Die Arbeit untersucht den Effekt von Soft Skills (Aktives Zuhören, Emotionale Intelligenz "EI", Ethik und Integrität)und Fachwissen eines Beraters auf die Kundenbeziehung in den Dimensionen (Vertrauen, Loyalität, Zufriedenheit, Kundenbindung).
Im Rahmen einer Feldstudie wurden 181 Führungskräfte mit Einfluß auf die Beraterauswahl aus dem Bereich der Maschinenbau- und Automotive-Industrie mittels eines webbasierten Fragebogens befragt.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
1.1 Background, Scope, and Context
1.2 Motivation, Research Objectives, and Hypotheses
1.3 Approach and structure
2. Literature Review
2.1 An Overview
2.2 The Specific Characteristic of Management Consulting Services
2.3 Business Relationships
2.3.1 What are Business Relationships?
2.3.2 The Role of Trust and Commitment
2.3.3 Customer Satisfaction
2.3.4 Customer Loyalty, Retention, and Defection
2.4. Soft Skills – Drivers of Successful Business Relationships?
2.4.1 Definition and Scope
2.4.2 Communication Skills
2.4.3 Emotional Intelligence
2.4.4 Ethics and Integrity
2.5 Literature Review Summary and Implications
3. Aims, Objectives, and Hypotheses
3.1 Aims and Objectives
3.2 Building of Sub-Hypotheses
4. Research Design
4.1 Philosophy, Approach, Purpose, and Method
4.2 Sampling and Data Collection
4.3 The Research Instrument
4.3.1 Appropriateness
4.3.2 Measures
4.3.3 Reliability and Validity
4.3.4 Questionnaire Design and Administration
4.4 Data Analysis and Presentation
4.4.1 Scale, Reliability and Assumptions
4.4.2 Hypothesis Testing
5. Results
5.1 Data Presentation
5.1.1 Sample Description
5.1.2 Business Relationships and Skills
5.2 Hypotheses Testing
5.2.1 Statistical Significance
5.2.2 Sub-Hypotheses SH1 – SH3 and SH5-SH7
5.2.3 Sub-Hypotheses SH4 and SH8
5.2.4 Sub-Hypothesis SH9
5.2.5 Basic Working Hypothesis
6. Discussion, Conclusion, and Recommendation
6.1 Summary of Findings
6.1.1 The Business Relationship
6.1.2 Soft Skills and Technical Skills
6.2 Research Limitations
6.3 Suggestions for Future Research
6.4 Recommendations for Executives
6.5 Conclusion
Research Objectives and Themes
This study aims to investigate the impact of management consultants' soft skills on dyadic customer relationships within the metal processing and automotive sectors in German-speaking regions. The core research question addresses whether a higher level of soft skills in consultants correlates with increased client trust, loyalty, and satisfaction, and decreased customer defection.
- Analysis of the influence of communication, emotional intelligence, ethics, and integrity on business relationships.
- Evaluation of the relative importance of soft skills versus technical skills in consulting.
- Development of HR recommendations for the selection, training, and development of consultants based on research findings.
- Investigation of key business relationship dimensions including trust, commitment, satisfaction, and loyalty.
- Exploration of the role of "active listening" as a central communicative soft skill.
Excerpt from the Book
2.3.2 The Role of Trust and Commitment
Trust is one of the focal points in academic work about business relationships. It is a ‘critical element in developing a business relationship’ (Foreman, 1997).
In reference to ‘trust’, words like willingness, belief, fulfilment, confidence, expectations, and promises are quite frequently used (Weitz, 1989). Ramsey and Sohi (1997) use many of these terms when they define trust (in terms of sales personnel) as ‘a confident belief that the salesperson can be relied upon to behave in such a manner that the long-term interest of the customer will be served’. MacMillan (2000) sees trust ‘as stakeholder expectations about how a business will behave in the future’.
Leuthesser (1997) adds that long-term interests of buyers and sellers of services may differ, but both share the common focus in achieving shared objectives. Of course, the relational behaviour of suppliers can be instrumental in order to develop trust.
