The emergence of collaborative partnerships between knowledge-intensive business service (KIBS) and product companies: the case of Bremen, Germany

Abstract

Regional science research is silent on how collaborative partnerships between KIBS and product companies emerge. Our paper addresses this theoretical gap by examining the role played by KIBS firms and by their interactions with product companies. We propose a typology of territorial servitization-namely knowledge gap, regulation gap, and capacity gap-wherein KIBS firms respectively play the pivotal roles of knowledge brokers, intermediators, and integrators in driving collaborative partnerships. By conducting qualitative case studies, this paper explores the mechanisms by which product companies located in a high-tech multiindustry cluster in Bremen, Germany, collaborate with KIBS firms in fostering regional competitiveness.

Territorial servitization: Conceptualization, quantification and research agenda

“…One of the premises of territorial servitization is that geographical proximity is important in developing strong partnerships between manufacturing and service industries; however, with the exceptions of Liu et al (2019) this premise has not been evaluated empirically (Lafuente et al, 2019). In this special issue, two articles analyze this issue in-depth.…”

Do Firms R&D Collaborations with the Science System and Enterprise Group Partners Stimulate Their Product and Process Innovations?

“…However, the existing literature reviewed revealed some caveats that raise doubts about the general applicability of the results of these innovation collaborations between the science system actors and firms in the enterprise group. For instance, most of these empirical studies focused on countries classified as innovation leaders and those with strong innovation potential, such as the United Kingdom, Denmark, France, Germany, and Sweden among others (Banal-Estañol et al 2015;Kergroach et al 2018;Liu et al 2019). These studies demonstrated that these R&D collaborations are noticeable in these innovation leaders and strong innovative countries, but they differ significantly and are almost completely rare in new EU countries, such as Hungary and the Czech Republic, classified as moderate innovators still undergoing structural changes from communism to market economies.…”

Institutional logics and social enterprises: Entry mode choices of foreign hospitals in China

“…Third, by examining the role played by foreign hospitals in fostering health system reforms, we extend the previous work on public-private collaborative partnerships (Xing et al, 2018). However, collaborative partnerships need to seek, establish, and sustain relationships with partners appropriate for the achievement of favorable performance outcomes (Collinson & Liu, 2017;Liu, Lattemann, Xing, & Dorawa, 2018). A microfoundational perspective is critical to advance international management research (Verbeke & Calma, 2017).…”