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Abstract
While organizations often hire external consultants (ECs) to assist them with change initiatives, the use of internal consultants (ICs) also offers many advantages and benefits. Although ICs have been characterized as the "poor cousin" of their external counterparts, they can be a vital organizational resource through their ability to play multiple roles. Drawing on experience as an IC and EC, the article addresses IC roles and responsibilities and how they can help organizations build their change capacity.
Introduction
The current global business environment is shaped by an array of factors and forces, including globalization itself, liberalized trade and tariff regimes, varied demographics, rapid technological innovation, and competition from all comers of the world. While these factors offer substantial opportunities for businesses to grow and expand their operations and/or market presence, they also present unprecedented challenges. Diverse market needs and the attendant explosion in product and service variety, increased rates of product and service obsolescence, and tremendous pressure on pricing, to name a few, are creating myriad stressors and problems for managers.
The basic reality is that as such change has become the "new normal" (Jorgensen, Owen, & Neus, 2008, p. 1), businesses increasingly compete on the basis of their ability to change and innovate on a continual basis, especially in comparison with their competition. The capacity to manage change has thus become a key strategic capability-and an important component of this capacity is internal expert support. Accordingly, this article focuses on the role of the internal consultant (IC), an individual who is on the payroll of the organization for which he or she provides consulting services.
An underlying challenge concerns how to most effectively manage and guide the change and development process as many organizations continue to struggle with change-related initiatives (Barton & Ambrosini, 2013; Decker, Durand, Mayfield, McCormack, Skinner, & Perdue, 2012; Meaney & Pung, 2008; Raelin & Cataldo, 2011). The dynamic capability to change and redefine the business underlies the ability to respond to new opportunities and/or to fulfill existing needs both nimbly and accurately to the fullest satisfaction of key stakeholders. The array of ultimate goals includes facilitating committed employees, developing loyal customers, generating increased revenue and stable margins, and increasing investor confidence, public goodwill, and organizational longevity.
Given the...