Competitiveness of Poland in the export of knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) during EU membership

The aim of this article is to assess the competitiveness and specialisation of Polish knowledge-intensive business services (KIBS) export during the years 2004–2022. The product mapping method is used, which is based on the values of two indicators, i.e.: the normalised revealed comparative advantage index (NRCA) and the trade balance index (TBI). The study contributes to the academic literature by: (1) identifying the leading exported KIBS as well as KIBS with the potential to gain comparative advantage in Polish exports; (2) examining export competitiveness and specialisation in very narrow KIBS categories for the entire period of Poland's participation in European Single Market; (3) comparing the competitiveness and export specialisation of the KIBS sector in Poland in the EU and non-EU markets. The empirical results demonstrate that some of the KIBS industries in Poland have improved their competitiveness during the period of EU membership, but rather in exports outside the EU than to the EU. This may be due to strong competition in EU market and the fact that distance does not play a significant role in trade in services, especially in case of KIBS delivered online (e.g. computer services). Poland has developed a regional specialisation in the export of accountancy services, which is proven by the highest values of both indicators for this category, compared to other KIBS categories in Poland and compared to other EU countries. On the other hand, computer services appeared to be the leading exported product from the KIBS sector, but only outside the EU. Unfortunately, despite the upward trends, the importance of the leading exported KIBS in Polish exports is still small, especially in EU market. Therefore, it is necessary to take further actions aimed at strengthening the competitiveness of the KIBS sector in Poland, and the support for investments in human capital, digital transformation and R&D is crucial.