KIBS as knowledge sources for innovation in rural regions

This article contributes to the debate on the interaction between rural firms and KIBS, developing a theoretically grounded set of arguments to understand what types of rural firm value KIBS's contributions to their innovation strategies. Using a dataset of 174 rural and small-town firms in the province of Quebec, our results show that KIBS are a valued innovation source for two groups of rural firms: firms that implement external STI learning modes, and firms that are slow innovators (relying on more technical, slow-decay, knowledge as opposed to short-term market information). Furthermore, it is firms in the remotest rural areas that most value the contribution of KIBS to innovation. Our findings suggest that in rural areas, KIBS are most valued by firms that face more (geographic) hurdles to access them, and by firms which target their KIBS interactions in strategic ways and which rely on more technical knowledge.