Business Faculty Publications

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

11-1-2012

Publication Title

Business Economics

Keywords

consulting; engineering consulting

Disciplines

Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations | Marketing

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to assess and analyze the size and characteristics of the engineering consultancy market in select Western nations and worldwide. A secondary goal is two-fold: to look briefly at the training required for careers in this field and to evaluate the strategies of the participating firms. This sector has grown in the past half-century to about U.S.$550 billion revenue globally, with nearly 3 million establishments and about 500,000 employees. There are giant, multinational firms that span across regions; but the sector is still highly fragmented, and the top 10 firms have less than 15 percent of the global market share. The typical firm in the industry in most major countries consists of around five or six professional associates. The data problems in analyzing this sector are formidable. The paper offers guidelines to using these statistics. It also describes steps necessary for effective marketing.

DOI

doi:10.1057/be.2012.29

Version

Preprint

Volume

47

Issue

4

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