This study analyses how regional manufacturing characteristics-i.e., specialisation and size of new manufacturers-and the entrepreneurial ecosystem-contextual factors driving entrepreneurial actions-impact the rate of new knowledge-intensive business service (KIBS) firms. Our spatial analysis of 121 European regions reveals that the entrepreneurial ecosystem plays a decisive role in supporting KIBS formation rates in territories with a solid industrial fabric. The economic potential of more attractive neighbouring regions can be detrimental to regional KIBS formation rates. The study offers valuable implications on how the entrepreneurial ecosystem can facilitate the interaction between manufacturing and KIBS firms.

This study analyzes how the entrepreneurial ecosystem and different types of entrepreneurship impact regional performance. By analyzing 121 European Union regions between 2012 and 2014, it is found that quantity (Kirznerian) entrepreneurship negatively impacts regional performance, while this effect turns positive in the case of quality (Schumpeterian) entrepreneurship. Also, regions with a healthy entrepreneurial ecosystem have a greater capacity to materialize the effects of high business-formation rates, regardless of their quality (Kirznerian entrepreneurship), while regions with weak entrepreneurial ecosystem may rely on innovative (Schumpeterian) entrepreneurs to compensate for the absence of entrepreneurship support policies and increase their economic outcomes.

This study analyzes how the entrepreneurial ecosystem and different types of entrepreneurship impact regional performance. By analyzing 121 European Union regions between 2012 and 2014, it is found that quantity (Kirznerian) entrepreneurship negatively impacts regional performance, while this effect turns positive in the case of quality (Schumpeterian) entrepreneurship. Also, regions with a healthy entrepreneurial ecosystem have a greater capacity to materialize the effects of high business-formation rates, regardless of their quality (Kirznerian entrepreneurship), while regions with weak entrepreneurial ecosystem may rely on innovative (Schumpeterian) entrepreneurs to compensate for the absence of entrepreneurship support policies and increase their economic outcomes.

From the perspective that a region's industrial development mostly builds upon existing local capability endowments to form a trajectory of related diversifications, we argue that regions with a strong technology-based knowledge-intensive business service (T-KIBS) sector potentially have resource-based relatedness in their 'knowledge space' allowing their local manufacturing sector to diversify production more easily towards Industry 4.0. The study assays whether the internal configuration of the local KIBS sector contributes to the economic outcome of local industry by implementing spatial econometrics models on a regionalized database for 24 European Union countries.

Knowledge-intensive service firms achieve superior productivity levels with management practices oriented to improve the relationship with customers. Managerial practices linked to digital and IT-based practices and cash management techniques contribute to enhance SMEs' productivity level. The positive effect of cash management techniques and digital/IT-based practices is conditioned by the characteristics of the businesses' operations, in our case, the knowledge orientation of the organization. While nonknowledge-based businesses benefit more from practices linked to digitization and IT practices, knowledge-intensive businesses capitalize more on management practices that seek to improve the relationship with customers.