Knowledge-intensive Business Services Research Articles

The dark side of KIBS agency, the creative economy, and regional sustainability

This contribution develops critique from analysing forms of misconduct by knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) firms, especially the largest, globally located and client-interactive on all five continents. Management consultancy infractions range from supplying spurious advice, to advising clients on fraudulent practice, to acting complicitly in corrupt government practices, including engaging in ‘state capture’ by channelling internal state revenue into private holding bank accounts. Because the litany of misconduct is too massive for encompassing in a single contribution, and in the spirit of this task, the spotlight is only on a few cases that represent typical ‘creative economy’ companies contracted to ‘Big 3′ P-KIBS (Professional KIBS) corporations. Of importance to open innovation’s critical edge, the contribution articulates the puzzle of why academic KIBS research has presented the field without comment on its ‘dark’ side, questioning ‘leadership’ and ‘agency’ ‘observer’ and ‘confirmation bias’. For interpretation of data discovery, we utilise evolutionary ‘pattern recognition’ methodology set within an evolutionary theoretical framework.

Generic strategic positioning and organizational configurations in private micro-clinics

By linking concepts and ideas from the private health services (PHS) and Knowledge-Intensive Business Services (KIBS) literature with Porter's generic framework, this paper aims to identify the competitive positioning at a micro-clinic level in the private health services industry and to examine the perceived role of the institutions and intellectual capital associated with each one. A Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) was used.The results show that organizational configurations are associated with proactivity when competing via differentiation. In contrast, cost leadership is linked to firms that compete with low tariffs and a defensivearchetype. Our work can serve as a basis to recommend specific competitive strategies for thehigh number of firms still following a stuck-in-the-middle positioning strategy.

The effects of innovations on peruvian companies’ sales: The mediating role of KIBS

Companies increasingly embrace open business-to-business innovation. In this context, knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) play a crucial role as they can provide services and know-how to companies. As comparisons of digital innovation in Latin American companies are scarce, a more in-depth study is required of the role that KIBS plays in their digital innovation. This study therefore investigates the impact of KIBS and the implementation of innovations, including digital ones, on the sales of companies. Utilizing a Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM), we scrutinize data from 959 companies in Peru. The findings reveal that internally implemented innovations do not have a statistically significant direct effect on sales. However, outsourcing KIBS emerges as a positive mediator in this relationship. Specifically, we find that companies that subcontract those services are more likely to implement innovations and to achieve a positive impact on their sales in the short-term. Despite the opportunities that digital innovation brings, its direct effect on companies’ sales still needs to be improved, especially for manufacturing companies.

KM Challenges in Small KIBS Companies: Multi-case Analysis in Two Countries

Knowledge Intensive Business Services (KIBS) – i.e. companies like e.g. computer services, consulting, engineering, business communication, and R&D support - are key players in the modern economies. They stimulate the innovativeness of businesses and societies. Their competitiveness is based on knowledge, which is their key production factor and also the kind of “goods” they sell. The large majority of KIBS companies have a small or medium size, which leads to major challenges because they manage their cognitive assets in a substantially informal and undeliberate way. They face several obstacles to managing knowledge, partly due to their limited resources, but also to the knowledge-intensive and intangible nature of their business processes and outputs. Such challenges, when not successfully identified and faced, may negatively impact competitiveness. The paper illustrates the findings of a qualitative investigation aimed at exploring the main KM challenges that KIBS SMEs face. These challenges were analysed with specific reference to the key KM processes, i.e.: knowledge acquisition, knowledge documentation and storage, knowledge sharing, knowledge application, and knowledge protection. The research is a multiple-case study based on interviews to key informants of 23 Italian and Polish KIBS SMEs of different sectors. The analysis made it possible to find recurring issues and highlight differences. The study provides food for thought for researchers and practitioners willing to clarify what KM processes need proper solutions for the effective management of knowledge in small KIBS.

