Knowledge-intensive Service Industries Research Articles

The influence of knowledge-intensive service industry agglomeration in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration on regional economy

Knowledge-intensive service industry has become an important part of social economy, which not only promotes the innovation of modern service industry, but also promotes the upgrading and transformation of manufacturing industry. The agglomeration of knowledge-intensive service industry is not only the inevitable result of economic growth, but also the premise of sustained economic growth. Moreover, China's national economy is transforming from an industrialized economy to a service-oriented and knowledge-based economy, and the importance of knowledge-intensive service industry is increasing day by day. This paper constructs a theoretical framework of the influence of population agglomeration on the economic development of urban agglomerations. The article holds that population agglomeration promotes the economic development of urban agglomerations through the upgrading of industrial structure and the promotion of human capital. In the future, we need to focus on the similarities and differences between population agglomeration and economic development of urban agglomerations in central China, explore the factors of economic development of urban agglomerations, and provide reasonable suggestions for the government to formulate relevant economic policies. This paper, from an innovative research perspective, based on the perspective of population agglomeration, studies the path of its role in regional economic development, which can make up for this defect to some extent. Moreover, the research object has been innovated and the research method has been improved. On the basis of the above, the panel data of the Yangtze River Delta from 2012 to 2021 is selected as the research sample, the location entropy index is taken as the explanatory variable, the regional gross domestic product (GDP) is taken as the explanatory variable, and the rationality of economic theory and the significance of econometric test are considered. Finally, the data are analyzed and tested by regression. The empirical analysis of the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration proves the importance of knowledge-intensive service industry agglomeration to regional economic development. Finally, based on the contribution of knowledge-intensive service industry agglomeration to regional economy, the development of knowledge-intensive service industry and the promotion of industrial agglomeration are studied.

Enhancing Service Innovation Performance through Customer Involvement: The Mediating Role of Knowledge Sharing and Organisational Learning in Financial Service Companies in Guangdong

This paper focuses on the knowledge-intensive financial service enterprises in Guangdong province as the research object, with the key objective of studying how customer participation can enhance innovation performance in knowledge-intensive service industry, and by integrating social learning theory, knowledge-based view theory, and trust theory. The research reveals the essential characteristics of innovation in knowledge-intensive service industry, designs relevant scales for customer participation in knowledge-intensive service innovation, and explores the impact mechanism and operation mechanism of customer participation on innovation performance in knowledge-intensive financial service industry. This paper proposes a theoretical framework for the impact of customer participation on innovation performance and achieves innovative research results in several aspects.

Understanding the Joint Impacts of Cognitive, Social, and Geographic Proximities on the Performance of Innovation Collaboration Between Knowledge-Intensive Business Services and the Manufacturing Industry: Empirical Evidence From China.

Most previous empirical studies just addressed the influence of geographical proximity on interactive learning regarding the collaboration between knowledge-intensive business service (KIBS) and manufacturing industries. Drawing upon the social cognitive and knowledge-based perspective, this study bridged the research gaps by investigating the joint effects of geographical proximity and two representative non-geographic-proximities (i.e., cognitive proximity and social proximity) in fostering manufacturing firms’ innovation performance. In terms of the empirical analysis, we applied a research sample that involves the data of various manufacturing industries in 260 cities of China from 2003 to 2014 to test the corresponding hypotheses. Additionally, the Spatial Durbin Model (SDM) was adopted and the research findings showed that: (i) the geographic and social proximity significantly promote the knowledge transfer from KIBS to manufacturing firms, which further improves the innovation performance of the latter. However, the effect of cognitive proximity presents insignificant; (ii) the interactive effect of geographic and social proximity was positively associated with the innovation collaboration between KIBS and manufacturing firms; (iii) although the individual effect of cognitive proximity was insignificant, when it interacted with geographic or social proximity, the joint effects were proved to promote the innovation performance of manufacturing firms. This study extends our understanding pertaining to the influencing mechanism of proximity for KIBS and the innovation process. The findings proved that geographic and social proximity are two imperative facilitators of knowledge-creating collaboration, highlighting their indispensable role in moderating and mediating the knowledge transfer of KIBS as well as the innovation performance of manufacturing firms. Notably, cognitive proximity is contingent upon geographic and social proximity on its positive effects on the innovation performance for KIBS and their clients’ collaboration.

