Determinants of perceived success in management consulting

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to conceptualizeperceived management consulting success, derive relevant success factors based on principal-agent theory and the resource-based view as well as investigate the particular factors’ influence. Management consulting has become important for improving the competitiveness of a variety of firms. Surprisingly, there is little empirical evidence clarifying what constitutes a successful management consulting project. Design/methodology/approach The authors conduct a survey to empirically investigate the hypotheses. They develop the survey instrument through a literature review, expert interviews, a pre-test and an item-sorting test. To analyze the data from 348 management consultants, the authors apply structural equation modeling. Additionally, they choose a triangulation approach by asking secondary informants about the originally surveyed consultants’ responses. Findings Initially, the authors develop the second-order constructperceived management consulting success, consisting of the factorscompliance with budget and schedule,degree of target achievement,profitabilityas well asexpansion and extension. Additionally, they develop an understanding of management consulting’s success factors. In this regard, five of six factors show a significant impact onperceived management consulting success. Originality/value According to the results, the factorintensity of collaborationis of highest importance forperceived management consulting success. Further, the factorscommon vision,consultant expertiseandtop management supportshow comparably strong significant influences. Yet, the authors have to reject the hypothesis about trust. This result conveys the complicacy of the consultant–client relationship and shows that building a trustful relationship between both parties is hard to accomplish.

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