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Regional Concentration of Knowledge-Intensive Business Services in Europe

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  • Xavier Vence Deza
  • Manuel González López

Abstract

This paper analyses the location patterns of knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) in Europe in line with the most recent literature. Our main contribution is to provide new evidence about the location patterns of KIBS considering the European continent, as opposed to individual countries, as the unit of analysis. We first present the concentration and specialisation patterns of KIBS activities in Europe, including the variations that have occurred during the last few years. Second, we try to provide an explanation of KIBS regional specialisation patterns on the basis of the factors identified by the literature. The results suggest that KIBS activities are highly geographically concentrated in Europe. In this respect, capital cities, which have increasingly emerged as strongly specialised locations in services, play a central role in geography of KIBS. At the same time, there is also evidence of a tendency of sparse dispersal of KIBS throughout European regions. Overall, our results reinforce the importance of agglomeration externalities, market size, regional accessibility, regional knowledge base, and the institutional nature of the regional capital city. Finally, regarding changes in KIBS regional specialisation, we find that these are largely associated to changes in regional GDP.

Suggested Citation

  • Xavier Vence Deza & Manuel González López, 2014. "Regional Concentration of Knowledge-Intensive Business Services in Europe," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 32(6), pages 1036-1058, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envirc:v:32:y:2014:i:6:p:1036-1058
    DOI: 10.1068/c11171r
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Feldman, Maryann P. & Audretsch, David B., 1999. "Innovation in cities:: Science-based diversity, specialization and localized competition," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 409-429, February.
    2. Luis Rubalcaba & David Gago, 2003. "Regional concentration of innovative business services: testing some explanatory factors at European regional level," The Service Industries Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(1), pages 77-94, January.
    3. Mikel Navarro & Juan José Gibaja & Beñat Bilbao-Osorio & Ricardo Aguado, 2009. "Patterns of Innovation in EU-25 Regions: A Typology and Policy Recommendations," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 27(5), pages 815-840, October.
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    1. Luis Enrique Santiago, 2020. "The industries of the future in Mexico: Local and non‐local effects in the localization of “knowledge‐intensive services”," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(2), pages 584-606, June.
    2. Vicente Romero de à vila Serrano, 2019. "The Intrametropolitan Geography of Knowledge-Intensive Business Services (KIBS): A Comparative Analysis of Six European and U.S. City-Regions," Economic Development Quarterly, , vol. 33(4), pages 279-295, November.
    3. Matthias Firgo & Peter Mayerhofer, 2016. "Wissensintensive Unternehmensdienste, Wissens-Spillovers und regionales Wachstum. Teilprojekt 3: Zur Standortstruktur von wissensintensiven Unternehmensdiensten – Fakten, Bestimmungsgründe, regionalpo," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 59427.

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