Strategic capabilities which lead to management consulting success in Australia

Reports the findings of a study which aimed to identify the strategic capabilities which lead to management consulting success. The study also aimed to find out what management consultants consider to be performance indicators of consulting success and whether these were related to the strategic capabilities. The research design for this study was a modified generative strategy. Several data collection methods, namely, interviews, content analysis and questionnaire surveys, were used to generate both quantitative and qualitative data. Twenty‐one strategic capabilities were identified. These were subsumed under the broad categories of (1) functions and (2) skills and values. The three most critical functions identified, in descending order, were quality of service, setting objectives and solving problems. The three most crucial skills/values were integrity and honesty, client‐consultant communication and credibility. Ten performance indicators were identified. Of these, the three most critical, as identified by the respondents, were, customer satisfaction, profitability and repeat business.