Abstract
Artificial Intelligence is rapidly transforming management consulting—an industry historically grounded in human expertise, professional judgment, and relational trust. While prior research has examined how AI reshapes work practices and organizational structures within professional service firms, far less attention has been paid to how clients interpret and evaluate algorithmic involvement in consulting engagements. This gap is particularly consequential given that consulting services are characterized by opaque quality and rely heavily on client perceptions of competence, legitimacy, and value creation.
This study conceptualizes AI not merely as a productivity-enhancing technology but as a salient evaluative cue that may reconfigure how professional authority is constructed and judged. We develop a configurational framework examining how AI-enabled service features interact with project duration and price positioning in shaping perceived service quality and customer satisfaction. Rather than assuming uniform performance effects, we theorize that AI may simultaneously signal analytical rigor while challenging expectations of human judgment and relational depth.
By shifting the lens from adoption to client judgment, this study contributes to debates on the future of professional authority and the transformation of management consulting in the age of algorithmic expertise.