Professional Identity Formation: Exploring the Effects of Covid-19 on Management Consulting Firms

Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, organizations have been facing a worldwide anomaly, in which taken-for-granted work practices, norms, and identities are challenged. Building on a literature review and qualitative interview study, the current paper explores how consultants in management consultancies form and reform their identities as they adjust to working remotely via digital tools. We find that working virtually negatively influences both socialization and belonging in the consulting project teams. This, in turn, leads to unintended consequences, such as cultural changes, a loss of uniqueness, and increased risk of commodification. Thus, the anomaly that Covid-19 has presented us with, seems to normalize the hitherto “unique” management consultancies, thereby decreasing their status and competitiveness.