Territorial servitization: Conceptualization, quantification and research agenda

Abstract

Territorial servitization is the analysis of how manufacturing firms and knowledge-intensive business service (KIBS) sectors collaborate in working towards a renaissance of manufacturing competitiveness within regions of developed economies. This editorial note provides four insights. First, it sums up the existing body of knowledge on the topic. Second, it quantifies and maps the territorial servitization activity in Spanish regions. Third, it presents and reflects on the collection of five papers in this special issue, which bring new insights into how geographical proximity, innovation systems, and KIBS heterogeneity benefit our understanding of territorial servitization. Finally, the study provides a number of yet unresolved topics that deserve further academic attention.