This thesis focuses on how small to medium-sized management consultancies internationalise, as this is an under-researched area. Investigation focuses on identifying the factors that facilitate international market success for these small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the challenges they encounter, and how those challenges have been overcome. The relevance of SME internationalisation theories is explored for SME management consultancies in the UK. The study is exploratory, phenomenological and framed within an interpretive research paradigm. Primary data was gathered qualitatively using multiple (9) case studies, collected principally through semi-structured interviews. This empirical research, one of the first to focus solely on SME management consultancies, finds the owner/founders as the key driver of internationalisation. Their past experience enables an international outlook and brings established networks to firm formation. The findings highlight the relevance of intangible resources: the firms’ skills, competencies and networking capabilities, as integral to successful internationalisation. Additional key critical success factors are niche market specialisation, firm reputation, firm location, ability for service provision modification and the role of technology. There are observed firm size-related differences in the challenges these firms face, with smaller-sized firms being more vulnerable to challenges from the external environment, including the 2008 financial crisis. Firms are able to overcome these challenges with the help of their networks. Other challenges stem from the firm’s service provision: difficulty in finding skilled staff and communication with clients. The findings suggest applicability for other knowledge-intensive firms. The research contributes to closing the gap in literature on how firms successfully provide services internationally and in so doing advances theoretical understanding of SME service internationalisation. This theory-building research demonstrates partial relevance of Stage Theory, Networking Theory, and Born Global Theory, but overall the resource-based view was found as the most relevant to understanding the internationalisation process of SME management consultancies. This sets a foundation for further research on the internationalisation process of other knowledge-intensive firms.

This diploma thesis deals with the subject of external human resource consultancy. It introduces the comprehensive view on consultancy process and describes in detail the range of human resources agendas associated with consultancy. The entire document links theoretical findings with business practice and demonstrates how the external consultancy can be applied in organizations. It reflects common problems in companies with emphasis on extended description of human resource outsourcing. Empirical part of the thesis looks into on-line offers of consultancy services in human resource management. This topic is subject of qualitative survey aimed at describing contemporary human resources consultancy market in Czech Republic. Survey findings present structure of consultancy services. Key words: consultancy, management consultancy, human resources consultancy, outsourcing, human resources outsourcing (HRO).

Management consulting is a growing field [1] that is of great importance for organisations to optimise their performance and develop plans for future improvements. In the recent years, many companies use experienced consultants in order to create a strong competitive advantage to withstand the competition and to easily find solutions suitable to different problems. Customer Value Sweden AB is a - start-up - consultancy firm that have been operating the last years in the Swedish market and offers customer database analyses to the e-commerce market. They become valuable tools for the retailers, by improving marketing activities directed toward present customers. By adopting a segmented marketing strategy, companies can target customers in a different way, thus enchanting their business [2]. This Master thesis work tries to introduce a new efficient and automated way for the company to increase its capacity and quality of the provided services. It is done by deploying an IT product realisation process that conceptualizes, designs and implements a new online web service that aims to automate the report generation process, which was carried out manually until now. This system will try to solve complexity, availability, and performance problems that occur in the current system and also open up now possibilities for future development and expansion. The key benefits of the new solution in contrast to the old one will be highlighted, as well as the process that was followed to realise it.

A Study On Taiwan’s Management Consulting Industry ~ An Application Of The Structure-Conduct-Performance Analysis Student: Hui-Wen Chang Advisor: Dr. Yung-Chien Lou ABSTRACT Among the service industries, management consultancy is the most prominent due to its importance for the prosperity and competitiveness of enterprises. Therefore, the motivation of carrying out this study is to explore ways to facilitate the successful development of management consulting industry and ultimately revive Taiwan’s economy. The focus of this study is concentrated on the characteristics of Taiwan’s management consulting industry by understanding its evolvement path, current condition, composition of five competitive forces, and its organization economic model to discover the industry’s structure, behavior pattern of participants and overall performance. This study also aims at identifying fundamental causes of the industry’s long-lasting problems and factors that hinder the implementation of the most frequently proposed recommendations in the past two decades. Through the application of S-C-P paradigm and the feedback from industry experts, this study concludes that the most frequently raised pressing issues of Taiwan’s management consulting industry are actually symptoms of the industry’s unique structure with 88% of industry participants employed fewer than 10 people (i.e. the cause), which reflects the influence of the industry’s low entry barrier, as well as the nature of management consultation knowledge, mindset of consultants and clients’ behavior. And pertaining to factors hindering the implementations of most frequently proposed recommendations in the past 20 years, this study comes to the conclusion that lacking of legislation, characteristics of management consultation services, mindset of industry participants, and clients’ true needs are major issues adding difficulties to the execution of various recommendations proposed. Last but not least, this study also proposes several criteria to enhance the effectiveness of recommendations proposed by previous studies.

在資訊時代引領的知識經濟中，知識密集型服務業已成為產業發展價值鏈中的重要一環，在創新中起著重要作用。 本研究主題在探討台灣的管理顧問服務公司要走向國際化應有的策略與重點執行方向。採取單一個案研究方法，以折衷理論和資源基礎理論為基礎的研究架構來檢視悦智全球顧問這個個案的狀況，並與顧問產業中國際化程度最深的標竿個案麥肯錫相比較，來進行台灣管理顧問公司走向國際化策略的探討。 研究結果發現，台灣管理顧問公司的國際化發展規劃，必須要先著重於：1) 人才資源管理 – 著重領導力，培養未來領袖 2)加速知識管理的能力建置 3)經驗值的累積與傳承制度 / Leading the knowledge economy in the information age, knowledge-intensive service industry has become an important part of the industry value chain, and plays an important role in innovation. This research topic is to explore the gaps and the implementation of a strategy and direction for Taiwan's management consultancy services company when it comes to be internationalizing of its operation. This thesis take single case research method, forming the research framework based on Eclectic Theory and Resource-Based View to examine the case of Atelligent Global Consulting, and comparing to the benchmark case McKinsey which has the deepest degree of internationalization in the consultancy industry, to discuss the internationalization strategy for Taiwanese management consultant firms. Findings, Taiwan management consultants international development plan must focus on: 1) human resource management – focuses on leadership, training future leaders 2) accelerate knowledge management capacity-building 3) experience accumulation and transmission system.