Management consultants and the social function of procurement

Recent increases in government spending on consultants have raised concerns about the ability of government to hold consultants to account. Attempts at reform have focused on strengthening procurement practices. These, however, rely on transactional forms of accountability. The authors argue, instead, that transactional approaches obscure relational dynamics between consultants and policy-makers, limiting the efficacy of current procurement paradigms. The article shows how procurement operates relationally as an initiation, a reification, and a performance of the new public management. This article contributes to the literature on ‘consultocracy’ by demonstrating how power functions through the procurement of consulting services.