KNOWLEDGE INTENSIVE BUSINESS SERVICES (KIBS) AND POTENTIAL OF REGIONS IN VISEGRAD GROUP COUNTRIES

The article examines the knowledge intensive business services (KIBS) branch and the differences in their spatial distribution in the examples of the regions in Visegrad group countries. The localization of KIBS shows that the services are more concentrated in metropolitan areas and economically developed regions, from where they can be used by organizations and companies located on less economically developed regions. From the regional innovation system theory point of view, the structure of the institutional environment in the region, localization of universities and R&D institutions interconnected with the organizations in the networks with the support of the state institutions from public resources, have a positive influence on the development of KIBS in regional economies. These factors and agglomeration effects are more characteristic for metropolitan and economically growing regions.