Consultation: Building Social Relations with Productive Benefits

Like other contemporary challenges grand and small, sustainability has been understood as paradoxical (Smith & Lewis, 2011), “wicked” problems (Starik & Kanashiro, 2013) characterized by multiple stakeholders, disputed values, complex interconnectedness, foggy problem definition, limited or contested knowledge and ongoing change (McMillan & Overall, 2016). This chapter presents consultation as a precondition for sustainable entrepreneurship (research) since ability to identify, cultivate and engage relevant conversation partners is essential for facilitating productive entrepreneurial (inter-)action. First, we discuss aspects of sustainable entrepreneurship that call for stakeholder consultation and involvement. Next, the concept of advice-seeking consultation/consulting is discussed as the pursuit of knowledge from relevant others for professional purposes. We go on to present the Productive Consultation Matrix portraying consultation as a combination of ability to facilitate trustful knowledge sharing and engagement. Throughout the chapter, we present cases from consultation practice. The chapter concludes the chapter with a discussion of consultation potentials and pitfalls.