Managing knowledge in uncertain times : a study of three Swedish management consulting firms

Abstract: Background: The management consulting industry has been facing difficulty. Since knowledge is described as such an important asset it is in our opinion interesting to study how it is managed in times of uncertainty. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to study how management-consulting companies follow their knowledge management strategies in times of uncertainty. Procedure: Personal interviews were conducted with three consulting firms. Result: The consulting firms we interviewed have not been focusing on knowledge management questions during the uncertain last two years because of a lack of both time and money. Therefore, according to our findings management-consulting firms interrupted the previously followed knowledge management strategy. Knowledge management issues instead had to remain unchanged, which in the case companies seem to be close to the personalisation strategy