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  • October 2013
  • Article
  • Harvard Business Review

Consulting on the Cusp of Disruption

By: Clayton M. Christensen, Dina Wang and Derek C. M. van Bever
  • Format:Print
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Abstract

Consulting fundamental business model has not changed in more than 100 years: very smart outsiders go into organizations for a finite period of time and recommend solutions for the most difficult problems confronting their clients. But at traditional strategy-consulting firms, the share of work that is classic strategy has sharply declined over the past 30 years, from 60% or 70% to only about 20%. What accounts for this trend? Disruption is coming for management consulting, the authors say, as it has recently come for law. For many years the professional services were immune to disruption, for two reasons: opacity and agility. Clients find it very difficult to judge a firm's performance in advance, because they are usually hiring it for specialized knowledge and capability that they themselves lack. Price becomes a proxy for quality. And the top consulting (or law) firms have human capital as their primary assets; they aren't hamstrung by substantial resource allocation decisions, giving them remarkable flexibility. Now incumbent firms are seeing their competitive position eroded by technology, alternative staffing models, and other forces. Market research companies and database providers are enabling the democratization of data. The vast turnover at consultancies means armies of experienced strategists are available for hire by former clients, whose increasing sophistication allows them to allocate work instead of relying on one-stop shops as they did in the past. Drawing on the theory of disruption, the authors offer three scenarios for the future of consulting.

Keywords

Disruptive Innovation; Consulting Industry

Citation

Christensen, Clayton M., Dina Wang, and Derek C. M. van Bever. "Consulting on the Cusp of Disruption." Harvard Business Review 91, no. 10 (October 2013): 106–114.
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About The Author

Derek C. M. van Bever

General Management
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More from the Authors

    • August 2020
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    Beyond Beer: Brewing Innovation at Molson Coors

    By: Derek C. M. van Bever, Stephen P. Kaufman, James Barnett and Shaye Roseman
    • December 2019
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    Managing the Strategy Development Process: Deliberate vs. Emergent Strategy

    By: Clayton M. Christensen
    • December 2019
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    An Illustration of Resource Allocation in Strategy Making: The Case of Intel

    By: Clayton M. Christensen
More from the Authors
  • Beyond Beer: Brewing Innovation at Molson Coors By: Derek C. M. van Bever, Stephen P. Kaufman, James Barnett and Shaye Roseman
  • Managing the Strategy Development Process: Deliberate vs. Emergent Strategy By: Clayton M. Christensen
  • An Illustration of Resource Allocation in Strategy Making: The Case of Intel By: Clayton M. Christensen
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