How Consultants Can Shape Project Outcomes Before Things Get Started: The Role of Fit Between Price-Based Positioning and Contextual Factors for Project Performance

摘要

Over the last years, it has become more challenging for consultancies to remain successful in their business.For example, clients increasingly focus on price and apply formal procedures including a request for proposal(RFP)stage in their purchasing of consulting services.To stay ahead of competition, consultancies need not only to be awarded contracts but also to initiate high-performing projects that contribute to client retention, consultancy growth, and the generation of repeat business.In this respect, the consultancy's positioning activities, a major source for firms to establish a competitive advantage, should be crucial to successfully pass the RFP stage and to initiate successful projects.The goal of this research is thus to examine the role of the consultancy's positioning during the client's RFP process on subsequent project performance.More specifically, we first conceptualize the major dimensions that consultants consider in their offer positioning.Second, we analyze how the fit between a consultant's high(vs.low)focus on price-based positioning and a wide range of contextual variables affects subsequent project performance.We focus on the final phase of the RFP procedure, that is, the time between the sales pitch and the final award of the project.