Explaining national variation in the use of management consulting knowledge: A framework

Abstract

The management literature frequently assumes that management consultancy is the predominant source of external management knowledge for organisations. However, its use is invariably confined to a few Western, developed economies. Such variation is rarely acknowledged, let alone explained. In this conceptual article, we draw on diverse literatures to explore what drives national variations in consulting usage. To achieve this, we develop a basic framework of influencing factors and apply it to the Japanese context. We conclude by explicating how our analysis has a wider application with respect to other knowledge sources in comparative studies.

The Impact of Economic Development and National Culture on Management Consulting Expenditures: Evidence from Europe and North America

“…The first contribution of this study was to examine the impact of economic development on country‐level management consulting expenditures. Informal observation suggests that the two variables are positively related (Mohe, ; Sturdy, ; Sturdy and O'Mahoney, ). However, this relationship had never been formally tested.…”

“…While informal observation of the management consulting industry indicates large differences across countries, research on this topic is limited (Mohe, ; Sturdy, ; Kipping and Wright, ; Sturdy and O'Mahoney, ). In this study, I explore two potential drivers of cross‐national variation in the use of management consultants: economic development and national culture.…”

“…Why do management consulting expenditures vary so much from one country to another? Research on this topic is sparse (Mohe, ; Sturdy, ; Kipping and Wright, ; Sturdy and O'Mahoney, ). As Sturdy and O'Mahoney (: 538) recently made clear: ‘Despite the growing literature on consulting, international variation in management consultancy usage has yet to be explored adequately.…”

“…Anecdotal evidence suggests that significant differences in country‐level management consulting expenditures remain, even when the level of economic development is accounted for (Mohe, ; Sturdy and O'Mahoney, ). Therefore, I propose to explore the impact of national culture on the use of management consultants.…”

Acquiring knowledge through management consultancy: a national culture perspective

“…This sector has particular relevance for management and organisations not only because of the extent of its use (SGR 2020), but the ambiguous and uncertain status of management knowledge makes it difficult to buy (ISMO, 2013). Whilst the importance of consulting as a source of knowledge is often stressed (Mosonyi et al, 2020), few studies examine the considerable international variation in its use (cf Sturdy and O'Mahoney, 2018). Exploring this phenomenon is important for three reasons.…”