Acceleration of technological revolution will impact the sector. Greater innovation is a must. The enhancement of internal processes triggers innovations. It has direct benefits for customers in the form of better-quality products. Something that brought investors to the KIBS sector in Poland 15 years ago will not get us into the future.
There are huge expectations in the sector to innovate; otherwise, Poland could be replaced as one of the top global locations sooner than one could think. Poland should not build a competitive advantage on the already available talents and assets. Talent needs fresh, strategic, and innovative leadership. Otherwise, the role of Poland globally will decline. Value-added centers in Poland will rest on innovation, which will make Poland much more than a labor arbitrage location.
The sector is shifting to platforms. However, there will still be a place for small, innovative technological companies. SSC/GBS centers do not always have allocated funds to invest in innovation and rely on what the global CIO organization offers. That is why partnering with smaller, specialized companies willing to take a risk might create a competitive advantage. The future challenge for the centers is to cooperate in innovation efforts.
As a consequence of the COVID-19, fiscal austerity will have to be introduced at some stage, and attention will be placed on sectors that proved innovativeness and resilience (incl. KIBS). Considering the footloose approach to locations and fast development of cloud solutions, the talent pool will be attracted from Poland to locations that seriously encourage and support innovativeness. It will not embrace physical relocation only but professional and intellectual to innovation-friendly global remotely working hubs.
In many aspects, Poland will not be the right place for new investments. Rising environmental awareness could affect location choices. However, Poland is not positioned well to benefit from green-oriented investments, which could negatively affect the sector. There is now a push towards equality and LGBT issues. If Poland maintains its negative perception thereof, this will adversely affect the development of the sector.
More and more foreign investors will keep asking, “what is going on in Poland.” The investment climate and perception of Poland as a place of doing business will further deteriorate if the political and legislative turmoil will continue. Therefore Poland’s attractiveness will further decline, which may decrease the number of new entrants and the overall FDI inflow. Investors will be balancing the potential opportunities with risk related to the political situation, which is affecting the regulatory framework and increasing fiscal burdens.
Therefore, the value-added of Poland should be better documented and communicated to the world. If done effectively, many inferior aspects of doing business in Poland – will become less critical.
Learn more about factors driving the growth of the industry and predictions for the sector for the next decade by purchasing Strategic Foresight in the business services sector 2021.
