Combining management consultancy and research

Consultancy provides the academic with experience which can provide a rich source of research material. In practice attempts to combine consultancy and research can be frustrating. In general consultants and academics differ in their motivations, outlook and behaviour. For a consulting assignment to act as a research vehicle, many different approaches can be adopted and a wide variety of subject matter can be the focus of attention. In the paper these issues are explored in relation to the author’s experience in conducting an information systems project at an Australian iron ore mine. Consultants lack an explicit philosophy to provide coherence to their practice: pragmatism may be sufficient but the possibilities of a post-modernist stance are intriguing. For academics who wish to engage in consultancy the challenge is to understand and perform the role of the consultant beyond the constraints of their academic beliefs and behaviours.