Human Capital Allocation and Enterprise Innovation Performance: An Example of China's Knowledge-Intensive Service Industry

This paper examines the impact of human capital mismatch on the innovation performance of knowledge-intensive service enterprises. Taking China's knowledge-intensive service industries (KISI) as our research object, we construct a human capital allocation measurement framework to evaluate the current state of human capital allocation of sub-industries in China using the 2007 and 2013 Chinese Household Income Project data and Chinese A-share listed company data. Results show that human capital mismatch do exist in China's knowledge-intensive service industries, which exerts inhibitory effect on the innovation performance of KISI enterprises. We further find that such an effect varies with regions and industries. Our study aims to provide useful reference for relevant departments in stimulating innovation and accelerating market reform.

Towards a circumplex typology of customer service experience management practices: a dyadic perspective

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to identify the practices used by service providers to manage the customer service experience (CSE) across multiple phases of the customer journey in a business-to-business (B2B) setting.Design/methodology/approachThis study comprises an ethnography that investigates in real time, from a dyadic perspective, and the CSE management practices at two service providers operating in knowledge-intensive service industries over a period of eight months. Analytically, the study concentrates on critical events that occurred in phases of the customer journey that in some way alter CSE, thus making it necessary for service providers to act to keep their customers satisfied.FindingsThe study uncovers four types of service provider practices that vary based on the mode of organization (ad hoc or regular) and the mode of engagement (reactive or proactive) and based on whether they restore or bolster CSE, including the recurrence of these practices in the customer journey. These practices are conveniently presented in a circumplex typology of CSE management across five phases in the customer journey.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper advances the research in CSE management throughout the customer journey in the B2B context by showing that CSE management is dynamic, recurrent and multifaceted in the sense that it requires different modes of organization and engagement, notably during interaction with customers, in different phases of the customer journey.Practical implicationsThe circumplex typology acts as a tool for service providers, helping them to redesign their CSE management practices in ongoing service and dialogical processes to keep their customers more engaged and satisfied.Originality/valueThis paper is the first to infuse a dyadic stance into the ongoing discussion of CSE management practices in B2B, in which studies to date have deployed only provider or customer perspectives. In proposing a microlevel view, the study identifies service providers' CSE management practices in multiple customer journey phases, especially when the situation becomes critical.

Supply-Side Structural Reform in the Service Industry and Escaping the Middle Income Trap

The internal consumption and production structure of the service industry that now dominates the Chinese economy needs to be optimized. Introducing supply-side structural reform to improve the in-depth integration of advanced manufacturing and the modern service industry and promoting a strong domestic market is the key to escaping the middle income trap. We use 1950-2010 data from 45 non-oil-exporting economies representing the structural evolution of the service industry worldwide to compare Asian economies that have passed through the middle income trap with Latin American counterparts that remain stuck in the trap, and thence proceed to construct a matched model that covers the consumption and production service industries and their supply of human capital, with the aim of identifying the formative mechanisms and conditions for escaping the middle income trap through upgrading the structure of the service industry. Substantially developing the production service sector, raising the supply of public services so as to cultivate the quantity and quality of human capital, and matching senior-level human capital with knowledge-intensive service industries will propel the upgrading and transformation of China’s economic structure toward high-quality development.

High-tech business in crisis conditions: development trends of large, medium and small enterprises

Leading world countries view innovative development and high-tech business as an opportunity to overcome economic stagnation and decline in economic growth. One of the modern trends in the analysis of high-tech development is the study of high-tech knowledge-intensive service industries and their development in times of crisis. The purpose of the paper is to identify patterns of development of large, medium and small enterprises in high-tech service industries in Russia during periods of crisis. Economic and economic-mathematical methods of analysis are applied to the formed samples of enterprises. The research period is 2013-2017. The financial indicators of enterprises were adjusted for the level of accumulated inflation in relation to 2013. According to results, large and medium-sized enterprises showed insignificant or weak significant positive dynamics of revenue during all years of the crisis period. The crisis period did not lead to a decrease in the revenue of these groups of enterprises. The acute phase of the crisis (2014-2015) had a pronounced negative impact on the group of small enterprises in all studied industries, but they successfully recovered in 2016-2017 and reached the pre-crisis level of revenue. The total revenue by industries and groups of enterprises in 2017 became higher than in 2013, and its growth rates were significant for many groups of enterprises, which indicates a successful overcoming of the crisis period and signs of growth in high-tech service industries. Our study shows the need for state support for small businesses in high-tech service industries in crisis conditions, and identifies the possibilities of adaptation of enterprises in these industries to an unfavorable external environment. Our results may be useful for the purposes of government stimulation of economic development in the current environment.

