IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/vrs/mancon/v6y2023i2p104-110n7.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Researching Practice Areas of Consultancy Firms

Author

Listed:
  • Williams Christopher

    (University of York, England, UK)

  • van Triest Sander

    (Amsterdam Business School, Amsterdam, Netherlands)

Abstract

We reflect on a multi-year study of practice areas within professional service firms that has resulted in impact in various ways, including research publications, class teaching, and industry dissemination. We describe the challenges in conducting academic research at the practice area level, rather than the firm level. These challenges are grouped into two camps: fieldwork challenges and conceptual challenges. While we navigated these during our project in order to achieve our goals, we believe more work needs to be done at the practice area level within the consultancy industry, especially as this unit of analysis is affected by trends in AI and ESG that were not so prominent 20 years ago. We suggest one way forward will be to utilize collaborative systems approaches through a holistic stance, rather than focus on narrow sets of variables in a reductionist stance.

Suggested Citation

  • Williams Christopher & van Triest Sander, 2023. "Researching Practice Areas of Consultancy Firms," Management Consulting Journal, Sciendo, vol. 6(2), pages 104-110, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:vrs:mancon:v:6:y:2023:i:2:p:104-110:n:7
    DOI: 10.2478/mcj-2023-0012
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.2478/mcj-2023-0012
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.2478/mcj-2023-0012?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Namrata Malhotra & Timothy Morris, 2009. "Heterogeneity in Professional Service Firms," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(6), pages 895-922, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yuliani Suseno & Ashly H. Pinnington, 2018. "Building social capital and human capital for internationalization: The role of network ties and knowledge resources," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 35(4), pages 1081-1106, December.
    2. Pantic-Dragisic, Svjetlana & Söderlund, Jonas, 2020. "Swift transition and knowledge cycling: Key capabilities for successful technical and engineering consulting?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(1).
    3. Peng Gao & Dan He & Zhijing Sun & Yuemin Ning, 2020. "Characterizing functionally integrated regions in the Central Yangtze River Megaregion from a city‐network perspective," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(3), pages 1357-1379, September.
    4. Brock, David M. & Hydle, Katja Maria, 2018. "Transnationality – Sharpening the Integration-Responsiveness vision in global professional firms," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 117-124.
    5. Knechel, W. Robert & Thomas, Edward & Driskill, Matthew, 2020. "Understanding financial auditing from a service perspective," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    6. Kai Pflanz, 2013. "Seeking Opportunities: International Market Selection by European Engineering Consultancies," Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie, Royal Dutch Geographical Society KNAG, vol. 104(5), pages 556-570, December.
    7. Williams, Christopher & van Triest, Sander, 2023. "Understanding performance in professional services for innovation intermediation: Technology consultants vs. management consultants," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    8. Villani, Elisa & Linder, Christian & Lechner, Christian & Muller, Lina, 2021. "How do non-innovative firms start innovation and build legitimacy? The case of professional service firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 614-625.
    9. Jain, Naveen Kumar & Celo, Sokol & Kumar, Vikas, 2019. "Internationalization speed, resources and performance: Evidence from Indian software industry," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 26-37.
    10. Dioni Elche & Davide Consoli & Mabel Sánchez-Barrioluengo, 2021. "From brawn to brains: manufacturing–KIBS interdependency," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(7), pages 1282-1298, July.
    11. Steven J. Kahl & Brayden G. King & Greg Liegel, 2016. "Occupational Survival Through Field-Level Task Integration: Systems Men, Production Planners, and the Computer, 1940s–1990s," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(5), pages 1084-1107, October.
    12. Gegužytė Gintarė & Bagdonienė Liudmila, 2021. "Value Co-Creation in Engineering Service Innovation: Resources and Capabilities Perspectives," Journal of Management and Business Administration. Central Europe, Sciendo, vol. 29(4), pages 91-123, December.
    13. Zhang, Yufeng & Yang, Zhibo & Zhang, Tao, 2018. "Strategic resource decisions to enhance the performance of global engineering services," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 678-700.
    14. Consoli,Davide & Elche,Dioni, 2014. "An analysis of the knowledge base of Scientific Research & Development Business Services," INGENIO (CSIC-UPV) Working Paper Series 201401, INGENIO (CSIC-UPV).
    15. Davide Consoli & Dioni Elche, 2013. "The evolving knowledge base of professional service sectors," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 477-501, April.
    16. Beck, Matthew J. & Gunn, Joshua L. & Hallman, Nicholas, 2019. "The geographic decentralization of audit firms and audit quality," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1).
    17. Matthias Kipping & Ian Kirkpatrick, 2013. "Alternative Pathways of Change in Professional Services Firms: The Case of Management Consulting," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(5), pages 777-807, July.
    18. Brock, David M. & Saks, Mike, 2016. "Professions and organizations: A European perspective," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 1-6.
    19. Gabriel Sorin STROE, 2014. "On The Threat Of Suppliers For The Engineering Consulting And Design Services Firms," Risk in Contemporary Economy, "Dunarea de Jos" University of Galati, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, pages 140-149.
    20. Jean- François Hennart, 2013. "Internal and external hybrids and the nature of joint ventures," Chapters, in: Anna Grandori (ed.), Handbook of Economic Organization, chapter 25, Edward Elgar Publishing.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:vrs:mancon:v:6:y:2023:i:2:p:104-110:n:7. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Peter Golla (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.sciendo.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.