Critical Consulting

New Perspectives on the Management Advice Industry

Timothy Clark editor Robin Fincham editor

Format:Paperback

Publisher:John Wiley and Sons Ltd

Published:6th Sep '01

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Critical Consulting cover

The critical analysis presented here evaluates what management consultants offer as well as analysing the emergence of their industry as a contemporary social phenomenon.


  • Presents the latest research from the most influential researchers in the field.
  • Takes an inter-disciplinary approach, chapters analyse critical theory, organizational behaviour, sociology, psychology, actor-network theory and narrative analysis.
  • Provides the first critical evaluation of the different actors and activities that comprise the management advice sector.

"...an important and theoretically innovative book highlighting the power games and discursive strategies that consutlants used to legitimise their knowledge claimes". Denis Saint-Martin, Universite de Montreal

"This book represents an admirable resource for learning about current consulting practices, about their historical roots, and their underlying assumptions. The case studies are rich with concrete illustrations and informed by sound scholarly research." Chris Argyris, Harvard Business School

"Management Consultants are unloved - perhaps even by their own mothers - and they are misunderstood. This splendid volume tackles the latter problem with considerable success; now we understand why management consultants are unloved." Stuart Macdonald, University of Sheffield

"With contributions from the leading researchers in the area, this book provides fresh insights into the growth of the management advice industry and a valuable addition to the critical literature in this area". Dr Christopher Wright, University of New South Wales

"This book is a landmark that will set the parameters for future thinking about the role of consultants." Professor Stephen Hill, London School of Economics

ISBN: 9780631218203

Dimensions: 244mm x 170mm x 23mm

Weight: 508g

296 pages