The article highlights the importance of business and management consulting field andits current trends, especially in the context of pandemic and worldwide changes. The authorhighlights the role of consulting in accelerating best practices in collaboration, flexibility,inclusion, and accountability to its clients in order to create a better future for all, and alsoincludes a statistical analysis of the development of consulting on a global and European scale,outlining the most important indicators according to the nature of the services rendered, thelocations of the clients, and the types of client’s industries. The author argues that the trends showthat consulting is becoming an increasingly important component of the business environment, andthat the emergence of new economic sectors and professions will condition the need to develop newcapacities and apply new managerial knowledge and tools, which will stimulate the growth of bothconsulting and related fields. The article provides data on the development of the consulting in theRepublic of Moldova, including the difficulties faced by the companies. Author believes there is\'room for growth\' in the national consulting despite the fact that it is a young market marked bythe challenges facing society and influenced by the small size of the national economy. The authorbelieves that the future of it will be profoundly influenced by remote work and digitization, serviceexport, collaboration, and improved quality.
Digitalization of consulting processes. Even after the pandemic situation has stabilized, remote work and the numerous digital tools that facilitate it will continue to be widely used due to the cost savings while maintaining a satisfactory level of 2 The term refers to a business model in which services are provided on demand via direct contact between a customer and a provider, typically via mobile technology. The working methodology of Uber, which is one of the world's largest taxi networks but does not own a single car, is frequently cited as an example. Received: 07.09.2022 | Accepted: 11.11.2022 39
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Volume 8 / Issue 2/ December 2022 DOI: 10.53486/2537-6179.8-2.03 service quality. Digitalization had a particular impact on remote client-consultant interaction, remote collaboration among several consultants within consulting projects, increasing remote work productivity, remote team management, etc. Another significant technology is distributed ledger technology (blockchain), a new approach to information exchange and storage that can reduce document management costs while increasing transparency, trust between parties, and security.
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The emphasis is on change, risks, and quick fixes. Consultants today devote more time to risk management (particularly operational risks) in the analysis of their clients' activities (Hodges, 2021, p. 6). Today, consultants emphasize knowledge through learning and adaptation to rapid changes in the environment when identifying solutions for their clients, solutions that currently require a flexible framework and must be immediate. This necessitates new methodologies being researched and developed by consultancies and academia, which can only be achieved through intraand inter-industries exchange of practices and knowledge. Customers' trust becomes less emotional. Many consulting firms have recently made the transition to digital customer service, and this has created an interesting trend. Fewer than ten years ago, clients placed a high value on trusting the consultant and his services for two main reasons: the consultant's role (which is obligated to reduce the client's fear and un
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18). Due to the lack of standardization and regulation of these services in many countries, but also because of the nature of the results of the consulting process, which are often intangible, creative, and the effects of which can be seen over the long term, this trust was more emotional and was based on the client's preferences, the recommendations that the consultant had, and his certifications. However, nowadays, the consulting cycle is shorter, services are becoming more standardized, selling them involves formal procedures and the use of IT, and direct client interaction is decreasing. As a result, the client perceives trust more rationally on data confidentiality and security, responsiveness, efficiency, and less emotionally in relation to the consultant's personality (Breuer et al., 2019), which means that the gap between "face-to-face" and virtual trust c
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