Relation möter rationalitet: Om professionalisering av inköp av managementkonsulttjänster

Sammanfattning: The purchasing of management consulting services has traditionally been characterized by informal and relation based interaction. However, case studies have shown that there is a movement towards more formalized and structured purchasing procedures among buyers of management consulting services. The purpose of this study is to investigate the prevalence and the implications of this professionalization. To investigate to what extent certain mechanisms of professionalization have been implemented on the Swedish market, a survey directed to Sweden’s 500 largest companies was conducted. To further explore the prevalence of the professionalization and its implications for the suppliers of consulting services, 14 interviews with management consultants were made. Results from the study as well as the interviews clearly supported that professionalization is taking place among buyers of management consulting services. However, depending on strategies of acceptance or avoidance used by the consultants, the effect and impact of professionalization varies in the different segments of the Swedish management consulting market.