Abstract
Management consulting is generally described as a process of helping managers solve problems that appear as part of their managerial responsibilities. The International Council of Management Consulting Institutes (ICMCI), for example, defines management consulting as "the rendering of independent advice and assistance about the process of management to clients with management responsibilities" (www.icimi.com). This view of management consulting, with its focus on the consultants independence, draws a strong line between the consultants and the client. Indeed, in the literature the consultant¨s independent and neutral role in relation to the client is repeatedly highlighted as a central feature of management consulting (Greiner & Metzger, 1983; Kyrö, 1995). A management consultant stands apart from the client, not taking the client's problem definition and facts as a given, but forming his or her own, independent appraisal (Greiner & Metzger, 1983, p. 6).