The effects of R&D cooperation on innovation performance in the knowledge-intensive business services industry: focusing on the moderating effect of the R&D-dedicated labor ratio

ABSTRACT This study conducted an empirical estimation of the effects of R&D cooperation and the proportion of R&D personnel on the performance of four different kinds of innovation in the two major KIBS industries (t-KIBS and p-KIBS). For the empirical analysis, we used a multivariate probit model with 956 samples from the KIBS industry collected using the officially adopted Korean Innovation Survey of 2016. We found that vertical R&D cooperation had a positive effect on the overall performance in the t-KIBS industry, especially on service and marketing performances. On the other hand, horizontal R&D cooperation (competitor and institutional innovation) had a heterogeneous effect on the innovation of the KIBS industry depending on the type of cooperation. The proportion of R&D-dedicated personnel had a positive effect on service product innovation in the p-KIBS industry, but contrary to expectation, a high proportion of R&D personnel had no positive moderating effect with R&D cooperation in improving innovation performance. On the contrary, a high proportion of R&D personnel combined with institutional cooperation negatively affected the achievement of service innovation.

Industrial land use planning and the growth of knowledge industry: Location pattern of knowledge-intensive services and their determinants in the Seoul metropolitan area

As the industrial structure is reorganized from manufacturing to one that is knowledge-based, the knowledge-intensive service (KIS) industry has grown steadily. Since KIS industries make a significant contribution to regional competitiveness through innovative activities, it is important to examine what factors determine their location. Since KIS industries reportedly concentrate in and around large cities, wherein the land price is high and vacant land is scarce, land use planning is expected to play an important role in the location of KIS. Therefore, this study analyzes the location patterns of the KIS industry and the factors contributing to the industry’s growth in the Seoul metropolitan area, with a focus on land use planning. According to the result, KIS industries tend to locate in traditional KIS centers in downtown Seoul and new centers around Seoul. While the growth of KIS workers in the traditional KIS centers was stagnant, that in the new centers was much higher. Concerning the factors that affect the growth of KIS employment, the factors related to land use planning significantly influenced the growth of KIS activities. Among them, semi-industrial zone and housing site development areas were influential due to the exclusion of residential land use and land use regulation changes that allowed the development of the knowledge industry center. This shows that exclusionary land use control and flexible measures should be properly applied to accommodate new industrial demands and create space for urban employment.

Investigating knowledge workers’ productivity using work design theory

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the suitability of job and work design theory for investigating knowledge workers’ productivity. The review is a response to recommendation and adoption of the motivational human resource management approach by a number of knowledge management researchers. The authors show that the existing literature on this topic overlooks key criticisms of HRM job and work design theory itself. The authors suggest modifications.Design/methodology/approachThe paper proceeds by outlining knowledge management researchers’ arguments rejecting the application of traditional measurement approaches to investigating knowledge workers’ productivity. The review develops to examine the various arguments for adopting work design theory and considers the key contributions and critiques in this field. Drawing on the insights of key HRM work design critics, the paper concludes by offering suggestions for a model suitable for examining the drivers of knowledge work productivity in process.FindingsThe principle finding is that Morgeson and Humphrey’s (2006) Work Design Questionnaire (WDQ) stand as the most conceptually consistent and methodologically considered human resource management work design theory. However, this model must itself be modified to include a category of organizational contextual work characteristics. For application to the filed of knowledge management, WDQ must also be expanded to include knowledge sharing, role breadth self-efficacy and employee well-being as key work design mediators and outcomes.Research limitations/implicationsGreater consideration needs to be given to the distinction between knowledge sharing as a work design mediator and as a work design outcome. Morgeson and Humphrey themselves note that the “common method variance” problems arising in psychometric research have been reduced but not completely eliminated from their model.Practical implicationsSurvey instruments based on the recommended model potentially provide a valuable means for understanding and enhancing productivity in a variety of knowledge intensive service industries. The pronounced benefit of this model is that it is applicable in cross-industry and cross-occupational contexts, unlike many existing knowledge worker productivity models. This is an advantage, given the centrality of the inter-connectivity of different types of activities and industries in knowledge work.Social implicationsWork design prioritizes employee motivation and support and links this to the quality of work and the well-being of clients. The benefits of well-designed knowledge work extend well beyond the generation of specific innovations and macroeconomic productivity improvements.Originality/valueJob design and work design theory have been applied in the field of knowledge management. However, the applications have largely overlooked key critiques of the established models in the human resource management literature. The paper fills this gap. Its original suggestions for modifying Moregeson and Humphry’s (2006) WDQ reflect the authors’ in-depth analysis of the literature.

