Knowledge-intensive Service Industries Research Articles

9.3.3 System Engineering Application to Knowledge Intensive Service Industry Development Strategy and Mechanism Formation

AbstractThe Taiwanese government realized the fact that the service industry has reached 67.8% of the national GDP in 2003, also recognized the successful outcome such as GE and IBM companies to shift from manufacturing to knowledge intensive service business. In order to keep a good momentum of GDP growth rate for Taiwan economic development, the government has to set out for a new industry development policy through Service Industry Program, which could meet with the needs of the existing service industry. It is very crucial to enhance their capabilities with modern technology and management, encourage them to join the feasible and profitable pilot system service projects. The major purpose of this program is trying to generate higher value added and/ or new business with innovation technology and new business model to create a new system service industry, which can be duplicated in the global market.

An integration framework of innovation assessment for the knowledge-intensive service industry

As innovation becomes critical in the trend of the knowledge economy and there is significant growth in the knowledge-intensive service industry (KISI), this study tries to explore the nature of the KISI and the concept of innovation measurement. We suggest the three dimensions of the assessment – capability, behaviour and performance – as the basic conceptual building stones linking the system view of innovation and the target – KISI – to establish an integration framework. An illustrative case of the Industrial Technology and Research Institute (ITRI), the largest nonprofit R&D institute in Taiwan, was conducted to show the actual application of the framework. The integration framework provides better support to the explanation of the assessment results with the diagnostic and strategic management of innovation problems. It is helpful to reveal in-depth issues, such as the innovation performance may not be good in spite of good capability, or that a good performance may not be sustainable due to weak capability and aberrant behaviour. An assessment with higher resolution may be needed to produce more significant indicators for the specific types of KISI in future research.

Plumbing the brain drain.

Opportunity is the driving force of migration. Unsatisfied demands for higher education and skills, which have been created by the knowledge-based global economy, have generated unprecedented opportunities in knowledge-intensive service industries. These multi-trillion dollar industries include information, communication, finance, business, education and health. The leading industrialized nations are also the focal points of knowledge-intensive service industries and as such constitute centres of research and development activity that proactively draw in talented individuals worldwide through selective immigration policies, employment opportunities and targeted recruitment. Higher education is another major conduit of talent from less-developed countries to the centres of the knowledge-based global economy. Together career and educational opportunities drive "brain drain and recirculation". The departure of a large proportion of the most competent and innovative individuals from developing nations slows the achievement of the critical mass needed to generate the enabling context in which knowledge creation occurs. To favourably modify the asymmetric movement and distribution of global talent, developing countries must implement bold and creative strategies that are backed by national policies to: provide world-class educational opportunities, construct knowledge-based research and development industries, and sustainably finance the required investment for these strategies. Brazil, China and India have moved in this direction, offering world-class education in areas crucial to national development, such as biotechnology and information technology, paralleled by investments in research and development. As a result, only a small proportion of the most highly educated individuals migrate from these countries, and research and development opportunities employ national talent and even attract immigrants.