Architectural firms: Workforce, business strategy and performance

The intent of this research was to investigate the relationship between the workforce, business strategy and performance of architectural firms. Data was collected from 92 firms randomly selected from the cities where architectural firms were most concentrated in Nigeria using questionnaires. Hierarchical regression analysis was carried out to investigate the direct and indirect impacts of the workforce of architectural firms on their performance. The findings confirm the significant positive impact. With business strategy controlled, the specific characteristics of the workforce and its management which influenced performance were the number of architects, the work structure, and the age and experience of the principal partners. The impact of the number of nonarchitecture professionals and staff participation in decisionmaking on performance was moderated by the business strategy adopted by the firms. The results suggest that workforce characteristics are more important than the management of the workforce in determining performance of architectural firms. This is contrary to the results of previous studies which suggest higher importance of the management. This probably indicates the peculiarity of architectural firm as a professional service firm in the construction industry.