A Study on the effect of Consultant Selection on Consulting Satisfaction and Perceived Performance of Consulting

Background/Objective: Consulting is providing a meaningful contribution to strengthening small business competitiveness. In order to ensure that consulting obtains the results it intended, selecting a suitable consultant is very important. Method/ Statistical Analysis: From a sociological embeddeness and signal theory perspective, this study conducted an empirical analysis on what kind of standards that are applied when selecting consultants leads to a positive influence on satisfaction levels and results. 700 samples were gathered by conducting a random survey of Korean small business owners who had experienced consulting in 2014. In empirical analysis, it was analyzed using SPSS and AMOS 21. Findings: Results found that of the selection factors, embeddedness factors had a meaningful influence on consulting satisfaction levels, and that signal factors and consulting satisfaction levels had a meaningful influence on perceived performance results. Results also showed that of the selection factors, embeddedness factors did not have a meaningful influence on perceived performance results. In the studies on the strategic partner selection of consulting firm and the selection of information security consultant, the result that selection factors affect the satisfaction or performance is partially similar with this study. In the area of management consulting, the study on the selection factors of consultant is rare. In the previous studies on the similar selection factors had unclear or no theoretical background. This study has the meaning as a approach with the theoretical basis of embeddedness theory and signal theory about the consultant selection factors. Application/ Improvements: This study provides implications for the selection criteria to be applied when companies choose the consultant. Companies need to consider the signal factors more importantly, such as education, qualifications, experience.