Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
The role of KIBS is also highlighted in terms of management consultancy, accounting
and market research.
The importance of KIBS in regional knowledge networks is also shown in Figure 23.6.
In this study the locations of the multiple oi ces of business service i rms were analysed
with respect to the greater south east (GSE). The strength of these intra-i rm networks
was then estimated according to the numbers of i rms having branches in each of them.
These numbers showed a distinctive bias towards the western arc around London.
This extended from Cambridge in the north around Swindon in the west and down to
Southampton in the south. This geography of business services rel ects that shown in
Figure 23.4 for the changes taking place in KIBS during the 1990s.
These studies suggest the potential signii cance of networking between core service
sectors and KIBS in the processes of knowledge spillovers in the information economy.
They also show the relative importance of a node like the City of London in the hier-
archy of nodes at least in its local region the GSE. Identifying the main actors in these
nodes and networks is an essential i rst step in analysing the evolution of the mechanisms
that form the bases of knowledge spillovers.
Networked knowledge spillovers are a critical element of interactive learning and
innovation systems. While these mechanisms have been studied extensively with respect
to innovation in technological product and process innovations, comparatively little is
known about innovation in services. Given that services make up a large majority of eco-
nomic activity in post-industrial information based economies this is a major lacuna.
Nevertheless, in the City Corporation of London (2003) survey of networking in the
London i nancial services concentration, illustrated in Figure 23.5, some familiar results
Milton
Keynes
Cambridge
St Albans
READING
LONDON
Swindon
Crawley-
Gatwick
Bournemouth
Southampton
Connectivity
≥0.8
0.8 - 0.79
0.4 - 0.59
0.2 - 0.39
LONDON-NETWORK CONNECTIONS
(Standardised to Reading)
Source:
Institute of Community Studies POLYNET; www.icstudies.ac.uk/html//whatdo_A.asp.
Figure 23 . 6
Business services networks in the greater south east
 
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