Purchasing professional services: which decision criteria?

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to report the findings of a global survey on decision criteria used and the importance attached to these criteria when purchasing professional services for skills training in sales and negotiations. Design/methodology/approach – The research is based on 24 face‐to‐face and telephone interviews with global learning and development managers plus 309 usable responses to an online survey. The respondents are asked to evaluate the importance of six “high level” criteria and 37 sub‐criteria (identified from the interviews and academic literature review) when purchasing professional services. Descriptive statistics and exploratory factor analysis are used to analyse the survey data. Findings – Descriptive statistics reveal that the main criteria split into two distinct groups: pre‐qualifiers and final stage differentiators. Exploratory factor analysis results in a reduced set of 11 factors that explain the underlying structure of decision criteria used for the selection of professional service providers. Practical implications – The findings of this research are especially suited for those managing the learning function or directing learning and development strategy at a corporate level, including human resources and executive management. They will also be of interest to professional service firms wanting to gain an insight into the selection process and academic researchers, as this paper helps address the paucity of empirical research into the purchasing criteria for professional services. Originality/value – The supply chain literature heavily reports on decision criteria and decision making techniques used for supplier selection mainly in the manufacturing industry. This paper draws attention to the need for more research on the services sector.