Abstract :

[en] This article looks into the issue of autonomy, often portrayed as a key feature of modern work arrangements, in particular of Independent professionals (IPros). Given the absence of conclusive evidence in the current debate opposing structural and agency views on autonomy at work, we study how Ipros perform their job referring to three main analytical dimensions: formalization, verticality and openness. Our empirical material is composed of critical incidents reported by 37 executive coaches working in France. We show that IPros’ autonomy unfolds over a 3-phase process combining the three aforementioned dimensions of autonomy that we associate with power strategies. This combination therefore reflects a complex interaction between structural and agentic factors, paving the way for a political process perspective on autonomy. Therefore, our paper advocates combining rather than opposing structural and agentic views on autonomy, and also expands the traditional agentic view of IPros’ autonomy beyond the dominant psychological argument.

Research Center/Unit :

LENTIC - Laboratoire d'Études sur les Nouvelles Formes de Travail, l'Innovation et le Changement - ULiège

Disciplines :

Human resources management

Author, co-author :

Pichault, François ; Université de Liège - ULiège > HEC Liège : UER > UER Management : Gestion des ressources humaines

Fatien Diochon, Pauline; Université Côte d’Azur > SKEMA Business School

Nizet, Jean; Namur University & Catholic University of Louvain, FOPES

Language :

English

Title :

Autonomy of independent professionals: A political process perspective

Publication date :

August 2020

Journal title :

European Management Journal

ISSN :

0263-2373

eISSN :

1873-5681

Publisher :

Elsevier, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Volume :

Issue :

Pages :

623-633

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Available on ORBi :

since 26 January 2020

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