How does digital transformation affect innovation in knowledge-intensive business services firms? The moderating effect of R&D collaboration portfolio

PurposeFirms are driven to ride on the digital wave in today’s open innovation ecosystem. This study aims to explore the effect of digital transformation (DT) on knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) firms’ innovation ambidexterity, namely, radical versus incremental innovation, respectively. Meanwhile, the authors evaluated the moderating role of the complexity of R&D collaboration portfolio (i.e. organizational diversity and geographic diversity) in the above relationships.Design/methodology/approachUsing a panel data set of 171 Chinese listed firms in the information and communications technology services industry from 2010 to 2018, the proposed hypotheses were empirically attested.FindingsIt is found that DT has a positive relationship with radical innovation and an inverted U-shaped relationship with incremental innovation. In terms of the R&D collaboration portfolio, organizational diversity positively moderates the relationships between DT and innovation ambidexterity, respectively. The geographic diversity weakens the inverted U-shaped effect of DT on incremental innovation; however, its moderating role in the link between DT and radical innovation is not empirically verified.Originality/valueExtant scholars mainly addressed the interplay between KIBS firms and their manufacturing clients, while this study reveals the different consequences of DT on KIBS firms’ innovation ambidexterity to highlight the role of KIBS firms is an independent and essential innovator in a knowledge-driven economy. Notably, the findings contribute to knowledge management (KM) and R&D literature by confirming the diversity of the R&D collaboration portfolio is a critical KM strategy for KIBS firms to develop and promote external knowledge resources.

The Role of Embeddedness of Migrant Start-ups in Local Entrepreneurial Ecosystems During the COVID-19 Crisis

As with all start-ups, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a changing environment for migrant start-ups. These changes have posed many challenges to altering strategic behaviour and approaches to driving business. We explored migrant start-ups’ embeddedness in entrepreneurial ecosystems by analysing data from 14 semi-structured interviews with start-ups from Berlin's knowledge-intensive business services sector. We argue that the success of migrant start-ups during crises is dependent mainly on the embeddedness in the local entrepreneurial ecosystem. Thus, we expect entrepreneurs to utilise local networks, infrastructures and interactions to help them cope with the challenges and pave the way for local and international business activities. Our results indicate that embedding in local entrepreneurial ecosystems and a sense of belonging, especially during the business formation phase, play a vital role for migrant start-ups in general and crisis. Revitalising the concept of local embeddedness while considering business development stages, this study challenges the prevailing notion of transnational networks as the sole determinant of entrepreneurial success. Instead, we advocate for greater recognition of the significance of accessing local resources, including market knowledge, social relationships, and institutional support, as fundamental factors driving business development and crisis management within the host country. By recognising and nurturing these local resources, policymakers and support organisations can create an enabling environment that empowers migrant start-ups to thrive, adapt, and contribute to the local EE and economic wealth.

Value propositions in KIBS: How to facilitate the communication of value?

AbstractThis study explores value propositions in knowledge‐intensive business services (KIBS). More specifically, this study investigates how to facilitate the effective communication of value to customers in the KIBS context by employing a qualitative case study method. The findings address the importance of trust in developing a solid client relationship to foster successful collaboration and open communication, thus creating a basis for constructing customer knowledge, and also indicate that the phase and intimacy of the relationship both influence which criteria are emphasised during the purchasing process. Consequently, this study challenges the idea that value propositions are always co‐created at every phase of the KIBS customer relationship, and it distinguishes the factors that facilitate the communication of value in these relationships. The understanding gained through this study offers practical insights and will help KIBS firms successfully communicate value to their clients.

