Innovation in the Management Consulting Industry: The Pain Points of the Customers of Consultants

📌 Key facts

• Mission: Investigate pain points and innovation in the management consulting industry. You should dive into the pain points experienced by thee customers of management consultants and unravel the underlying factors that impede consulting’s effectiveness and limit its productivity. By conducting in-depth research, you aim to shed light on the challenges faced by firms hiring consultants at all levels and in various functional areas within the industry. Join us in our mission to investigate the pain points and unlock the potential for innovation within the management consulting industry. Together, we can shape the future of consulting, create new opportunities, and drive sustainable value for clients and consultants alike.

• When: Start anytime. Applications are open!
• How to apply: Send us an e-mail (at the end of this page) with your CV, a grade report, a short motivation and your suggested approach (proposed plan and questions, potential data, and methods, possible outcomes with a tentative outline).

Contents

• 💡 Background
• 🦾Who We Are
• 🎯 Goals
• 🧠 Topics of Interest
• 🎓 Profile
• 📚 Further Reading
• 📄 Requirements to any Work
• 📬 How to Apply

💡 Background

Your work will be part of a research project focused on exploring the pain points and innovation opportunities in the management consulting industry. While management consulting plays a crucial role in helping organizations navigate complex challenges, there is a need to identify and address the pain points faced by consultants and explore innovative approaches to enhance the value they provide to clients. Despite the significance of this industry, limited empirical research has been conducted to understand the specific pain points and explore innovative solutions.

Our research project offers you a thrilling opportunity to explore the intricacies of the management consulting industry, address its pain points, and unlock innovation opportunities. By engaging in this project, you will gain a profound understanding of the field, develop critical problem-solving skills, and position yourself for a rewarding future career. Embrace this chance to make a lasting impact in the industry and pave the way for your own professional success.

🦾Who We Are

The Chair for Strategy and Organization is focused on research with impact. This means we do not want to repeat old ideas and base our research solely on the research people did 10 years ago. Instead, we currently research topics that will shape the future. Topics such as Agile Organizations and Digital Disruption, Blockchain Technology, Creativity and Innovation, Digital Transformation and Business Model Innovation, Diversity, Education: Education Technology and Performance Management, HRTech, Leadership, and Teams.. We are always early in noticing trends, technologies, strategies, and organizations that shape the future, which has its ups and downs.

This thesis will be co-supervised Isabell Welpe and Bernd Storm.

🎯 Goals

This thesis aims to provide a comprehensive exploration of the pain points faced by management consultants and identify opportunities for innovation within the industry. By conducting qualitative interviews and evaluating the experiences of consultants, the research will shed light on the challenges they encounter and investigate potential innovative approaches to enhance their effectiveness and client value.

Upon completing this thesis, the student will have produced significant knowledge in three critical areas:

A) Understanding the biggest inefficiencies and pain points experienced by clients who engage management consultants. Through thorough research and analysis, the student will gain insights into the specific challenges and obstacles organizations face when seeking consulting services. This knowledge will provide a deep understanding of the underlying causes of these pain points, allowing consultants to develop targeted strategies and solutions to effectively address them.

B) Identifying consulting tasks and processes that have the potential to be automated. By examining current consulting practices and emerging technological advancements, the student will uncover areas where automation can streamline operations, improve efficiency, and enhance client outcomes. This knowledge will contribute to identifying which tasks and processes can be automated, enabling consultants to optimize their workflows and allocate resources more effectively.

C) Evaluating which tasks and processes in management consulting would benefit from a Business-to-Business (B2B) Software as a Service (SaaS) model. By examining the unique characteristics of the consulting industry, the student will identify specific tasks and processes that can be effectively delivered through a B2B SaaS model. This knowledge will highlight the potential benefits of leveraging SaaS solutions in management consulting, such as scalability, cost-effectiveness, and improved client collaboration.

Through in-depth qualitative interviews and evaluation, this thesis will provide valuable insights into the pain points, opportunities for automation, and potential benefits of a B2B SaaS model in the management consulting industry. The knowledge generated will contribute to the advancement of the field, empower consultants to address client needs more effectively, and drive innovation and efficiency in consulting practices.

🧠 Topics of Interest

• Innovation opportunities for consultants
• Identify pain points in the management consulting industry
• Explore innovation opportunities for consultants
• Understand challenges faced by clients engaging consultants
• Analyze inefficiencies in consulting processes
• Investigate strategies to address pain points through automation
• Examine emerging technologies (eg AI) for innovation in consulting
• Evaluate opportunities for automation in consulting tasks
• Identify areas where client value creation can be enhanced through automation
• Qualitative research methods and Interviewing in the consulting context

🎓 Profile

• Proficiency in conducting interviews
• Enrolled in a Bachelor’s or Master's program related to Business Administration/Management/Consulting
• Fluent in English (additional proficiency in German is a plus)
• Reliable, self-driven, and motivated
• Demonstrated interest in management consulting and innovation
• Passion for learning and conducting impactful research

📚 Further Reading

1. Sturdy, A., Handley, K., Clark, T., & Fincham, R. (2009). Management Consultancy: Boundaries and Knowledge in Action. Oxford University Press.
2. Glückler, J., & Armbrüster, T. (2003). Bridging uncertainty in management consulting: The mechanisms of trust and networked reputation. Organization Studies, 24(2), 269-297.
3. Nikolova, N., Möllering, G., & Reihlen, M. (2015). Trusting as a ‘Leap of Faith’: Trust-building practices in client–consultant relationships. Scandinavian Journal of Management, 31(2), 232-245.
4. Bessant, J., & Rush, H. (1995). Building bridges for innovation: the role of consultants in technology transfer. Research policy, 24(1), 97-114.
5. Sturdy, A. (2011). Consultancy's Consequences? A Critical Assessment of Management Consultancy's Impact on Management. British Journal of Management, 22(3), 517-530.
6. Clark, T., & Fincham, R. (2002). Critical Consulting: New Perspectives on the Management Advice Industry. Administrative Science Quarterly, 47(1), 162-165.
7. Mohe, M., & Seidl, D. (2011). Theorising the client–consultant relationship from the perspective of social-systems theory. Organization, 18(2), 3-22.
8. Nicolai, A. T., & Seidl, D. (2010). That’s Relevant! Different Forms of Practical Relevance in Management Science. Organization Studies, 31(9-10), 1256-1285.

📄 Requirements to any Work

We do not want your research to gather dust in some corner of bookshelf but make it accessible to the world. Thus, we warmly encourage you to create some or all of the following:

• Infograph - visually represent some of your work
• Slide Deck - prepare a slide deck on your overall topic with relevant, interesting and impactful findings
• MVP- Develop a prototype with us

📬 How to Apply

If you are interested, please contact Isabell Welpe and Bernd Storm by submitting your CV, a grade report, a short motivation and your suggested research approach.

We are looking forward to hearing from you!

👉 Bernd: bernd@bitsandpretzels.com

👉 Isabell: welpe@tum.de