A consulting firm is a firm of experts (consultants) that provide professional advice for a fee. The primary purpose of a consulting firm is to provide access to industry-specific specialists and subject matter expertise. Expertise covers a wide range – any subject in which individuals earn a specialized degree or accumulate specialized knowledge.
While business advisory services have existed in some form for over 100 years, it wasn’t until a 1930 Business Weekarticle reported the emergence of a new professional service dubbed ‘management consulting’ that the services gained their current name. Broadly speaking, the consulting industry provides firms with ready access to specialized business knowledge and processes, organizational expertise and managerial techniques. Because it is dependent on client profitability, consulting is generally a cyclical industry. The industry is expected to generate $391 billion in revenues globally in 2012, about 40 % of which...
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Layne-Farrar, A. (2016). Consulting Firms. In: Augier, M., Teece, D. (eds) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Strategic Management. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-94848-2_467-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-94848-2_467-1
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Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Online ISBN: 978-1-349-94848-2
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