Management Consultancy and Organizational Uncertainty: The Case of Internal Consultancy

A. Sturdy, Nick Wylie, C. Wright

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

14 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This study analyzes one of the most neglected dimensions of uncertainty in the field of management consultancy—the fragile existence of consulting organizations and organizational units. Drawing on interview data from internal consulting units, the authors ask what the key sources of organizational uncertainty are that consultant actors face and how these actors address them. In doing so, a fourth, organizational, form of uncertainty is added to those already established in studies of consulting (namely, product, relationship, and institutional uncertainty). The findings also improve our understanding of uncertainty in the broader theoretical context of professionalization through non-traditional means by raising questions about the stability of securing legitimacy as a "corporate profession."
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)58-73
JournalInternational Studies of Management & Organization
Volume43
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2013

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Management consultancy
Uncertainty
Consultancy
Consulting
Nontraditional
Legitimacy
Organizational form
Consultants
Professionalization

Bibliographical note

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Cite this

Management Consultancy and Organizational Uncertainty: The Case of Internal Consultancy. / Sturdy, A.; Wylie, Nick; Wright, C.

In: International Studies of Management & Organization, Vol. 43, No. 3, 2013, p. 58-73.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

Sturdy, A, Wylie, N & Wright, C 2013, 'Management Consultancy and Organizational Uncertainty: The Case of Internal Consultancy' International Studies of Management & Organization, vol. 43, no. 3, pp. 58-73. https://doi.org/10.2753/IMO0020-8825430304
Sturdy A, Wylie N, Wright C. Management Consultancy and Organizational Uncertainty: The Case of Internal Consultancy. International Studies of Management & Organization. 2013;43(3):58-73. https://doi.org/10.2753/IMO0020-8825430304
Sturdy, A. ; Wylie, Nick ; Wright, C. / Management Consultancy and Organizational Uncertainty: The Case of Internal Consultancy. In: International Studies of Management & Organization. 2013 ; Vol. 43, No. 3. pp. 58-73.
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