Doney and Cannon (1997) state that trust has two components: credibility and benevolence. Credibility means that both parties’ statements are reliable. Benevolence means that both parties are concerned about the other side’s welfare. Building on several academic disciplines, Doney and Cannon describe five cognitive processes to develop trust.
The initial calculative phase, where the trustor ‘calculates… in an untrustworthy manner’ is followed by the prediction of the trustor who ‘develops confidence that the target’s behaviour can be predicted’. After that, the trustor looks for ‘evidence of the target’s ability to fulfil its promises (i.e. capability) and ‘evaluates the target’s motivations’ (= intentionality). Finally, the trustor ‘draws on proof sources, from which trust is transferred to the target’ (= transference). The model also offers generic drivers and ‘factors that invoke the trust-building process’ for each step.
MacMillan (2000) adds that ‘the past trust-related behaviour’ should also be taken into consideration, which ultimately means that the level of trust can change over time.
Chapter Summary
1. Introduction: Outlines the shift towards a buyer's market in consulting and establishes the core research question regarding the role of soft skills in building sustainable client relationships.
2. Literature Review: Provides a comprehensive overview of existing theories on business relationships, soft skills, and the specific dynamics within management consulting and the automotive/metal processing industry.
3. Aims, Objectives, and Hypotheses: Details the primary research objectives and breaks down the main hypothesis into nine sub-hypotheses focusing on trust, satisfaction, loyalty, and technical versus soft skill comparisons.
4. Research Design: Describes the post-positivist, deductive research approach and the use of an online survey administered to 181 executives to generate primary data.
5. Results: Presents the statistical analysis of the survey, validating the sub-hypotheses through the chi-square and gamma tests of association.
6. Discussion, Conclusion, and Recommendation: Synthesizes the findings, acknowledges research limitations, and offers practical HR management recommendations for consulting firms.
Keywords
Management Consulting, Soft Skills, Business Relationships, Customer Loyalty, Trust, Customer Satisfaction, Active Listening, Emotional Intelligence, Ethics, Integrity, Technical Skills, Client Retention, Automotive Industry, Metal Processing, HR Management.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this dissertation?
The dissertation explores the impact of management consultants' soft skills—specifically active listening, emotional intelligence, ethics, and integrity—on key business relationship characteristics like trust, loyalty, and satisfaction.
What are the core research areas of this work?
The main themes include management consulting service characteristics, the definition and importance of soft skills, the anatomy of business-to-business relationships, and the comparative influence of soft versus technical skills.
What is the central research question?
The study asks whether a higher level of soft skills possessed by a management consultant leads to higher levels of client trust, loyalty, satisfaction, and a reduction in customer defection.
Which methodology was employed for the research?
The author utilized a quantitative, cross-sectional approach, employing an online survey distributed to 181 executives in the German-speaking metal processing and automotive industries.
What does the main body of the work cover?
It includes a literature review of business relationship theories, the formation of specific testable sub-hypotheses, a detailed research design, presentation of survey data, and a final statistical analysis confirming the impact of soft skills.
Which keywords best describe this research?
Key terms include Management Consulting, Soft Skills, Business Relationships, Trust, Customer Loyalty, Emotional Intelligence, and Active Listening.
How does the author define "soft skills" in this study?
The author defines soft skills primarily by the method of elimination, categorizing them as non-technical skills, but further structures them into four specific dimensions: active listening, emotional intelligence, ethics, and integrity.
Why did the author focus on the German-speaking automotive and metal processing sector?
This specific industry focus was chosen due to the author's professional network, existing expertise, and the industry's current high level of market volatility and transformation, which necessitates sustainable consultant-client relationships.
Was the main working hypothesis confirmed?
Yes, the data analysis, supported by statistical significance testing, confirmed that soft skills are a key driver of successful business relationships, leading the author to answer the research question with a definitive "yes."
- Citation du texte
- Franz Kriechbaum (Auteur), 2010, Successful Business Relationships in Management Consulting, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/186727
