Suchergebnisse

What is it that we do when we say to our business partner that we trust them? Or when we hint that we would consider a withdrawal from cooperation a betrayal? Relying on a systemic functional grammar analysis, interorganizational relationships (IORs) are in this study shown to be characterized by a recurring dilemma: the involved partners are expected to be transparent and explicit regarding their intentions while at the same time being open to opportunities that the IOR may present. In the struggle to balance between these opposing demands, trust is used by trustees to promise both explicitness and opportunity. Conversely, trustors of IORs pressure the trustee to continue the cooperation by evoking latent accusations of betrayal. The intended result of these rhetorical strategies is to prolong the IOR until it can be properly evaluated. While this prolongation accrues to the systems of IORs and to participating organizations, the costs for the involved individuals can be considerable. The trustor risks feeling betrayed, and the trustee risks being accused of betrayal for reasons that are beyond his or her control.

AbstractPublic organizations increasingly rely on management consultants to access expertise, impose reforms, and drive organizational change, and spend large sums each year on their services. Despite this, we know little about the antecedents of public organizations' use of management consulting services. Drawing on upper echelon theory, a longitudinal hypothesis‐testing study of the hiring of management consultants in 72 Swedish public organizations, and interviews with Swedish chief executives (CEs), we find an inverted U‐shaped relationship between CE tenure and public organizations' use of management consulting services. We also find that this relationship is moderated by CEs' previous experience and managerial discretion. These findings contribute to theorizing on the use of management consulting services and the influence of CEs in public organizations.