Knowledge intensive business services and client innovation

Abstract

Innovative activities, driven by a knowledge economy era, globalization, and pressure of global competition, have profoundly impacted local economies since the late 1980s. Relevant studies in the recent decade have gradually emphasized the increasing importance and continuous expansion of knowledge intensive business services in current economic development. This topic represents a major trend impacting industrialized economies. Therefore, this study elucidates the roles and functions of knowledge intensive business services as an area innovation system evolves. Exactly how technology-based firms and knowledge intensive business services interact with each other, as well as the roles of knowledge intensive business services, is also analyzed by examining how the area innovation system centered in Hsinchu Science-Based Industrial Park in Taiwan has evolved. Results of this study demonstrate that knowledge intensive business services function in an intermediary role in the innovation system. These services enhance their customers’ capacity for specialization, subsequently improving their evolutionary capabilities and producing tangible innovative cycles.

Keywords:

• knowledge intensive business services
• technology-based firm
• interactive relationships
• local innovation system

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank the National Science Council of Taiwan for financially supporting this research under Contract No. NSC 98-2221-E-216-041-MY2.

Notes

1. Regarding high-tech personnel turnover, around 62% of such personnel in HSIP changed jobs every 1–3 years (Chang, Lee, Lin, & Hu, 2010).

2. The Industrial Technology Research Institute was created in 1973. Since its inception, ITRI has trained more than 70 chief executive officers, incubated 165 start-ups and accumulated over 10,000 patents. Currently, it has 13 research units and centers and over 5000 researchers and technology professionals

3. These classifications include technical services, manage consultant services and computer system design services.