No abstract

The aim of the research was to explore how management consultants experience and navigate between the competing demands of their client, consultancy, and personal systems of engagement. The internal, consultancy-facing role of the management consultant, which involves ongoing responsibilities for the day-to-day operation and success of their consultancy, sometimes alongside their client work, has not been researched sufficiently.The implication for the day-to-day experiences of management consultants, is that they must balance their participation between three, often competing social systems of their client, their consultancy, and their personal life. Their skills in managing transitions between these systems are worthy of study.