Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

submittedVersion

Publication Date

9-2009

Abstract

Management consultancy is seen by many as a key agent in the adoption of new management ideas and practices in organizations. Two contrasting views are dominant-consultants as innovators, bringing new knowledge to their clients or as legitimating client knowledge. Those few studies which examine directly the flow of knowledge through consultancy in projects with clients favour the innovator view and highlight the important analytical and practical value of boundaries-consultants as both knowledge and organizational outsiders. Likewise, in the legitimator view, the consultants' role is seen in terms of the primacy of the organizational boundary. By drawing on a wider social science literature on boundaries and studies of inter-organizational knowledge flow and management consultancy more generally, this polarity is seen as problematic, especially at the level of the consulting project. An alternative framework of boundary relations is developed and presented which incorporates their multiplicity, dynamism and situational specificity. This points to a greater complexity and variability in knowledge flow and its potential than is currently recognized. This is significant not only in terms of our understanding of management consultancy and inter-organizational knowledge dynamics and boundaries, but of a critical understanding of the role of management consultancy more generally.

Keywords

Boundaries, Knowledge, Innovation, Management consultancy, Legitimation

Discipline

Organizational Behavior and Theory | Technology and Innovation

Research Areas

Organisational Behaviour and Human Resources

Publication

Organization

Volume

16

Issue

5

First Page

627

Last Page

653

ISSN

1350-5084

Identifier

10.1177/1350508409338435

Publisher

SAGE Publications (UK and US)

Copyright Owner and License

Authors

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1177/1350508409338435

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