Are knowledge intensive business services always so efficient as they are said to? an empirical approach of KIBS in a peripheral region

  1. Fernando RUBIERA - MOROLLÓN 1
  2. Mª del Pilar QUINDÓS - MORÁN
  3. María R. VICENTE - CUERVO
  1. 1 Universidad de Oviedo
    info

    Universidad de Oviedo

    Oviedo, España

    ROR https://ror.org/006gksa02

Revista:
Estudios Economicos Regionales y Sectoriales : EERS: Regional and sectoral economic studies : RSES

ISSN: 1578-4460

Año de publicación: 2005

Volumen: 5

Número: 2

Páginas: 47-66

Tipo: Artículo

Otras publicaciones en: Estudios Economicos Regionales y Sectoriales : EERS: Regional and sectoral economic studies : RSES

Resumen

The aim of this paper is to analyse the efficiency in knowledge intensive business services, also known by their acronym KIBS. The firms belonging to this sector are said to have high efficiency degrees due to their specialisation. Nevertheless, some authors claim that high efficiency scores only work for those firms located in central nodes of development. Within this context we analyse KIBS efficiency in a Spanish peripheral region. Results show important differences in efficiency levels between KIBS firms as well as a low average for the whole of these activities. These findings may imply differential externalisation gains for subcontracting firms, reinforcing, at the same time, the idea of the effect of spatial concentration over KIBS efficiency.