The provider-customer interface in business and professional services

On the basis of several national and international studies in the field of business and professional services the aim of this paper is to reconsider the core question of provider-customer interface. It first shows that the question of the relationships between internal and external business services may not only be posed in terms of substitution but also in terms of complementarity, and interaction. It then analyses the interface as a 'moment of truth' (i.e. as a process of interaction, as a form of organisation, and as part of both the client's and the consultant's value chain) a 'moment of trust' (based upon various modes of interaction and various logics of interface) and a moment of thrust (thanks to innovation).