The selection of management consultants: How are governments dealing with this difficult decision? An exploratory study

Although the public sector has become a major employer of management consultants, no research has previously been undertaken to investigate the purchase of management consultants in the public sector context. Outlines an investigation into the purchase of management consultants by government departments, focusing specifically on the selection decision. The UK and Australia were examined to ensure that the findings were not merely local phenomena. Research focused on the public sector decision makers’ guiding procurement principle, value for money, and the criteria and information sources both used and desired to assist the purchase decision. It was found that there was widespread and relatively uniform understanding of the procurement principle, value for money, although there appeared to be a lack of connection between this principle and procurement practice. Public sector decision makers also believed that they had adequate although not satisfactory access to information upon which to base their decisions while, significantly, it was revealed that these decision makers did not believe the selection decision for management consultants was, overall, difficult. Concludes that the implications of this research are twofold. First, it highlights the issues of “corporate memory” and information management, and their impact upon informed decision making, and secondly it questions the applicability of private sector research to public sector practice.