Knowledge Intensive Business Services as Generators of Innovations

41 Pages Posted: 22 Jun 2013

See all articles by Marina Doroshenko

Marina Doroshenko

Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge, National Research University — Higher School of Economics; MSU

Ian Miles

University of Manchester - Division of Operations, Technology and Innovation Management; National Research University Higher School of Economics (Moscow)

Dmitri Vinogradov

University of Glasgow - Adam Smith Business School; HSE University

Date Written: June 20, 2013

Abstract

Knowledge Intensive Business Services (KIBS) are widely argued to be important actors in innovation systems. They are active both innovating themselves, and by providing their clients with important knowledge and learning opportunities. This study uses survey data to investigate the mechanisms of knowledge transfer and innovativeness improvement through the provision of KIBS. The empirical core of the paper is a set of Russian surveys of KIBS and their clients: KIBS are a fairly new phenomenon in Russia, so this provides an opportunity to contrast KIBS supplier-client relationships featuring more and less experienced customers. Many of the KIBS firms’ services are highly tailored to customer specificities, and we consider how far this is minor customisation and how far novel products (and thus potentially product innovations) are involved. These services typically involve KIBS consumers into a coproduction process, where both the formal supplier and the formal user of the service are engaged together in service production. Knowledge transfers through learning-by-doing in such cases affect customers' propensity to innovate and improve their absorptive capacity. The paper concludes that the generation of innovations through KIBS may well be a self-sustaining process. In this process, service providers are incentivised to engage in service innovations by more innovative customers’ demand for highly individualised services. In turn, the process stimulates the innovativeness of customers, as they engage in learning-by-doing through coproduction.

Keywords: service innovations, customised service production, knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS), knowledge spill-over, learning-by-doing

JEL Classification: D83, L84, O32

Suggested Citation

Doroshenko, Marina and Miles, Ian and Vinogradov, Dmitri, Knowledge Intensive Business Services as Generators of Innovations (June 20, 2013). Higher School of Economics Research Paper No. WP BRP 12/STI/2013, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2282511 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2282511

Marina Doroshenko (Contact Author)

Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge, National Research University — Higher School of Economics ( email )

Myasnitskaya st. 18
Moscow, 101000
Russia

MSU ( email )

1-46 Leninskiye Gory
Moscow, 119991
Russia

Ian Miles

University of Manchester - Division of Operations, Technology and Innovation Management ( email )

Booth Street West
Manchester, M15 6PB
United Kingdom

National Research University Higher School of Economics (Moscow)

Myasnitskaya street, 20
Moscow, Moscow 119017
Russia

Dmitri Vinogradov

University of Glasgow - Adam Smith Business School ( email )

Glasgow, Scotland
United Kingdom

HSE University ( email )

38 Studencheskaya Ulitsa
Perm, Permsky kray 614070
Russia

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