Contextualizing SEAM in the Pantheon of Consulting Theory and Practice 1

There is a veritable pantheon of theories, tools, and methodologies available to scholar-practitioner consultants. Schein (1999) describes three broad consulting approaches ranging from expert (topic-specific technical guidance), doctor-patient (a variant of expert with more attention to the client's symptoms and perspective), and process consulting (helping an organization develop fundamental capabilities to sustain and expand near-term improvements). We explore the contribution of the Socio-Economic Approach to Management (SEAM) to the field herein, with special attention to its expansion of action research into intervention and qualimetric research, and the broader implications these innovations bring to management consulting practice and theory.