Knowledge intensive business services (KIBS)
and potential of regions
inVisegrad group countries
Ing. Petr Hlaváček, Ph. D.
Department of Regional Development and Public Administration
Faculty of Social and Economic Studies
Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem
What is KIBS:
The knowledge intensive business services sector consists two
categories:
a) technology focused KIBS services that include R&D services,
engineering services, computer services
b) KIBS also include accounting, advertising, business and
management consultancy.
Theoretical framework-Why KIBS?
 The innovations in the services, especially in IT has influence on
activities in all sectors of the economy and play a central role in the
innovation processes.
 Factories need KIBS for increased production efficiency as they
bring new innovations, a stronger position, and a competitive
advantage to these firms.
 Knowledge intensive business services have recorded significant
growth in the last years within national and regional economies
(Toivonen, 2006),
 The production organizations require innovations in cooperating
KIBS organizations to reinforce their innovation process.
Research aims
 What are differences among the regions in their potential in
relation to KIBS.
 Are regional differences in KIBS higher than in the economic
potential of the regions?
 The research will be applied in the analysis of the regions in
Visegrad countries - NUTS II. level.
Methodology
 The analysis is based on the research goal and data,The group of
indicators, consists folowing data:
 GDPEA(1-n) - represents gross domestic product per capita that
provides a representative insight to the economic potential of the
region (in Eur per capita)
 AHRST(1-n) - share of university students in the IT field per work
force in %
 AKIBS(1-n) - share of employment in KIBS on employment total
(in %)
 RDEX (1-n) - Intramural R&D expenditure (GERD)
in Euro per Inhabitant
 IKIBS13(1-n) - Index of KIBS potential in 2013
 IKIKB16(1-n) - Index of KIBS potential in 2016
Index of Knowledge
Intensive Business
Services
( IKIBS13, IKIBS16 )
of Visegrad regions
Region NUTS II. IKIBS 13 IKIBS 16
Prague 69,3 87,5
Central Bohemia 30,3 32,6
Southwest 28,5 29,3
Northwest 21,0 22,5
Northeast 27,2 28,4
Southeast 35,9 36,9
Central Moravia 26,4 27,2
Moravian-Silesian 26,0 28,3
Central Hungary 41,3 42,7
Central Transdanubia 22,0 23,5
Western Transdanubia 21,5 24,4
Southern Transdanub. 21,1 22,2
Northern Hungary 18,8 20,8
Northern Great Plain 21,5 22,4
Southern Great Plain 20,7 23,5
Lódź 23,2 25,7
Masovia 37,9 41,6
Lesser Poland 24,2 28,0
Silesia 24,3 26,8
Greater Poland 23,1 26,0
West Pomerania 21,1 24,6
Lubusz 19,9 22,3
Lower Silesia 25,6 29,2
Opole 18,5 22,2
Kuyavia-Pomerania 19,3 22,7
Warmia-Masuria 19,5 21,5
Pomerania 25,3 28,8
Holy Cross Province 19,1 22,3
Lublin 21,2 23,2
Subcarpathia 20,0 23,9
Podlaskie 19,2 23,2
Bratislava 63,1 61,5
West Slovakia 21,8 26,7
Central Slovakia 22,8 26,4
East Slovakia 20,8 23,4
Correlation dependency of
selected indicators
GDP
EA13
HRST13 AKIBS
13
RDEX
13
IKIBS13 GDPEA
16
HRST
16
AKIBS
16
RDEX
16
IKIBS
16
GDPEA13 1,000 ,684** ,109 ,682** ,854** ,988** ,759** ,087 ,700** ,880**
HRST13 ,684** 1,000 ,202 ,676** ,740** ,670** ,843** ,162 ,660** ,763**
AKIBS13 ,109 ,202 1,000 ,341* ,342* ,106 ,237 ,932** ,291 ,280
RDE13 ,682** ,676** ,341* 1,000 ,920** ,713** ,614** ,313 ,907** ,853**
IKIBS13 ,854** ,740** ,342* ,920** 1,000 ,861** ,720** ,308 ,856** ,932**
GDPEA16 ,988** ,670** ,106 ,713** ,861** 1,000 ,732** ,083 ,717** ,879**
HRST16 ,759** ,843** ,237 ,614** ,720** ,732** 1,000 ,170 ,623** ,832**
AKIBS16 ,087 ,162 ,932** ,313 ,308 ,083 ,170 1,000 ,296 ,272
RDEX16 ,700** ,660** ,291 ,907** ,856** ,717** ,623** ,296 1,000 ,894**
IKIBS16 ,880** ,763** ,280 ,853** ,932** ,879** ,832** ,272 ,894** 1,000
Conclusion
 The localization of KIBS shows that the services have a tendency to
concentrate in the regions with metropolitan areas.
 Externalities and agglomeration effects are an important factor
of the development of the KIBS sector.
 Another factor is the relatively higher connection of KIBS with the
economic development level of the regions or their economic
specializations.
 The regional differences in KIBS development are higher than in the
economic potential of the regions.
 A region with a long developed economy and higher gross domestic
product has created better conditions for the development of KIBS, even
through the innovation activity.
 The result of the correlation analysis reveals a statistically significant
dependency between KIBS development and the economic potential of
the regions.
Conclusion
 From the theoretical point of view of the regional innovation
system, localization of the universities and R&D institutions
support development of KIBS.
 Externalities and agglomeration effects are an important factor of
the development of the KIBS sector and regional specialisation.
 Level of concentration of KIBS is frequently linked to the level of
regional innovation systems and other factors, which have a direct
influence on the development of the economic potential of the
regions.
 Spreading of information and communication technologies and
services decreases the requirement for the geographical proximity
of companies.
 KIBS are used by the organizations from other less developed
regions.
Thank you for your attention.