Business disorientation in a post legal aid economy

Context/Purpose: Previous literature highlights that there is limited understanding of the orientations and culture of legal service providers. Responding to identified literature gaps and at a time of market turbulence following government intervention, this study focuses on legal service providers in England. Design/Methodology/Approach: This multi-case approach uses an interpretivist methodology to investigate five case studies within legal firms of varying sizes and description within England. Twenty-nine semi-structured interviews were undertaken with participants from various positions within the firms. The interviews were subject to a six-stage thematic analysis process. Findings: The findings revealed deep insight into the related, yet distinct cultures and orientations within legal service providers across England. Key themes idenitified within the cases included: inorganic growth, solitary individuals, reputation marketing, standardised law, strong traditions, paradoxical orientations and cultures. The first-hand accounts highlighted the complexities of the organisational culture business orientation interplay. Organisational culture as a separate construct was found to have a strong influence on the firms business orientation. Research Limitations: Like most interpretivist studies, this study limits the generalisability. However, the findings of the research can be applied to other legal service providers or organisations that may share common attributes, such as other professional service firms (PSF’s), or traditional markets. Practitioner/Academic Contribution: This research has identified the complementary business orientations and supportive organisational cultures within the context of legal service providers as separate entities. Creating a cultural and business orientation model and table which delivers a theoretical and practitioner’s contribution. Originality: The basis of originality for the research is founded in the legal context with a multiple case study and multi-layered approach. Previous research has failed to demonstrate complementary cultural and business orientations within the legal context. Originality for this study is presented through a cultural and business orientation model, allowing users to identify the most productive organisational culture and business orientation combinations