Leveraging on intra- and inter-organizational collaboration in Industry 4.0 adoption for knowledge creation and innovation

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the impact of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) technologies on knowledge creation for innovation purposes by assessing the relationships among the variety of I4.0 technologies adopted (breadth I4.0), the penetration of these technologies within the firm’s value chain activities (depth I4.0) and the mediating role of both internal (inter-functional (IF)) and external [with knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS)] collaborations in this process.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed a quantitative research design. By administering a survey to entrepreneurs, chief operation officers or managers in charge of the operational and technological processes of Italian manufacturing firms, the authors collected 137 useful questionnaires. To test this study's theoretical framework and hypotheses, the authors ran regression and mediation analyses.FindingsFirst, the results highlight the positive link between breadth I4.0 and depth I4.0. Moreover, the results show the key role played by increased collaboration among the firm’s business functions and by relationships with KIBS in creating knowledge to innovate processes and products when I4.0 technologies are adopted.Research limitations/implicationsThe variety of I4.0 technologies adopted enables a firm to use such technologies in various value chain activities. However, the penetration of I4.0 into the firm’s value chain activities (depth I4.0) does not per se directly imply the production of new knowledge, for which a firm needs internal collaboration among different business functions, in particular with the production area, or collaboration with external partners that favor I4.0 implementation, such as KIBS.Practical implicationsTo achieve innovation goals by creating new knowledge, especially in the manufacturing industries, firms should encourage internal and external collaboration when I4.0 technologies are adopted. Moreover, policy makers should not only consider fiscal incentives for the adoption of such technologies, but also encourage the building of networks between adopting firms and external actors.Originality/valueThe study is one of the first attempt that provides empirical evidence of how I4.0 enables the creation of knowledge to innovate processes and products, highlighting the relevance of collaboration both within the company and with external partners.

A study on the multidimensional result-oriented capability of professional workers

An increasing number of freelancers and independent professionals are engaged in short-term and temporary work. There are several studies that define the key intangible resources and abilities of professional employees but there is limited research that examines all of them collectively. Therefore, the aim of this study is to improve our understanding of professional workers' various intangible resources and capabilities by proposing the result-oriented capability (ROC) construct and its subdimensions by analyzing existing literature on knowledge workers, professional employees, psychology and management. The proposed model was empirically tested using the data gathered from 384 professional workers that worked in knowledge-intensive business services (p-KIBS). Construct reliability and validity are analyzed using the IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and the Analysis of Moments Structure (AOMS). This research proposes and confirms that ROC has reflective sub-dimensions such as professional expertise, relational capability, operational capability and innovation orientation. The study's findings provide important insights into how to improve professional workers' capabilities. The new measures can be used as diagnostic tools for professional worker recruitment, assessment and training. This can be beneficial for individual professional workers with larger implications for people management, training and development and organizational success.

Urban restructuring and the location dynamics of P-KIBS in postsocialist Belgrade

ABSTRACT Professional knowledge-intensive business services (P-KIBS) have emerged as one of the core elements of economic recovery and urban restructuring of many large cities during the postsocialist transition in Europe. However, studies about intrametropolitan patterns of P-KIBS in postsocialist cities are largely neglected. Against this backdrop, the aim of this study is to provide a better understanding of P-KIBS intraurban spatial patterns within a postsocialist urban environment by analyzing the location dynamics of P-KIBS in Belgrade. The research methodology includes using a micro-geographic dataset for the period 2011–2019 and distance-based methods, which are becoming increasingly popular in urban geography. The study demonstrates that in Belgrade, P-KIBS are spatially highly concentrated and centralized, with a strong center-periphery gradient as well as pronounced intraurban functional specialization and intrasectoral differences. In the observed period, the spatial reorganization of P-KIBS was characterized by spatially limited decentralization, reflected in the progressive dissolution of the traditional monocentric model and the creation of a centralized duocentric model through the emergence of a secondary CBD in New Belgrade. In particular, the research highlights the influence of the complex process of postsocialist urban restructuring in the shaping of the urban geography of P-KIBS.

Evaluating the Effects of Information Sources on Innovation Outcomes: Are There Differences between KIBS and Manufacturing Firms from a Latin America Country?

