Small technical consultancies and their client customers: an analysis in North East England

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Abstract
With the growing diversity and complexity of technology, many larger companies, in order to maintain the rapid pace of development and thus retain a competitive advantage in technologically dependent markets, have begun to access technical expertise from small independent consultants to raise an awareness of particular technologies and to assist with their implementation. However, despite evidence of increasing research into both technology-based firms, and business services, there has been comparatively little research that has examined this form of technical entrepreneurship within the service sector. Against this background, we present the results of a pilot survey of 91 small technical consultancies in the North East of England, examining, in particular, the relationship with client organizations. The results demonstrate considerable differences between the profile of technology-based consultancy services, and management consultancies in the UK, as examined in recent studies. It also shows that technical consultancies tend to form close relationships with their customer-clients, with subsequently fewer problems in the provision of technical services. Some broad policy implications relating to the effect of such services on peripheral regions are also outlined.

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