Foresight 1 Knowledge Intensive Business Services: Ambiguities and Continuities Structured AbstractPurpose of this paper The substantial growth in literature on Knowledge Intensive Business Services (KIBS) has thrown light on their contributions to innovation and innovation systems: this paper is the first of a set that examines major debates and conclusions to have emerged from this growing body of evidence. Design/methodology/approach This is a review essay, which also presents relevant statistics. It addresses definitional issues and controversies, and sets out basic trends and characteristics of the KIBS industries. The focus is mainly on KIBS firms, though the production of similar services in other types of organisation is also considered. FindingsMany of the conclusions of an earlier (2005) review in this journal remain valid, though difficulties in capturing these activities in official statistics, mean that there are many issues that demand closer inspection. Understanding the role and future prospects of KIBS will also require looking beyond the literature that focuses just on KIBS industries. Research limitations/implications (if applicable)The study involves literature review and statistical analysis. Future work would benefit from involvement of practitioners and users of KIBS. Practical implications (if applicable)More explicit consideration of KIBS in statistical frameworks is still required, and novel approaches to data conceptualisation and production should be explored. What is original/value of paperThe growing literature on KIBS, and its implications for understanding the roles and future development of the firms and their relationships to innovation systems, requires systematic analysis. Available statistics have been brought together, and the paper also reflects critically on the trajectories of research on these topics.

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K nowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) industries demonstrate some of the highest levels of innovation in most developed economies. However, these industries are very heterogeneous. Research on their innovative activities is needed in order to provide evidence to inform policy instruments to support such companies. In this paper, we analyze the innovation configurations of 477 Russian KIBS companies. First, we use factor analysis to study the key features of their innovative

Knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) significantly contribute to the economic growth and competitive advantage of emerging markets, including Silk Road countries. KIBS are not only intermediaries that transfer knowledge through the economy, but are also innovators themselves. This paper aims to explore how major innovation drivers influence the implementation of innovation in KIBS. Using a sample of 519 KIBS enterprises from Russia, the results show that human capital increases the implementation of technological innovation, while the link between standardisation and technological innovations is non-linear (an inverted Ushaped). In addition, the multiregional branch network promotes the implementation of all types of innovation, while advertising investments enhance the implementation of technological and marketing ones. These results help to provide some practical suggestions for both innovation managers and policy-makers.

Purpose The literature on knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) shows them to be major innovators; this is confirmed with recent data, which the authors use to examine the various types of innovation that KIBS undertake. The implications for employment and work in highly innovative industries are important topics for analysis, not least because we are in a period where dramatic claims are being made as to the implications of new technologies for professional occupations. Thus, this paper aims to address major debates and conclusions concerning innovation patterns in KIBS and the evolving structures of professional and other work in these industries. Design/methodology/approach This essay combines literature review with presentation and discussion of statistics that throw light on the patterns of innovation that characterise KIBS. The authors also consider data that concern trends in the organisation of work in these industries; while the focus is mainly on KIBS firms, they also pay some attention to KIBS-like work in other sectors. Even though KIBS are distinctive industries in modern economies, these analyses can be related to more general studies of, and forecasts about, changes in work organisation. Findings The authors show that innovation patterns and employment structures vary substantially across different types of KIBS, with the distinction between technological, professional and creative KIBS proving to be useful for capturing these differences. The authors are also able to demonstrate important long- and medium-term trends in the structure and activities of the KIBS industries. In particular, data clearly demonstrate the increasing share of professional as against associate and clerical workers in most KIBS. Evidence also suggests that polarisation trends across the economy are mirrored, and in some cases amplified, in KIBS. The future prospects for employment in KIBS, and for professional work in particular, are seen to involve multiple factors, which together may bring about substantial change. Research limitations/implications The study involves literature review and industry-level statistical analysis. Future work would benefit from firm-level analysis and validation and explication of results via consultation with practitioners and users of KIBS. Some puzzling variations across countries and sectors will need to be explored with national and sectoral experts. Practical implications Research into KIBS activities, and their future, should make more use of the extensive statistics on employment and other structural features of the industries that have become available in recent years. KIBS firms and practitioners will need to take account of the forces for change that are liable to restructure their activities. Originality/value The literature on KIBS has been concentrated on a rather narrow range of issues, while analysis of the current contributions and future development of the industries requires attention to a wider range of topics. This paper suggests how these topics may be investigated and their implications explored and presents results of enquiries along these lines.