The Relationship between Japanese Manufacturing Corporations and KIBS from the Client-side Point of View

Dealing with knowledge intensive business services (KIBS) has become an important strategy for many firms. Services that rely on professional knowledge are needed by Japanese manufacturing corporations (JMCs) for solving different problems. This paper explores the needs of JMCs from KIBS in Japan and their relationship during the process of dealing with KIBS. The paper shows that knowledge, including knowledge regarding intellectual property right (IPR) but not IPR, contributes to the benefit of JMCs when dealing with KIBS. Furthermore, factors such as price of service, location and size of KIBS can help JMCs to find high quality services; JMCs can also eliminate or prevent obstacles in their relationship with KIBS by changing the way of service delivery.