Liminal Space Duality- Socialisation into the consultant working context

Abstract

This study investigates the working condition of the management consultant and how a newcomer is socialised into it by drawing insights from liminality, sensemaking and sensegiving research. 25 interviews were held with employees from three different global consultancy firms with experience ranging from 0-6 years. We found that newcomers' sensemaking is influenced by their clients and firm expectations, while the firms also provide plausible maps for sensemaking. Furthermore, we add to the discussion of the consultant condition with our conceptual model on liminal space duality; a mental overlap of liminal spaces that increases the stress on the identity work of the liminal worker. This liminal space duality is the result of their simultaneous work within the consultant condition and the socialisation into the consultancy firm. Within the condition of liminal space duality, mental separation of the liminal spaces is possible due to project experience, the ability to distinguish uncertainty from ambiguity and the utilisation of the provided support mechanisms.