Competitive strategies in Knowledge IntensiveBusiness Services. Evidence from Lombardy

The chapter aims at exploring this “black box”, contributing from a micro perspective to the debate about the role of KIBS in regional innovation systems. Drawing on an original firm-level survey, we investigate KIBS’ competitive strategies and how these relate to firm’s and market’s characteristics. The case under study is that of Lombardy, a highly developed manufacturing region, whose industrial activities have experienced a pervasive transformation towards higher knowledge content, demanding for a stronger and more pervasive support by advanced service functions. As such, Lombardy is a prominent example of the structural changes undergoing in mature industrial regions, with a major growth of value added and employees in the service sector, particularly in financial services and KIBS.