The aim of this paper is analysing the relationships between sources (internal/external) of information and innovation outcomes (product, service and process) in Peruvian companies. Furthermore, we explore differences and similarities in these relationships when comparing manufacturing firms and knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) firms. This study presents evidence based on the application of a logit model to a sample of 1141 Peruvian companies, comprising 830 manufacturing firms and 311 KIBS firms. Despite the fact that Peruvian companies do not tend to turn to external sources of information or invest in internal R&D activities, we find positive relationships between sources of information and innovation outcomes in both manufacturing firms and KIBS firms—predominantly process innovation in both cases, followed by product (goods) innovation for manufacturing firms and service innovation for KIBS. Our findings indicate that not all external sources of information have positive effects on product, service and process innovation. Thus, managers should consider proper management of the company’s external relations in order to take advantage of these relationships. Moreover, policymakers should promote interrelationships between the actors in the innovation system (e.g., companies, research centres, universities, etc.) thereby generating opportunities for innovation. This paper provides evidence that the configuration of sources of information (especially internal R&D) plays a significant role in innovation outcomes in both manufacturing firms and KIBS firms, specifically in the context of Latin American countries.

The “Double-Edged Sword” Effect of Personal Relationships between Boundary Personnel on Enterprise Opportunistic Behavior in Cooperative Innovation

In collaborative innovation, personal relationships between boundary personnel of knowledge-intensive business service (KIBS) enterprises and organizational customers have a “double-edged sword” effect on inter-organizational relations. This study adopts the empirical research method based on KIBS enterprises’ cooperative innovation projects with organizational customers in China. Based on the theory of the inter-organizational relationship, this study explores the influence of personal relationships between employees at the boundary of enterprises on organizational customers’ opportunistic behavior. It analyzes the mediating effect of relationship governance and contract governance. The results show that personal relationships between boundary personnel will improve the probability of corporate customer opportunism. The relationship between governance and contract governance for enterprises can effectively restrain the opportunistic behavior of organizational customers. Further, the personal relationships between boundary personnel will enhance the relationship norms and inhibit the opportunistic behavior of organizational customers, and relationship governance plays a partial intermediary role in this. The personal relationships between employees at an enterprise’s boundary will relax the contract’s supervision and encourage corporate customer opportunism. Contract governance plays a partial intermediary role in this.

Labor costs, KIBS, and export performance: A comparative analysis of Germany and Mediterranean economies

Following the onset of the Eurozone crisis, Mediterranean economies (Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain) followed the example set by Germany, implementing structural reforms with the aim of restraining labor costs and transitioning to export-led growth. Using input–output tables, this paper analyzes the role of labor costs and non-price factors in the export performance of the manufacturing sectors in these Mediterranean economies and in Germany. We estimate an export model taking subsystems as units of analysis, permitting us to consider how the productive linkages between manufacturing and services affect export growth. Our results show that the effect of labor costs on export performance has been negligible in these five economies, while non-price factors stand out as the main drivers of export growth. In addition, we find that the development of stronger linkages between knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) and manufacturing provides a substantial stimulus for non-price competitiveness.

Knowledge-Intensive Business Services and Business Models: a Qualitative Comparative Analysis of Small Private Healthcare Providers

In recent years, companies operating in activities such as dentistry, optometry, physiotherapy, or veterinary have seen the demand for their services grow. Their customers do not require their services only for health reasons but also for aesthetics and welfare issues. As a result, these companies compete in expanding and profitable markets. However, this business context has been detected by many professional entrepreneurs who decided to run their activity in healthcare and set up a firm without the necessary assets and knowledge. To overcome these liabilities, some seek partners who provide them with the resources they do not have by entering into different alliances. In contrast, others choose to compete under an independent business model. This paper sheds light on the factors influencing the decisions about the implemented business model in small knowledge-intensive firms by examining the association between the perception of the institutional environment variables and the dotation of intangible resources. For that purpose, a qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) was performed. Due to government regulations in force in these sectors, and methodological reasons, the study sample consisted of 88 small Spanish firms (less than 15 employees). The data were collected by a questionnaire distributed in 2017. We find that the choice to remain self-governing or to enter into a partnership (e.g franchising) is heterogeneously motivated by the evaluations that entrepreneurs have about the role of institutions concerning their activities and how high they consider their intellectual capital compared to their main competitors. In terms of institutional capital, these entrepreneurs refuse to implement patient loyalty policies and strive to have high-quality human capital in terms of the training & experience of their professionals. Moreover, the results also showed that independent business models pay little attention to market influences and view a certain level of regulation favorably, suggesting vocational and conservative behavior

