Published: March 2006
Pages: 179
ISBN 92-64-02273-2

From research and development to legal and marketing services, a wide range of knowledge-intensive service activities (KISAs) enables firms and public sector organisations to better innovate. KISAs are both sources and carriers of knowledge that influence and improve the performance of individual organisations, value chains and industry clusters across all sectors of the economy. Yet little is known about KISAs or the ways in which they improve the ability of private and public sector organisations to develop, absorb and apply knowledge in their innovation processes.

This publication examines the contribution of knowledge-intensive services to the acquisition and growth of innovation capabilities in firms and public sector organisations. It focuses on KISAs in four industry sectors: software, health care, tourism and leisure, and resource-based industries such as mining technology services, aquaculture and forestry. The analysis derives from a series of surveys and case studies undertaken in nine OECD countries: Australia, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Norway and Spain.