”The challenges of consulting engineers” (2007) by Industrial Psychologist, Mads Bendixen, ALECTIA. The thesis is a co-operation between the Technical University of Denmark and consulting engineers Birch & Krogboe (today ALECTIA).

The initiation of the work on this thesis was guided by the question: ’What are the facilitating and impeding influences when it comes to knowledge intensive innovations in the project organized work of consulting engineers?’. Chapter 1 presents different approaches to social scientific research in knowledge intensive-, professional service firms, such as consulting engineering companies. The strengths and virtues of practice-based innovation-studies are highlighted. However, a lack of focus on the significance of (1) materiality and (2) the psychosocial work environment is pointed out. In response to the first point, Actor-Network Theory (ANT) is presented in chapter 2 as an alternative to approaches where ‘the social’ takes precedence over ‘the material’, and in chapter 3 some of the methodological implications of ANT are presented along with an outline of this study’s fieldwork in the consulting engineering company Birch & Krogboe (today ALECTIA).