External Consulting in Strategic Communication: Functions and Roles Within Systems Theory

Abstract

Although there is a broad body of scientific and practice-oriented literature on management consulting (see Engwall & Kipping, this issue), communication science in general and PR research in particular still lack a basic theoretical approach to PR consulting. Broad sections of the literature on consulting are marked by a very narrow focus on practical areas of application. The literature on management consulting, in particular, is largely practice-oriented and characterized by a low degree of scientific reflection on consulting practice. The objective of this article is to identify key building blocks of a sociologically based theory of external consulting in strategic communication and thereby redress a fundamental deficit in theory-building work. For this purpose, recourse is made to systems theory and the theory of systemic consulting, which represents the most fully developed theoretical approach to consulting at the present time. The central difference between classical organizational consulting approaches and systemic consulting lies in the understanding of the consultant's role. Whereas the role of the consultant in systemic consulting is primarily that of an observer who supports the client system through forms of systemic learning and self-reflection when overcoming complexity, classical approaches assign a more directive role to consultants.