Interregional exchange of knowledge-intensive business services in russia

Abstract

The sector of knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) not only contributes to its own dynamic and innovative development but also to the development of the external environment through the creation, accumulation, and dissemination of knowledge. Therefore, it is considered one of the key pillars of the knowledge-based economy. This article addresses the problem of its spatial distribution in Russia. The basis of the study is uniquely empirical, obtained through a series of large-scale surveys among Russian producers and consumers of KIBS. The collected data provide quantitative evidence for the spatial dimension of the sector. Comparative analysis of the production and consumption of KIBS in Russia’s federal districts makes it possible to classify the latter in terms of the exchange of related services and mapping of the intensity of their interregional supply and demand across federal districts. It is established that companies offering KIBS in Russia are largely concentrated in big cities. The demand for KIBS is more distributed, but not spatially neutral. This paper may be of interest to researchers focusing on the spatial distribution of elements of the innovation-based economy in Russia. It is also relevant for regional authorities, because it can help them assess the development capacity of their regions.