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Johanna Fullerton: Pearn Kandola, Heritage House, Dublin, Eire, and
Michael A. West: Institute of Work Psychology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
Introduction
Larwood and Gattiker describe the consultant's role as consisting of "analysing and bridging the gap between their (the consultants) body of knowledge and skills and the requirements of the client organization"[1]. The nature of this consulting relationship has a crucial impact on the success of consulting projects[1]. However, little empirical work has focused on the client-consultant relationship itself[2]. Moreover, research on the consultation process has focused primarily on consultant skills and abilities and has underemphasized the role of the client in the success of the relationship[3]. An exception is the work of Bingham[4] in a study of the factors underlying the success of consulting assignments who explored the notion of the competent client. Competent clients established an equal partnership with the consultant, having a clear picture of the desired results, a tough questioning attitude and an appreciation of the importance of feedback and the need to spend time building a relationship.
Covin and Fisher[3] investigated the reasons for the success or failure of consulting projects. Three themes emerged in their findings: first, the importance of consultant competency and fit with the company needs; second, the interpersonal fit between consultants and clients; and finally, the importance of establishing ground rules for the consulting process. However, data was based on the responses of consultants only. The present study extends existing work by examining consultant and client views of consulting relationships, focusing on the work of internal process consultants and their clients.
The internal consultant is a member of the organization and as such has unique potential to make a contribution and specific problems as a member of the client system. The internal consultant is familiar with the organization's culture, norms and power structure and may well have a vested interest in seeing the organization or part of the organization succeed. The position of the internal consultant also has disadvantages, including lack of objectivity; operating at a low influence level within the client system; and the possibility that the internal consultant may be part of the organizational problem. Process consultants differ from content consultants in that they address the problem solving activities of the client, as...