Authors
Ian Miles, Veronika Belousova, Nikolay Chichkanov, Zhaklin Krayushkina
Publication date
2021
Journal
Форсайт
Volume
15
Issue
1 (eng)
Pages
6-18
Publisher
Федеральное государственное автономное образовательное учреждение высшего образования «Национальный исследовательский университет «Высшая школа экономики»
Description
Knowledge-Intensive Business Services (KIBS) are problem-solvers for other organizations. The coronacrisis affects KIBS directly, but also means that their clients are confronting new problems. How are KIBS addressing these two sets of challenges? This paper draws upon material available in the trade and industry press, on official reports and statistics, and the early academic studies addressing these themes. We find that KIBS have been active (alongside other organizations) in providing a substantial range of services aimed at helping their clients (and others) deal with the various contingencies thrown up by the crisis. Not least among these are the need to conform to shifting regulatory frameworks and requirements for longer-term resilience. KIBS themselves have had to adapt their working practices considerably, to reduce face-to-face interaction with clients and within teams collaborating on projects. Adaptation is easier for those whose tasks are relatively standardized and codified, and it remains to be seen how far a shift to such activities and away from the traditional office-based venues of activity – is retained, as firms recover from the crisis. KIBS are liable to play an important role in this recovery from the crisis and policymakers can mobilize their services. Some KIBS are liable to be critical for rendering economies more resilient in the face of future pandemics, and we argue that these firms are also important for confronting the mounting climate crisis.
Total citations
202120222023202411194
Scholar articles
I Miles, V Belousova, N Chichkanov, Z Krayushkina - Форсайт, 2021