Science and technology parks as accelerators of knowledge-intensive business services. A case study

This article provides a framework of support to the performance assessment of the scientific and technologic parks (STPs) in their role as accelerators of innovation and creation of spin-offs in universities, particularly in the knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) industry. We based our study on the theoretical framework of the model of 'triple helix' applied to entrepreneurship, and we analysed the case of Spain as a landmark in the development of STPs in Europe. The analysis of the dynamics of growth of these organisations has enabled us to identify some criteria that allow decisionmakers to assess the STPs attractiveness as support infrastructure for KIBS companies.

Modern Service Industry and Crossover Services: Development and Trends in China

Modern service industry (MSI) is an information and knowledge intensive service industry, relying on information technology and modern management philosophy. The development of MSI is of high significance for promoting rapid global economy, accelerating social progress, and building an innovation-oriented society and harmonious realm. This paper first presents the history and trends of MIS in China in terms of the worldwide MSI development status. It then proposes the concept of Crossover Services based upon a survey of 62 MSI-related listed firms in China, whose business models, products, and services evidently exploit the concept. After elaborating on the crossover, convergence, and complex characteristics of crossover services, it proposes a technical framework that facilities addressing the scientific issues and technical challenges on crossover service realization. Finally, it illustrates how a new cloud-based middleware platform, named JTang++, supports the realization of crossover services.

Determinants of Technological Innovation Performance of Knowledge-Intensive Business Service Industries in Korea

Determinants of Technological Innovation Performance of Knowledge-Intensive Business Service Industries in Korea

Managing business-to-business relationships under conditions of employee attrition: A transparency approach

Client-contact employee attrition can negatively affect client-supplier relationships, a problem all the more obvious within the knowledge-intensive service industry in which the untimely loss of employees adversely affects client relationships. From the client's perspective, employee attrition increases uncertainty over the perceived quality of service and results in the loss of valuable tacit knowledge from the provider. Drawing on case study materials, this paper seeks to develop a framework for understanding how firms can successfully manage client relationships despite threats of employee attrition. This paper suggests that relationship transparency based on the active transfer of information, knowledge retention and sharing, the implementation of succession plans, and timely intervention by the management, can reduce clients' perceived uncertainty, thereby fortifying a trusted relationship with their provider. This study offers a transparency-based conceptual framework that contributes to the business-to-business relationship literature within the knowledge-intensive service industry and discusses managerial implications.

Analysis of the Effect of CEPA on FDI to Mainland China from Hong Kong

Regional economic integration has got great achievements both in practice and theory since 1980s, which promotes the progress of the world economic liberalization. Besides the trade creation and diversion effect which had been researched widely, regional economic integration agreement also would create investment among members, and this dynamic investment effect now has been the main factor which pushes the progress of integration. Based on DID model and Gravity Model, this paper examines the influence of CEPA on FDI to Mainland China from Hong Kong by setting matched group, using 1998-2013 FDI from Hong Kong as sample. The conclusion is that CEPA and its supplemental agreements play a positive role on attracting Hong Kong FDI to Mainland China. With the transformation of development model in Mainland China, Hong Kong will invest more capital in knowledge-intensive Service industries in the future.

Skill Gaps and Employability: Higher Education in India

As India grows into a knowledge economy increasing the use of technology in manufacturing and service industries, the emerging gaps at the level of tertiary education are seen as a major constraint. In this article we address the growing mismatch between skills/education and jobs/occupations. We define types of skill mismatch in the labour market, nature of tertiary education, and occupation and industry, and classify high technology and knowledge-intensive industry (KII). To understand skill gaps we analyse where persons with tertiary education are employed and whether recent years have seen a significant change in the absorption of workers with higher education (HE) in different industry and occupation groups. An analysis of skill gaps in graduate intensity of occupations and high technology manufacturing and knowledge-intensive service (KIS) industry provides a policy perspective and inputs to explore ways to address skill mismatch relating to HE. We conclude that policy that encourages non-graduate technical and non-technical diploma/certificate holders into the lower graduate-intensity occupations would help to close the skill gap and reduce the pressure on graduate HE.

