One of the signs of a recovering economy is increased demand for strategy consulting, as organisations shift their sights from cutting costs to growing revenue.  But the surge of activity in the last few months disguises a longer-term malaise: few organisations are prepared to spend months every year developing their strategies and, with ex-consultants, higher salaries and MBAs, the quality of people available internally to do this has never been higher.

Over the last ten years, strategy consulting firms have adapted to this by becoming more involved in implementation.  But there are signs that even this response is running out of steam.  Ironically, implementation has opened the door to more operational firms, all of which have been flourishing.  With more competition, it has become harder for even the best known strategy firms to differentiate themselves and the result has been what Muir Sanderson, Managing Partner of Booz & Company in the UK, describes as a relationship "arms race".  The solution lies in greater innovation, but even this is something that the strategy firms will find difficult.

Source's new consulting market report provides an in depth analysis of the current paradigm in strategy consulting and features input from Boston Consulting Group, Booz & Company, Deloitte, Accenture, Ernst & Young and Accenture, amongst others. It is due to be published next week. To find out how you can get hold of a copy, please email Julie Cleasby or call Julie on 0845 2930992