The Influence of Vocational Training on the Brand Images of Organizational Consultants

Organizational consultants with vocational education and training in business administration, human resource management, and industrial-organizational psychology often provide similar products and services. Nevertheless, a key step in the development of any profession is the ability to differentiate itself from other professions in ways that are meaningful. Using the tenets of consumer-based brand equity, an audit of the brand images associated with these professions was conducted. Results suggest that people were less aware of industrial-organizational psychology than business administration or human resource management; differences were perceived to exist among the professions with regard to both their abilities to provide services and the values that guide their professional practice; and consultants' likelihoods of being hired varied according to the organizational issues needing to be addressed.