Open Innovation Implementation in the Service Industry: Exploring Practices, Sub-practices and Contextual

This paper addresses a major gap in reported research on open innovation (OI) literature: How do service firms adopt open innovation? This research focuses on data from eighteen service SMEs in Belgium from high-tech and knowledge-intensive service industries. Based on analysis, we find new insights regarding open innovation practices (i.e., inbound and outbound) and sub-practices (i.e., acquiring, sourcing, selling and revealing) for service firms. More specifically, the study showed that service SMEs are more inclined to use inbound practices due to reasons associated with firm size, industry, and knowledge intensity in the market, whereas the decision about which sub-practice to adopt seems to be strongly influenced by the type of actor, the firm’s vulnerability and internal managerial skills, and the existence of complementarities. Thus, we contribute to OI literature as well as capability literature through providing initial insights regarding the adoption of OI by service firms.

Are high-growth firms overrepresented in high-tech industries?

It is frequently argued that policymakers should target high-tech firms, i.e., firms with high R&D intensity, because such firms are considered more innovative and therefore potential fast-growers. This argument relies on the assumption that the association among high-tech status, innovativeness, and growth is actually positive. We examine this assumption by studying the industry distribution of high-growth firms (HGFs) across all four-digit NACE industries, using data covering all limited liability firms in Sweden during the period 1997–2008. The results of fractional logit regressions indicate that industries with high R&D intensity, ceteris paribus, can be expected to have a lower share of HGFs than can industries with lower R&D intensity. The findings cast doubt on the wisdom of targeting R&D industries or subsidizing R&D to promote firm growth. In contrast, we find that HGFs are overrepresented in knowledge-intensive service industries, i.e., service industries with a high share of human capital.

Alignment Between Service Innovation Strategy and Business Strategy and Its Effect on Firm Performance: An Empirical Investigation

A well-planned service innovation strategy is recognized as a prerequisite for successful service innovation in organizations. However, prior studies on service innovation strategies struggle to provide guidance on successful service innovation, because they do not consider the alignment between service innovation strategy and business strategy. Furthermore, they did not consider conditions, such as industries, that affect the alignments to improve firm performance. By using empirical data collected from 175 service firms in Korea, this study aims to investigate the effect of alignments between service innovation strategy (i.e., service creation-focused [SCFS], service delivery-focused [SDFS], and customer interaction-focused [CIFS] strategies) and business strategy (i.e., cost leadership [CLS], innovative differentiation [IDS], and focus [FS] strategies) on firm performance, which is assessed using both nonfinancial and financial measures. We then examine how the effect of alignments differs depending on industry types (i.e., scale intensive [SCIS], technology-based knowledge intensive [TKIS], and professional-based knowledge intensive service industries [PKIS]). Empirical evidence indicates that three alignment patterns (i.e., SCFS-IDS pattern, SDFS-CLS pattern, and CIFS-FS pattern) have synergistic effects on firm performance. Results also confirm that the effects of the alignments on firm performance differ according to the types of industry. The SCFS-IDS alignment performs well in the TKIS group, the SDFS-CLS alignment in the SCIS group, and the CIFS-FS alignment in the PKIS group. The implications for practice highlight the idea that successful service innovation requires judicious alignment between service innovation strategy and business strategy with the consideration of industries.

Does online collaboration with customers drive innovation performance?

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between the actual usage of online methods for collaboration with customers and firms’ innovation performance. Drawing on theories of knowledge flows and knowledge creation, this study analyses the results of customer collaboration in the online mode in comparison to the offline mode.Design/methodology/approach– The data for the econometric analysis comes from managers of 102 so-called “gazelles”, knowledge-intensive service firms that were characterized by exceptionally stable growth rates in Sweden during 2010 and 2011.Findings– This study confirms the significance of information and communication technology (ICT)-supported collaboration with customers for a firm’s innovation performance. Interacting with customers using online methods has a positive effect on companies’ innovation output. Besides, knowledge-intensive service companies demonstrate more extensive though less intensive use of online channels for collaborating with customers compared to offline methods.Research limitations/implications– The data for this study has typical limitations resulting from the collection method of web-surveying. Future research should refine the findings of this study using various measures of firms’ innovation performance.Practical implications– Firms should be more receptive towards online methods of collaboration with customers because using such strategy can increase their probability to introduce service innovations. The insights from this study are especially valuable for companies in knowledge-intensive service industries because the sample consist of companies that can be regarded as successful cases.Originality/value– This study is one of the first that addresses the issue of the impact of collaborative technologies on innovation performance. The sample of steady-growing gazelle companies adds value to the results.