Technological Innovation in Knowledge Intensive Business Services: An Analysis of the Brazilian Context

Knowledge Intensive Business Services (KIBS) are the center of the rearrangement of industrial production and service chains nowadays. Aiming to maximize their results, these businesses use diversification, partnerships, networks, mergers and acquisitions, among other strategies. An important dimension of the diversification and growth of KIBS in developing countries is their growing internationalization. The objective of this paper is, analyzing the characteristics of KIBS in Brazil, to contribute to the comprehension of how the implications of this process can be contradictory for the capacitation of local KIBS: on one hand they have access to new technologies and integration into international service streams; on the other, there is some abandonment of the research and development activities which are so vital for the maintenance of critical competences for KIBS. This analysis focuses on the generation of technological innovation in the Brazilian context, comparing it with published international data. It is based on a research done by PAEP, the first research on services innovation in Brazil, using the Oslo Manual guidelines. Partnerships between local and international companies and research centers were found to be important for the constant growth shown by KIBS. Other conclusions and recommendations related to this sector are also presented