Modern Business Services as a Strategy for the Development of Smart Specializations
Purpose: The aim of the article is to identify and define the significance of selected factors of the location of modern business services in Polish regions where smart specialization in the field of modern business services can be used as a development strategy. Methodology: The empirical study was carried out following the goal set. During the research process, data collected from the Association of Business Service Leaders and the Statistics Poland were compiled. They concerned the sector and centers of modern business services operating in the years 2014-2020 on the Polish market. The research procedure was carried out with the use of principal components analysis, Hellwig's method, and cluster analysis. The Statistica program was used for the calculations. Findings: The results of the conducted research suggest that the significant factors are infrastructural and qualitative ones. The main motive for creating centers is the expansion of existing entities that provide modern business services in Poland and the differences in the level of development of modern business services in the Polish cities selected for the analysis. The leaders of this development were indicated, i.e., Cracow, Warsaw, and Wroclaw, while the lowest level in the cities of Bydgoszcz, Rzeszow, and Lublin. Practical implications: The research results provide managers of enterprises and regions with information that can be used in designing and implementing development strategies for the creation, location, and relocation of modern business service centers. They are also a source of knowledge necessary for making decisions of national importance, e.g., regarding infrastructure retrofitting for the development of modern business services, and for decision-makers in the European Union as regards where to direct financial support to improve the level of development of modern business services. Originality/value: This article is a multifaceted approach to the analysis of the location of modern business service centers from the perspective of the regional smart specialization development strategy.