Proceedings of the 12th European Conference on Knowledge ...

Ettore Bolisani, Marco Paiola and Enrico Scarso
companies) should consider this aspect. Similarly, we register that <strong>the</strong> sectorial classification <strong>of</strong> KIBS
is rarely a clear discriminating factor for understanding KM issues. As well underlined in o<strong>the</strong>r recent
studies (Horgos and Koch 2008; Rodriguez and Camacho 2009; Consoli and Elche-Hortelano 2010),
we need new approaches to analyse this sector, and particularly to consider <strong>the</strong> specific cognitive
features <strong>of</strong> smaller units and individual firms, as for instance <strong>the</strong> particular kind <strong>of</strong> knowledge base
<strong>the</strong>y possess. In o<strong>the</strong>r words, focalising only on <strong>the</strong> “big KIBS multinationals” (like for instance big
business consultants or large ICT providers) may be insufficient to understand <strong>the</strong> articulated picture
<strong>of</strong> this increasingly important sector <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> economy.
6. Acknowledgements
This research has been supported and funded by “Fondazione Cariparo, Cassa di Risparmio di
Padova e Rovigo” (Padua, Italy) within <strong>the</strong> project "Progetti di Eccellenza 2007/2008".
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