The impact of management consultants on public service efficiency

Ian Kirkpatrick; Andrew J. Sturdy; Nuria Reguera Alvarado; Antonio Blanco-Oliver; Gianluca Veronesi

doi:10.1332/030557318X15167881150799

The impact of management consultants on public service efficiency

Ian Kirkpatrick, Andrew J. Sturdy, Nuria Reguera Alvarado, Antonio Blanco-Oliver, Gianluca Veronesi

Management

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Public sector organisations often make use of management consultants in policy implementation, but we know little about the outcomes. The paper reports one of the first quantitative evaluations of the impact of consulting advice on efficiency of public sector organisations. We employ an extensive dataset covering English NHS acute care hospital trusts over a four-year period. Based on PCSEs estimations, the findings show a significantly positive relationship between consulting expenditure and organisational inefficiency. These results lend support to critical accounts of management consulting, highlighting the need for organisations to be circumspect in deciding whether and how to use these services.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	77-95
Number of pages	19
Journal	Policy and Politics
Volume	47
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1332/030557318X15167881150799
Publication status	Published - 1 Jan 2019

Keywords

Healthcare
Management consultancy
Public sector organisations
Service improvement

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10.1332/030557318X15167881150799

Cite this

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AB - Public sector organisations often make use of management consultants in policy implementation, but we know little about the outcomes. The paper reports one of the first quantitative evaluations of the impact of consulting advice on efficiency of public sector organisations. We employ an extensive dataset covering English NHS acute care hospital trusts over a four-year period. Based on PCSEs estimations, the findings show a significantly positive relationship between consulting expenditure and organisational inefficiency. These results lend support to critical accounts of management consulting, highlighting the need for organisations to be circumspect in deciding whether and how to use these services.

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The impact of management consultants on public service efficiency

Abstract

Keywords

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