Knowledge intensive services

Knowledge-intensive services, abbreviated as KIS, are services that involve activities that are intended to result in the creation, accumulation, or dissemination of knowledge, where knowledge-intensiveness refers to how knowledge is produced and delivered with highly intellectual value-add.[1] Knowledge intensive business services (commonly known as KIBS) are the knowledge-intensive service activities for developing a customized service or product solution to satisfy the client's needs[2] and they are provided mainly for other companies[3] or organizations. These concepts are continuously discussed, formulated, and developed as a part of the constantly evolving academic discipline of knowledge management.

Knowledge-intensive services occupy a central position as an integrator of the innovation system,[4] which by knowledge-intensive processes enables information, people, and systems to interact and where companies, research institutions, and other innovative organizations drive technological and service innovations forward for the advancement of research and development and for business and entrepreneurial purposes.

Knowledge-intensive services are a specialized part of knowledge-work and knowledge economy, where the main capital of a knowledge worker is the ability to develop and use knowledge at knowledge organizations or knowledge-intensive companies, also known as KICs. The role of knowledge-intensive services is enabled by numerous and versatile contacts with different actors[5] at knowledge market. Knowledge-intensive services could act as an external knowledge source and contribute to innovations in client companies and introduce internal innovations and contribute to the actors’ economic performance and growth.[6]

Knowledge-intensive service activities, abbreviated as KISA, play several important roles in innovation processes. They serve as sources of innovation by initiating and developing innovation activities in client organizations. Secondly, they serve as facilitators of innovation when they support an organization in the innovation process. Thirdly, they serve as carriers of innovation when they aid in transferring existing knowledge among or within organizations, industries, or networks so that it can be applied in a new context.[7]

Knowledge-intensive services can be described as activities that are based on knowledge and know-how resources and are service oriented. This is a more descriptive concept than a specific industry: the information creates value for different stakeholders. Typical knowledge-intensive services activities features are, that information plays a significant role in the production of services and that the services are based on professional competence. The new knowledge is created and shared in a close interaction between the customer and the service provider. The end products are usually very innovative, intangible, and complex by their technical solutions. [8]

Knowledge work

Knowledge work is one of the forms in knowledge-intensive services. One of the most valuable assets of a 21st-century institution is its knowledge workers and their productivity. [9] Knowledge workers can be defined as workers, who create knowledge or use knowledge as their main resource. [10] Knowledge work does not involve the transformation of materials into another form but transforming knowledge from one form to another. [11]

Service thinking

Service thinking is a new theoretical philosophy for enterprise value creation. It aims to improve the customer experience and interactions by marketing and designing services.[12] Service thinking combines different methods and tools from various disciplines.[13] Service thinking approaches, like service logic, customer-dominant logic, service-dominant logic, and goods-dominant logic, help explain value creation.[14]

Service design

Service design is a customer-driven approach to service development. It aims to implement the service thinking theory. Service thinking helps to innovate and improve services to make them more desirable for clients. [15]

See also

References

  1. Miles, I.; Kastrinos, N.; Bilderbeek, R.; den Hertog, P.; Flanagan, K.; Huntink, W.; Bouman, M. (1995), Knowledge-Intensive Business Services: their role as users, carriers and sources of innovation. Report to the EC DG XIII Luxembourg: Sprint EIMS Programme. [16]
  2. ^ Bettencourt, L.A.; Ostrom, A.L.; Brown, S.W.; Roundtree, R. (2002), "Client co-production in knowledge-intensive business services", California Management Review, 44 (4): 100–128, doi:10.2307/41166145, JSTOR 41166145, S2CID 153571962
  3. ^ Muller, E. (2001), Innovation Interactions Between Knowledge-Intensive Business Services and Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises – Analysis in Terms of Evolution, Knowledge and Territories. Heidelberg: Physica, doi:10.1007/978-3-642-57568-6, ISBN 978-3-7908-1362-3
  4. ^ Rajala, R.; Rajala, A.; Leminen, S. (January 2008), "Knowledge-intensive service activities in software business. International Journal of Technology Management", International Journal of Research in Marketing, doi:10.1504/IJTM.2008.016784
  5. ^ Toivonen, M. (2004), "Foresight in services: possibilities and special challenges", The Service Industries Journal, 24 (1): 79–98, doi:10.1080/02642060412331301142, S2CID 154027551
  6. ^ Muller, E.; Zenker, A. (2001), "Business services as actors of knowledge transformation: the role of KIBS in regional and national innovation systems", Research Policy, 30 (9): 1501–1516, doi:10.1016/S0048-7333(01)00164-0
  7. ^ OECD (2006), Innovation and Knowledge-Intensive Service Activities, p. 9, doi:10.1787/9789264022744-en, ISBN 9789264022737
  8. ^ Laihonen, H.; Lönnqvist, A.; Käpylä, J. (2011), "Tietointensiiviset liike-elämän palvelut: kohti merkityksellisempää vertailuinformaatiota", Liiketaloudellinen Aikakauskirja (3): 329–351
  9. ^ Davenport, T.; Prusak, L. (1998), Working knowledge: how organizations manage what they know, Boston{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  10. ^ Drucker, P. (1999), "Knowledge-Worker Productivity: The Biggest Challenge", California Management Review, 41 (2): 79–94, doi:10.2307/41165987, JSTOR 41165987, S2CID 42698328
  11. ^ Woods, J.; Cortada, J. (2013), The Knowledge Management Yearbook 2000-2001, Florence{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  12. ^ Hastings, H. (2014), Service thinking : the seven principles to discover innovative opportunities, Jeff Saperstein, New York, New York (222 East 46th Street, New York, NY 10017), ISBN 978-1-60649-663-3, OCLC 869630426{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location (link) CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  13. ^ Stickdorn, M. (2011), THIS IS SERVICE DESIGN THINKING : Basics, Tools, Cases, Jakob Schneider, Hoboken, New Jersey, ISBN 978-1-118-15630-8, OCLC 751834014{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  14. ^ Vargo, S.; Maglio, P.; Akaka, M. (2008), "On value and value co-creation: A service systems and service logic perspective", European Management Journal, 26 (3): 145–152, doi:10.1016/j.emj.2008.04.003
  15. ^ Stickdorn, M. (2018), This is service design doing : applying service design thinking in the real world : a practitioner's handbook, Markus Hormess, Adam Lawrence, Jakob Schneider, Sebastopol, CA, ISBN 978-1-4919-2715-1, OCLC 1019708711{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

Further reading

  • OECD – Innovation and Knowledge-Intensive Service Activities
  • Eurostat (European Union) – Glossary of Knowledge-intensive services (KIS)