MANAGEMENT CONSULTING: A REVIEW OF FIFTY YEARS OF SCHOLARLY RESEARCH

Purpose – Academic research on management consulting or having management consultancy as the main research field is huge as the sector is a strategic one for management innovation, but a systematic and updated literature review is missing. This paper aims to fill this gap by providing a comprehensive systematic review of scholarly peer reviewed journals looking at the ambivalent roles of consultants in driving management innovation as well as management fashions. Design/methodology/approach – A systematic literature review has been performed. Findings – This paper provides a systematization of existing literature, where the state of the art is assessed and future research paths are highlighted. Originality/value – The proposed research fills the gap concerning a review of literature on this topic and provides an analysis of 50 years of scholarly research, highlighting both the bright and dark sides of management consulting. Keywords Literature review, Knowledge management, Management innovation, Strategic management and leadership, Management fashion, Management consulting, Client-consultant relationship Paper type Literature review