Market conditions

By Zoë Stumpf.

Reflecting on a recent trip to Dubai, I realise that it’s not very often that you hear someone in that part of the world talking about things being “too big”. From the 828m-high Burj Khalifa—still the tallest building in the world—to the supersized, super-stocked aquarium in the Dubai Mall, to the Palm—one of the world’s largest artificial islands, “too big” is the region’s version of “just right”.

But there’s clearly a different kind of “just right” when it comes to oil prices—at least as far as the consulting market is concerned.

By Julie Ahadi.

Every year, we evaluate the attractiveness of each consulting market in response to a simple question: Looking at the next 12 months only, where should you invest? The results for 2019 are in, and taking pole position for the fourth year in a row is the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland). Beating 17 other contenders to the top spot, the DACH market has even managed to widen its lead over the second-placed market, which this year is the US. A solid performance then. But what’s so good about the DACH consulting market? And are there any reasons to be cautious?

By Callum Jack.

The Japan market—a tough nut to crack for consulting firms in the past—is generating quite a buzz. As organisations start to use consultants more than ever before, consulting firms are sensing huge opportunities and are acting fast, which is intensifying competition.

In the past, Japanese business leaders were loath to spend on consultants for two reasons. First, the culture of international consulting firms didn’t always fit with the Japanese way of doing things. Differences in etiquette, hierarchical structures, and decision-making processes made it very difficult for firms to build strong client relationships. Second, Japanese clients—already sceptical about buying anything intangible—didn’t see the value in buying consulting advice if you couldn’t measure its impact. As a result, the Japan consulting market, valued at just US$1.4bn, is much smaller than its counterparts in other mature economies like the UK, where the consulting market is worth US$10bn and in a much smaller economy.

These challenges have hitherto prevented international consulting firms from really pushing to establish their presence in Japan. However, many of the consulting leaders we’ve spoken with recently are now investing heavily in Japan, and they cite four reasons for their new-found optimism.