ABSTRACT
Knowledge and knowledge management are identified, by both business strategists and policy-makers, as a key resource in knowledge-based economy. This chapter discusses how knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) contribute to the distribution power of National Innovation Systems. It presents empirical evidence suggesting that KIBS play an important role in innovation processes in client firms. In considering in-firm knowledge production and distribution it is useful to distinguish between Research and Development (R&D) and other intangible investments. The chapter looks at the role of KIBS in distributing knowledge within a National Innovation System (NIS) context and the dynamic role the services play in changing research systems and knowledge infrastructures. Building on the NISs perspective, the notion of distribution power focuses on the efficiency and efficacy of various types of knowledge distribution and exchange between the various actors involved in processes of innovation. The rudimentary structure of a three-tiered dynamic model explaining the development in the role KIBS perform in NISs has been developed.
