Operational Adaptation and Innovation During COVID-19: Lessons Learned from Consulting and a Road Map for the Future

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally changed professional service firm (PSF) operations, most visible perhaps in the transition to a work from home economy. This study is a deep dive into management consulting (a common type of PSF) and describes the impact of the pandemic on short- and long-term operations. It uses a mixed-method approach to data collection (primary/secondary and quantitative/qualitative) to explain the operational adaptations that consulting firms made in response to the pandemic and the service innovations that resulted. During the pandemic, disruptions to client mix, customer experience, customer acquisition, and employee lifestyle triggered new organizational challenges in strategic planning, marketing, employee relations, and cost control. Firms responded by modifying operational characteristics (e.g., customer engagement, customization, knowledge intensity, and capital intensity). Successful operational adaptations led to service innovation (most commonly in product, strategy, delivery, and marketing). The study finishes with an exploration of how the lessons learned in management consulting may provide a road map for other PSFs and more generalized services in a post-pandemic world.