Research interest in the service sector has boomed in recent years as deindustrialisation became entrenched. Instead of being regarded as merely supplementary to traditional industry and manufacturing, services have generated progressively rising levels of growth in developed economies while at the same time coming to be recognised as major drivers of innovation.
Among the factors which have helped service companies notch up swifter growth rates than all other sectors are the outsourcing of such services by other sectors, including the development of information and communication technologies, and changes to the regulatory, legal and market frameworks as well as globalisation and internationalisation. The result is a cluster of highly innovative firms which can loosely be grouped under the heading of Knowledge Intensive Business Services (KIBS). Knowledge Intensive Business Services and Regional Competitiveness charts the development of these firms and explores their success through four mutually linked parts: KIBS and industrial dynamics; KIBS and their context; KIBS and their contribution to regional competitiveness and economic development; and finally, KIBS and public policy.
This book is suitable for researchers and policy makers interested in the rise of these influential actors and their influence on regional competitiveness.
Introduction: Knowledge intensive business services and regional competitiveness: an overview João J. Ferreira, Mário Raposo, Cristina Fernandes and Marcus Dejardin Part I KIBS and industrial dynamics 1. Knowledge intensive business services research: a bibliometric study of leading international journals (1994-2014) Alexandra Braga and Carla Marques 2. KIBS and the dynamics of industrial clusters: a complex adaptive systems approach Benoit Desmarchelier, Faridadh Djellal and Faiz Gallouj 3. Bad News travels fast: The role of informal networks for SME-KIBS cooperation Daniel Feser and Till Proeger Part II KIBS and their Context 4. Does the geographic distribution of knowledge intensive business services affect the use of services for innovation? Empirical evidence from Quebec KIBS manufacturers David Doloreux and Richard Shearmur 5. Institutions and spin-offs: determining factors for establishment and early market entry success of innovation based spin-offs from KIBS-firms Kjersti Vikse Meland and Tatiana A. Iakovleva 6. Survival of knowledge intensive business service firms: the role of agglomeration externalities Sam Tavassoli and Viroj Jienwatcharamongkhol Part III KIBS and their Contribution to regional competitiveness and economic development 7. Entrepreneurship and KIBS: Key factors in the growth of territories Joaquín Alcazar, Norat Roig-Tierno, Alicia Mas-Tur and Belén Ribeiro-Navarrete 8. Contribution of knowledge intensive activities to regional competitiveness: production function approach Anna-Leena Asikainen and Giovanni Mangiarotti 9. KIBS as a factor in meetings industry competitiveness creation in Krakow, Poland Krzysztof Borodako, Jadwiga Berbeka and Michał Rudnicki 10. Interactive relationships, development effects and knowledge Intermediaries among KIBS firms and their clients: a comparison of the Hsinchu and Tainan regions,Taiwan Tai-Shan Hu, Chien-Yuan Lin and Hung-Nien Hsieh 11. Regional competitiveness and localised knowledge intensive business services: the case of the Gold Coast (Australia) Vanessa Ratten Part IV KIBS and public policy 12. Skills, competitiveness and regional policy: knowledge-intensive business services in the West Midlands, UK John R. Bryson and Peter W. Daniels 13. Prospects and policies in the development of knowledge-intensive business services in Europe Marja Toivonen and Antonella Caru
João J. M. Ferreira is Associate Professor in Management at the University of Beira Interior (UBI), Portugal. Mário L. Raposo is Professor of Business and Economics, University of Beira Interior (UBI), Portugal. Cristina I. Fernandes is a Professor at the Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco, Portugal. Marcus Dejardin is Professor of Economics at the University of Namur, Belgium.
