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Community News - Consulting and Management in Central and Eastern Europe
Posted by Tarnjeet Kang on 2008/09/29
Consulting and Management in Central and Eastern Europe
Convenors and guest editors:
Michael Faust (SOFI Institute, University of Goettingen), Michael Mohe (University of Oldenburg), and Manfred Moldaschl (Chemnitz University of Technology)
The conference will be held November 6, 2008 in Berlin.
Consulting and Management in Central and Eastern Europe
Although management consulting originally emerged in the US, it became a widespread business activity all over the world, and more recently also in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). From a CEE perspective, management consultancies are often supposed to be carriers of global best practices across national borders. From the perspective of West European consulting firms, the transformation of CEE countries after 1989 opened up new opportunities for their own transnational expansion. Critical observers see this expansion as a central element in the hegemonial production and diffusion of managerial ideology, while others emphasise the impossibilities of ‘knowledge transfer’, which they base on theories of implicit knowledge and cultural diversity.
The potential for transferring knowledge and concepts depend on the homogeneity of the targeted countries, as well as on the similarity between countries of origin and target countries. Management consulting has traditionally tended to assume a high degree of transferability. It’s an open question whether, and if so how, Western consulting firms adapt to local circumstances, problems, and knowledge, and to what extent the demand for consulting services articulates that. Research into this process of transformation has argued that the parameters specific to CEE have to be taken into account seriously. Yet, despite the fact that ‘managerial learning’ in transformation processes has been an important issue in previous research, scholars have paid attention only occasionally to the role of consultants in countries that have been through economic transformation and to the effects of consultants on the development of managerial competencies, world-views, and professional identities.
Thus, management consulting in CEE might require different models of client interaction and intervention. Strategic options on how consultancies could implement such models as part of their expansion strategies include: founding own establishments and complementing their staff with local personnel; buying a local firm, utilising its human and customer capital; cooperating with local firms, which themselves might profit from the symbolic capital of Western firms (at least, if those firms are not known as brands, local firms could capitalise on the appeal of their Western origin). Practically, large players, mainly of US origin, are already internationalised, using all these options, while among small and medium-size consulting firms most still follow their clients abroad.
We know little about management consulting in, and targeted at, CEE countries and their emerging consulting markets. More specifically, the perspectives of clients in CEE remain unexplored. Thus, for the purposes of this specials issue and conference, we encourage particularly the participation of academics from different disciplines with an interest in the topics of consulting, management, or internationalisation and a special focus on CEE. We would welcome empirical as well as theoretical contributions dealing with issues such as (the list is not exhaustive):
The role of Western or ‘global’ management consultancies in different phases of CEE transformation and their impact on different issues, such as economic regulation and policies, privatisation, and industry and/or company restructuring.
Internationalisation strategies of (small and/or large) Western consulting firms targeting the CEE: market entry, market penetration, client structure and major consulting issues.
Relevance and characteristics of West–East consultancy partnerships: are they mutually supportive or unilaterally exploitative? Local CEE consulting markets and profiles/strategies of domestic consulting firms.
Characteristics of the client–consultant interaction in CEE countries Evidence and explanations for divergent developments in consulting and management learning in specific CEE countries. Substantiated analyses of opportunities and risks, as well as successes and failures of West European consultants in CEE markets. Alternatives or functional equivalents to external and commercial consulting in CEE (e.g. the development of in-house consulting units). Strategies and organisational measures that CEE clients could adopt for dealing with consultants (e.g. purchasing, managing, evaluating consultancies).
http://www.obie-beratungsforschung.de/drupal/node/77
Convenors and guest editors:
Michael Faust (SOFI Institute, University of Goettingen), Michael Mohe (University of Oldenburg), and Manfred Moldaschl (Chemnitz University of Technology)
The conference will be held November 6, 2008 in Berlin.
Consulting and Management in Central and Eastern Europe
Although management consulting originally emerged in the US, it became a widespread business activity all over the world, and more recently also in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). From a CEE perspective, management consultancies are often supposed to be carriers of global best practices across national borders. From the perspective of West European consulting firms, the transformation of CEE countries after 1989 opened up new opportunities for their own transnational expansion. Critical observers see this expansion as a central element in the hegemonial production and diffusion of managerial ideology, while others emphasise the impossibilities of ‘knowledge transfer’, which they base on theories of implicit knowledge and cultural diversity.
The potential for transferring knowledge and concepts depend on the homogeneity of the targeted countries, as well as on the similarity between countries of origin and target countries. Management consulting has traditionally tended to assume a high degree of transferability. It’s an open question whether, and if so how, Western consulting firms adapt to local circumstances, problems, and knowledge, and to what extent the demand for consulting services articulates that. Research into this process of transformation has argued that the parameters specific to CEE have to be taken into account seriously. Yet, despite the fact that ‘managerial learning’ in transformation processes has been an important issue in previous research, scholars have paid attention only occasionally to the role of consultants in countries that have been through economic transformation and to the effects of consultants on the development of managerial competencies, world-views, and professional identities.
Thus, management consulting in CEE might require different models of client interaction and intervention. Strategic options on how consultancies could implement such models as part of their expansion strategies include: founding own establishments and complementing their staff with local personnel; buying a local firm, utilising its human and customer capital; cooperating with local firms, which themselves might profit from the symbolic capital of Western firms (at least, if those firms are not known as brands, local firms could capitalise on the appeal of their Western origin). Practically, large players, mainly of US origin, are already internationalised, using all these options, while among small and medium-size consulting firms most still follow their clients abroad.
We know little about management consulting in, and targeted at, CEE countries and their emerging consulting markets. More specifically, the perspectives of clients in CEE remain unexplored. Thus, for the purposes of this specials issue and conference, we encourage particularly the participation of academics from different disciplines with an interest in the topics of consulting, management, or internationalisation and a special focus on CEE. We would welcome empirical as well as theoretical contributions dealing with issues such as (the list is not exhaustive):
The role of Western or ‘global’ management consultancies in different phases of CEE transformation and their impact on different issues, such as economic regulation and policies, privatisation, and industry and/or company restructuring.
Internationalisation strategies of (small and/or large) Western consulting firms targeting the CEE: market entry, market penetration, client structure and major consulting issues.
Relevance and characteristics of West–East consultancy partnerships: are they mutually supportive or unilaterally exploitative? Local CEE consulting markets and profiles/strategies of domestic consulting firms.
Characteristics of the client–consultant interaction in CEE countries Evidence and explanations for divergent developments in consulting and management learning in specific CEE countries. Substantiated analyses of opportunities and risks, as well as successes and failures of West European consultants in CEE markets. Alternatives or functional equivalents to external and commercial consulting in CEE (e.g. the development of in-house consulting units). Strategies and organisational measures that CEE clients could adopt for dealing with consultants (e.g. purchasing, managing, evaluating consultancies).
http://www.obie-beratungsforschung.de/drupal/node/77
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