컨설팅 서비스의 습관적 의존 경향에 관한 실증 분석：중소․벤처기업을 중심으로

This study investigates empirically the presence and the magnitude of the narcotic effect in the use of consulting services by small and venture businesses, and the moderating effect of many contingency factors. An investigation is made regarding whether companies that have utilized consulting services are more inclined to resort to the service again than companies that have no such experience. And the investigation continues to find, if it is true, the factors beneath the phenomena that cause such a kind of so called narcotic effect. In order to achieve the research purpose, a rather extensive body of literature on venture business, as well as on consulting services, are examined with an intention to construct a relevant theory. From that theory are driven diverse hypotheses, and many related indices that are used in medical sciences, psychology, and labor economics are studied and examined to draw a set of index that can be utilized to look into the potentially narcotic behavior shown by venture businesses in the use of consulting services. A thorough examination of existing literature on theory and practice of narcotic effect, and quite a few studies that have examined the behavior of firms and entrepreneurs leads to conception of diverse hypotheses. More specifically, this study has set forth the following hypotheses. Hypothesis 1：Small venture businesses will reveal narcotic effect in the use of outside consulting services. That is, a company that has utilized such service more in the past will tend to resort to it again more than a company that has no or less of such experience. This is to say, dependence upon outside service is habit forming. Hypothesis 2：Narcotic effect in the use of outside consulting service is larger among craftsmen venture companies than among opportunists venture companies. The main rationale for this hypothesis is that opportunists are more familiar with business skills and tend to use it with more ease on their own. Hypothesis 3：Narcotic effect in the use of outside consulting service varies across growth stages. Growth stages are composed of 4 phases including entrepreneurial stage, early growth stage, late growth stage, and maturity stage. The rationale for this hypothesis is that the degree of possession by companies of requisite skills and importance of diverse managerial skills and techniques vary across diverse phase of life-cycle of a business. Hypothesis 4：Narcotic effect in the use of outside consulting service is greater among large companies than among small companies. Size matters in many aspects of business operation. As business gets larger, the complexity in the composition of its technology, core or non-core, gets higher and higher, so that many professionals and specialists are more in demand. Hypothesis 5：Narcotic effect in the use of outside consulting service is greater among companies that have experienced longer and more frequent outside help. This is a logical expansion of narcotic effect in many other areas than business operation. Virtually all of habits are more easily and stably formed with long and frequent repetition of behavior. Hypothesis 6：Narcotic effect in the use of outside consulting service varies across the diverse areas of consulting. Some skills are harder to learn or come by than other skills, and so some consulting services are more repetitively borrowed from outside until it becomes a near habit. Data for this study were collected from 183 small and venture business that have utilized consulting services at least once. Among 183 companies are 123 manufacturing companies comprising 67.2% of the total samples, and they are followed by retailers comprising 19.6% of the total. Firms in the data set reveals, on average, 3.39 times of consulting service recipient experience during the six years time period under investigation. The most frequently received services are in the realm of tax and accounting. Actually 45.4% of companies in the data set have appeared to have at least once requested and received outside consulting service in that area. Next in the magnitude was general management (31.88%), followed, in turn, by marketing and production (62%, 79% respectively). Findings of this study are; First, Armitage-test from 2002 to 2007 about the existence of the narcotic effect confirms that there is narcotic effect in the use of consulting services. Second, narcotic effects in craftsmen establishment appear bigger than in opportunists establishment. Third, narcotic effect in the early growth stage and the latter growth stage appears to be bigger than in establishing stage. In case of maturity stage, the narcotic effect appear to decline slightly. Fourth, narcotic effects among large firms was bigger than among the rest. Fifth, narcotic effect has a significant correlation with the length of consulting period. Last, with regard to consulting area, tax accounting and production management appear to have higher dependence compared with business management and marketing. But satisfaction with consulting services does not show a systematic relationship with the size of narcotic effect. Findings of this study that venture businesses are showing narcotic tendency in the use of outside consulting services bear implications, both negative and positive. From positive perspective, it can be interpreted as a good habit. With a habit, no delay is allowed in the use of good things. No wasting of time in making decision, and immediate and voluntary invitation and utilization of desirable and fruitful consulting to reap the best in a most efficient way. The more and the faster, the greater is the benefit. On the contrary, a negative perspective can be applied to predict a bad effect on the operation of businesses. Heavy reliance on the outside resource may deprive the opportunity of the company to develop and maintain requisite skills inside the business, and the situation can become worse when that kind of reliance is habit forming. If a company falls in a habit of depending on outside helpers it may lose a chance to enhance its core competency as it increases its dependency. Managers are to decide whether or not a certain skills are to be sought after outside of the companies to the benefit of the company. Also, they have to consider whether their decisions are rational or habitual. As is pointed out above, it should be remembered a habit can be good or bad. Limitation of this study must be recognized and suggestion for the future research is in hand. There are 360 thousand small and medium companies in Korea out of which only 183 companies are examined in this study. Such a small size of the data set severely restricts the possibility of generalizing the findings of the study. Further, it should be noted that only the companies in the metropolitan area of Seoul are included in the sample. There are many discrepancies among companies in Seoul and other areas. Thus, it should be taken into consideration when the findings are applied in the population of small and medium businesses located in other areas. More endeavors are required in the study of the concept of narcotic effect. Actually most research are done in the areas of medicine, alcohol, gambling. Narcotic effect is a concept that must distinguish itself from addiction. One is mostly social, it is to be noted, while the other is individual phenomenon. Narcotic effect that can be observed among large companies should also be studied. Measurement problem regarding narcotic effect also calls for more attention. Armitage test that is used in this study does not provide an objective way of measuring the magnitude of narcotic effect.