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ABSTRACT

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to highlight the importance of a management consultant's satisfaction, identify and examine the influence on success factors of management consulting on a management consultant's satisfaction, through an empirical research, not available in extant literature.

Design/methodology/approach

A structured questionnaire was used for data collection and administered through a paid version of a web-based platform to management consultants across India. Among others, a regression analysis was used to identify the key predictors of a management consultant's satisfaction.

Findings

The importance of and the key predictors of a management consultant's satisfaction among the success factors in management consulting, available in literature, have been identified to help a consulting engagement succeed.

Practical Implications

A key implication of this study is that both a management consultant and client can understand the importance of and the dimensions that influence a management consultant's satisfaction which can have a profound effect on consulting success.

Originality / Value

The study is the first of its kind to examine the influence of success factors on a management consultant's satisfaction in the Indian context. The study also brings to light the importance of emotions of a management consultant and how common success factors listed in literature can impact these emotions. The study will be useful to management consultants and clients who can successfully use and deploy success factors to bring satisfaction to management consultants.

Key words: Management Consulting, Consultant Satisfaction, Consulting, Drivers of Success, Services Marketing

1. INTRODUCTION

In management consulting, client satisfaction is the most important dimension, (Matias Bronnenmayer Bernd W Wirtz Vincent Gottel, 2014) that helps gain traction in business growth and this is widely accepted as consulting success(Bronnenmayer et al, 2014). As a service provider the management consultant also goes through a process, consisting of different phases such as Entry, Diagnosis, Action Planning, Implementation and Termination (Kubr, 2002). Each phase requires a high degree of interaction with the six types of clients(Schein, 1997) each at different levels of hierarchy, with different levels of understanding, knowledge, ego and authority.Literature has few but impressive evidence of success factors for management consulting in the context of different countries or markets. While project dimensions, process dimensions and client dimensions (KlaasjanVisscher, 2006) are examined by some authors, the professional service...

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