ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we will take the clients’ perspective and discuss how their purchasing of expert services is undergoing major changes. As described in earlier chapters, expert services are characterized by being built on intangible and subjective qualities diffi cult to measure, such as creativity, trust, people skills and expertise. The projects the experts are hired for are often strategically important and expensive, where a mistake can have farreaching consequences and be diffi cult to rectify. This creates a dilemma for the client, as it on the one hand is important to select the “right” expert and on the other is diffi cult to evaluate which expert is “right”. To deal with this dilemma, clients have traditionally used relational purchasing practices (Axelsson & Wynstra, 2002) and hired experts they have good relations with, know well and trust (Werr & Pemer, 2007). Recently, however, a trend toward increased purchasing formalization has emerged, promoting the use of transactional purchasing practices (Axelsson & Wynstra, 2002), such as standardized purchasing processes, objective selection criteria, frame agreements and preferred suppliers. (Sieweke, Birkner & Mohe, 2012; Pemer, Werr & Bianchi, 2014). This trend has its roots in the increased societal demands on transparency, certifi cations, standardization, evaluations and rankings in both organizations, often referred to as the development of the audit society (Power, 1997; Power, 2000), and is observed both in Sweden and internationally (Pemer, Sieweke, Werr, Birkner & Mohe, 2014).