Internationalized knowledge-intensive business service (KIBS) for servitization: a microfoundation perspective

PurposeA paucity of studies has used a microfoundation lens to examine servitization processes in internationalized knowledge-intensive business service (KIBS) companies. The research aims to bridge this gap by considering knowledge sharing as a form of both codified knowledge and informal feedback knowledge; it also assesses whether the adoption of knowledge transfer and translation practices in a servitization process positively moderates the effect of knowledge transformation on knowledge sharing for internationalized KIBS companies.Design/methodology/approachBy adopting a microfoundation lens, the research offers an empirical analysis to identify the relations between codified and tacit knowledge in servitization processes within internationalized KIBS companies. The study is based on 326 respondents from 30 KIBS companies. A multiple regression analysis was used for hypotheses testing.FindingsThe authors found significant relations among the use of electronic documents in the servitization process (formal codified knowledge), personal advice in servitization (informal feedback knowledge) and knowledge sharing in internationalized KIBS companies. Findings also support the indirect effect assumed in the hypothesis between knowledge transformation and knowledge sharing in internationalized KIBS companies, which is positively moderated by the adoption of cross-cultural knowledge practices in the servitization process.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research provides the first conceptual model of the use of a microfoundation lens to examine knowledge sharing in internationalized KIBS companies. The micro level features individual knowledge sharing in the servitization process, while the meso level focuses on knowledge transformation in KIBS companies and the adoption of knowledge transfer and translation practices in the servitization process.

An optimization approach for hybrid workflows in platform-enabled private service marketplaces

The future of work is likely to include private platform-enabled marketplaces which remain a new, fertile ground for research. This paper focuses on hybrid workflows which utilize the expertise of in-house (IH) and on-demand (OD) workers to perform complex knowledge intensive tasks under service constraints. Our primary contributions are in identifying and modeling an innovative application of OR in the new economy, proving its complexity and proposing a high-quality heuristic. We formulate a scenario-based mathematical programming model of a private talent marketplace for Knowledge Intensive Business Services (KIBS). This model considers uncertainty in task, worker, and OD marketplace characteristics. Problem complexity is illustrated. We develop a simplified queuing theory-based model of PKIBS to characterize the structure of the OD marketplace. Propositions from the queueing model inform IH workforce size, IH and OD workforce composition, and OD pricing decisions. A Tabu-based One Period Look Ahead heuristic based on propositions from the simplified queuing theory-based model is proposed. Heuristic performance is evaluated using a problem upper bound and MIP solution for small problems, and experiments based on a cyber security use case. Results illustrate the mix of OD and IH workforce and sophisticated hybrid workflows for different market conditions.

Digital servitization journey in small- and medium-sized enterprises: the contribution of knowledge-intensive business firms

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the contribution of knowledge-intensive business services firms to small- and medium-sized manufacturers’ digital servitization journeys, addressing the standardization versus customization dichotomy of services and solutions provision.Design/methodology/approachTo identify the challenges that small- and medium-sized firms must face in the digital servitization journey and the role that knowledge-intensive business services firms may play in the innovation processes, the authors conduct a review on two still unrelated literature streams and develop a longitudinal single-case study, with a particular focus on knowledge generation mechanisms.FindingsDigital servitization is a particularly challenging transformational journey for minor firms. Knowledge-intensive business services firms can act as sources, facilitators, and carriers of knowledge, and they can orchestrate further contributions of other external partners and firms.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper contributes to theory describing the roadmap and the role of external service providers in digital servitization journeys of smaller firms’, that are frequently excluded from mainstream research although being the backbone of European economies.Practical implicationsDigital servitization in minor manufacturing firms requires a long-term orientation and a multi-stage roadmap. Mixing standardized technology-based solutions and complementary professional services, knowledge-intensive business services firms can significantly contribute to lowering the journey’s uncertainties, operational complexity, and costs.Originality/valueThe paper sheds lights on how the collaboration between knowledge-intensive business services firms and small manufacturers generates novel knowledge and capabilities that contribute to takle the challenges of the different stages of the digital servitization roadmap.

