Consultants as knowledge brokers : issues and implications for China tourism research

Abstract

Consultants play a unique role as knowledge brokers in a scientific community. In the accelerating demand for knowledge-based practices, consulting has not only turned into a flourishing profession, it has also served as an effective strategy for academics to demonstrate practical implications of their work through spreading innovative ideas and promoting the use of knowledge for industry, policy and development practices. As a result, consulting has become an area of research in its own right in such fields as business and management, information and technology, and health studies or healthcare. In tourism, nonetheless, research on consultancy as knowledge brokering has been particularly limited. This article presents a general review and critique on consulting as knowledge brokering, and highlights issues, perspectives and implications for future research on this subject in the potentially largest origin and destination in world tourism. 在科学共同体中, 咨询专家扮演着独特的知识中介角色。在追求知识型发展风气日益盛行的今天，咨询不仅成了一份欣欣向荣的职业，也是学界传播创新思想、展示学术实用、促进知识型（产业/政策/发展）实践的有效手段。在工商管理、信息技术、健康或康护等学科，咨询本身就是专门的研究领域。然而，在旅游研究中，针对咨询专家作为知识中介的探讨却显得极为有限。本文就该课题在其它相关领域开展的研究作了批判性综述，并在此基础上，针对中国旅游，提出研究问题、寻找理论视角、展示探索取向。