The internationalization of professional service firms: Institutional embeddedness, institutional voids and strategic responses in the case of Greek law firms

Title
The internationalization of professional service firms: Institutional embeddedness, institutional voids and strategic responses in the case of Greek law firms
Creator
Angelou, Natalia
Abstract
Purpose: This thesis examines how the institutional environment shapes the internationalization of Greek law firms. Unlike manufacturing firms or large multinational enterprises, law firms are a distinct type of professional service firm whose activity remains closely tied to national legal systems. Drawing on institutional theory, the study explores how institutional embeddedness shapes international activity, how institutional voids in home and host contexts create challenges, and how firms respond through governance, market participation and organisational adaptation.

Design/methodology/approach: The study adopts a qualitative, exploratory design based on five semi-structured interviews with partners and senior lawyers from Greek law firms with international activity. The interviews were conducted in Greek, translated into English and analysed through thematic analysis.

Findings: The findings show that Greek law firms internationalize in a selective and relationship-driven way. Their international role is typically activated when Greek law is involved, rather than through broad geographic expansion. Home-country institutional constraints, especially legal fragmentation, administrative complexity, delay and weak predictability, shape client expectations and increase perceived risk. Host-country challenges arise mainly from differences between legal systems and the coordination and interpretative complexity these create across jurisdictions. In response, firms rely on trusted international networks, cautious and client-led market participation, contractual safeguards and internationally oriented staffing.

Practical implications: The study suggests that internationalization in law firms should be understood less as geographic expansion and more as a selective process shaped by jurisdictional relevance and institutional conditions. For managers, this underlines the importance of trusted networks, flexible governance and internal capabilities for handling cross-border work effectively.

Originality/value: The thesis contributes to the literature on professional service firm internationalization by showing that the internationalization of Greek law firms is best understood as a selective, institution-driven process in which domestic embeddedness shapes both the limits and the possibilities of cross-border activity. It also extends discussion of institutional constraints to a smaller developed setting with distinct institutional weaknesses.

Keywords: Greek law firms, professional service firms, internationalization, institutional embeddedness, institutional voids, institutional theory, strategic responses
Keywords
Greek law firms
internationalization
institutional theory
Date Available
May 28, 2026
Type
Oral presentation
Course
IB4545 Capstone in International Business
Instructor
Dimitropoulou, Grammatoula
Session
Oral presentation
Location
Art Center Auditorium
Event
Year 2026 | 10th Annual Student Research and Creative Arts Symposium

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Oral Presentation

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Oral Presentation