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Government agencies’ use of management consulting services in Sweden – an explorative study

Author

Listed:
  • Pemer, Frida

    (Dept. of Management and Organization)

  • Börjeson, Love

    (Stanford University)

  • Werr, Andreas

    (Dept. of Management and Organization)

Abstract

The current paper investigates the use of management consultants in the Swedish public sector. Based on an analysis of the use of management consulting services in 55 Government agencies (GAs) in the years 2004-2011 the paper makes a number of contributions. First it confirms an overall growth of the use of consulting services in the public sector. However, it also shows that the use of consulting services and its growth are unevenly distributed across organizations, where GAs with a highly professionalized work force are less heavy users of consulting services than regular GAs. The study also points at temporal variations in GAs use of consulting services. Here changes in top management, especially the CEO, are identified as initiators of temporary reductions of the use of consulting services.

Suggested Citation

  • Pemer, Frida & Börjeson, Love & Werr, Andreas, 2014. "Government agencies’ use of management consulting services in Sweden – an explorative study," SSE Working Paper Series in Business Administration 2014:3, Stockholm School of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhb:hastma:2014_003
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    5. Robin Fincham, 1999. "The Consultant–Client Relationship: Critical Perspectives on the Management of Organizational Change," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(3), pages 335-351, May.
    6. Hislop, Donald, 2002. "The client role in consultancy relations during the appropriation of technological innovations," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(5), pages 657-671, July.
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