Chapter 7: Professionalizing Practices in Advisory Work: Presenting a Conceptual Approach to Study the Relations among Institutionalization, Reflective Learning, and Quality in Consultancy

In the open and loosely demarcated occupational field of consulting, the roles and identities of those doing advisory work are under continual adaptation and negotiation. Many of the efforts to adapt or negotiate what consultants do may be defined as efforts to professionalize the trade—they are geared at enhancing the quality of advisory work. In this chapter, we propose a conceptual approach to professionalization and the quality of consulting. We operate from the premise that professionalization is an ongoing, multifaceted process in the interactions and relations among consultants as a profession and between consultants and their clients—governments, the public and other individuals and organizations they meet in their work. Together, these actors develop institutions, such as shared rules, habits, identities, routines, and norms, while individually they reflect on the way institutions are put into practice—both to improve the effectiveness and the quality of their work. However, higher quality is not guaranteed in this process, as professionalization efforts may have unexpected and counterproductive consequences—such as market distortions or arrogant behavior towards clients. Hence, it is necessary to study the effects of professionalizing activities in practice.