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The digital transformation of management consulting companies: a review

Author

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  • Emil Lucian Crișan

    (Babes-Bolyai University)

  • Adrian Marincean

    (Babes-Bolyai University)

Abstract

Management consulting (MC), as a knowledge-based industry, is regarded as fertile ground for digital transformation (DT). However, the changes that DT has introduced to MC are rather limited, notwithstanding the many cases of successful DT in the field. This paper is a systemic review of 18 cases presented in the literature concerning the digital transformation (DT) of management consulting companies (MCCs). It builds prescriptive knowledge for researchers and practitioners concerning the different approaches used to employ DT in the management consulting (MC) field. It uses a context–intervention–mechanism–outcome (CIMO) framework analysis with a pool of articles involving cases of DT in management consulting. The main findings of the paper, the mechanisms, are based on correlations between the context, the solution adopted, and the business outcomes identified. Our analysis of the cases, based on the CIMO framework, reveals three mechanisms that explain how DT transforms MC: it supports the platformization of traditional MC; it creates an opportunity for MC through crowdsourcing, in which the consultant acts as a crowd manager; and it changes the consultant-client matching process. Our study presents different layers of DT in the management consulting industry based on the complexity of the solutions identified. The findings are relevant for both MC practitioners concerned with business strategy and MC researchers.

Suggested Citation

  • Emil Lucian Crișan & Adrian Marincean, 2023. "The digital transformation of management consulting companies: a review," Information Systems and e-Business Management, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 415-436, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:infsem:v:21:y:2023:i:2:d:10.1007_s10257-023-00624-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s10257-023-00624-4
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Christoph Hardt, 2018. "The Best of Two Worlds—Digitization of Matchmaking Between Consulting Firms and Independent Consultants," Progress in IS, in: Volker Nissen (ed.), Digital Transformation of the Consulting Industry, pages 389-399, Springer.
    2. Volker Nissen & Henry Seifert & Marco Blumenstein, 2018. "A Method to Support the Selection of Technologies for the Virtualization of Consulting Services," Progress in IS, in: Volker Nissen (ed.), Digital Transformation of the Consulting Industry, pages 243-274, Springer.
    3. Roman Teichert, 2019. "Digital Transformation Maturity: A Systematic Review of Literature," Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis, Mendel University Press, vol. 67(6), pages 1673-1687.
    4. Jeremy David Curuksu, 2018. "Analysis of the Management Consulting Industry," Management for Professionals, in: Data Driven, chapter 1, pages 1-16, Springer.
    5. Oliver Christ & Michael Czarniecki & Lukas Andreas Scherer, 2018. "Improving Business Development Through Crowdsourcing Supported Consulting—A Methodical Approach," Progress in IS, in: Volker Nissen (ed.), Digital Transformation of the Consulting Industry, pages 277-298, Springer.
    6. Gerald Friedman, 2014. "Workers without employers: shadow corporations and the rise of the gig economy," Review of Keynesian Economics, Edward Elgar Publishing, vol. 2(2), pages 171-188, April.
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