This paper examines the processes through which the latent and manifest tensions between individuals and the organization are regulated in knowledge-intensive firms (KIFs). These tensions, and the ways to reduce them, have been studied by various literatures, most of which have tended to fall into what we call a “utilitarian” or a “social control” perspective, with the former seeing knowledge as a strategic resource, but largely ignoring the possible tensions, while the latter focuses on how individuals are being both controlled and manipulated towards acting in the organizational interests. To provide a more balanced approach, we propose an integrative framework based on the social regulation theory of the French sociologist J.-D. Reynaud (1988), which, we argue, addresses the individual and organizational levels as interdependent and helps theorize the processes that make KIFs work by containing/limiting the potential “tug-of-war” between organizations and their employees. The papers then illustrates this novel approach by using management consulting as an illustrative/exploratory case study, examining how organizations and individuals have attempted and managed to regulate the tensions regarding its three main assets/fundamental resources: knowledge, reputation, relationships.
