Successful Consulting with Small and Medium-Sized vs. Large Clients: Meeting the Needs of the Client?

Abstract

Major Rynning is with the department of business administration of Abo Akademi University, Turku, Finland, Consultancy and prerequisties for successful consulting ahve generally been dicussed in terms of case studies or recommendation inductively developed by senior couosultants. in the empirical research dealing with typical small business prolem wether the firms ahve received assistance, what kind and with what results, seen from the client's perspective has also freuently been one part of the study. But ther have been few systematic studies directly addressing the conditions for a successful consulting covering the views of both client and consultant. Both the accumulated empiricals research and the systematic discussion of teh differnt modes of consulting and their suitability for differnet types of situation produce. some generalisation which can be tested. furtehrmore, transaction cost theory ideas of reasonable control mechanisam aare likely to emerge in a particular consultant-client relationship. This study was carried out to flow up generationsation from such research and special attention was paid to the consulatant-client relationship as a process uncovering th different stages from teh perspectives of both client and consultant.