Are Freelance Networks Disrupting the Swedish Management Consulting Market? - A qualitative study of the purchasing process of Swedish corporations

Abstract: The uncertainty in the purchasing process of management consulting services has been examined thoroughly through several studies. However, there is a lack of knowledge concerning how corporations evaluate a new type of player entering the Swedish management consulting market, the freelance networks. These provide management consulting services through a large roster of freelance management consultants whom they hire on a project basis. The aim of this study is therefore to outline how Swedish corporations evaluate these networks in their purchasing process. In order to examine this new phenomenon, an explorative study was conducted through interviews with CPOs at some of Sweden's largest corporations. By applying screening theory to the purchasing process, we were able to deduce that several of the criteria used to disqualify the networks were in fact not specific to the networks per se but rather new consulting firms in general. First of all, there needs to be an awareness of the networks and their offering. Furthermore, the networks have to show proof of concept in order for the large corporations to even consider them. Through a process map, we were able to demonstrate how the freelance networks are evaluated, concluding that projects typically performed by a single consultant could be an appropriate fit. With regards to larger projects, requiring teams of consultants and structural capital, the networks were disregarded in the purchasing process.