The digital humanism era triggered by individual creativity

Shifting from Industry 4.0 to Industry 5.0, the digital transformation (DT) has encouraged new debates on human skills as opposed to technologies. It has delivered positive and negative perspectives, focusing on the dilemma of how human skills can influence the DT. The present research explores human skills in the entrepreneurial world, considering its three main forms of creativity, innovation and entrepreneurial spirit in relation to the DT. This has mostly occurred in the knowledge-intensive business service (KIBS) industry in which humans have a predominant role. Under the lens of social cognitive theory, this study has examined a range of 370 KIBS companies across different sectors in Europe and the resulting individual creativity and innovation represent a (motivator) or a catalyst, which drives and nurtures DT. Theoretically, a new concept emerges, namely digital humanism, which involves emphasizing the relevance of human skills. Moreover, the study suggests that governments and policymakers encourage creative working activities by exploiting technologies to develop innovations. In this sense, technologies assume a positive connotation, leveraged by entrepreneurship knowledge-intensive business service; digital humanism; Creativity; Digital transformation; entrepreneurial spirit.

The clustering of knowledge-intensive business services in Greater Mexico City, 2010 through 2020

This article analyzes knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) clustering and location patterns in Greater Mexico City. Although there is evidence of the importance of KIBS clustering as a factor that precedes innovation, no empirical work has applied point pattern analysis methods to identify intrametropolitan patterns. Little is known about KIBS firms clustering in Mexico and emerging economies in general. This study responds to both challenges, using the M and m functions, point pattern analysis methods that allow capturing concentration intensity and overdensity of same-type KIBS firms, respectively. Firm-level data are taken from Mexico’s National Statistics and Geography Institute’s (INEGI) open-source databases for 2010 and 2020. Results suggest different clustering patterns given our proposed KIBS classification. Overall, the clustering intensity of KIBS firms by class has increased during the analyzed period (2010–2020). Also, although central Greater Mexico City is the main clustering pole of attraction, urban subcenters display KIBS firms clustering depending on proposed KIBS classes. Clustering patterns are explained given existing intrametropolitan infrastructure and value-added differences, but also within- and between-class concentration variations. Despite the lack of firm-level economic data, results allow inferring possible agglomeration mechanisms behind clustering patterns.

An Exploratory Study Linking Intellectual Capital and Technology Management towards Innovative Performance in KIBS

This study aims to fill a gap in the sparse literature that empirically investigates the relationships between intellectual capital (IC), technology management, and innovative performance in knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS). Semi-structured interviews with middle and senior managers from KIBS have been conducted with the purpose of exploring the various strategies, policies, and practices in managing the organisational intellectual capital and technology to enhance innovation performance. Several themes related to the development of intellectual capital in KIBS have been analysed (i.e., key dimensions of human, structural, and relational capital). The findings show that all KIBS investigated place importance on either recruiting the most qualified staff or building up their competencies and skills. Moreover, KIBS allot sizable resources for creating an organisational culture that encourages employee empowerment and knowledge sharing. Technology-forward KIBS have strategies for developing dynamic technological capabilities for knowledge management, business process flexibility and efficiency, and sustaining innovation. The unfolded investigation has both theoretical and managerial implications, pointing to the noteworthiness of sustainable and strategic approaches of intellectual capital management on purpose to support innovation.