The role of high‐technology services in the knowledge economy

Purpose – The main aim of this paper is to test the ways in which the role of high‐technology services (HTS) in the economy of European Union (EU) member countries changes and the extent to which the development of HTS depends on the quality of human resources.Design/methodology/approach – The paper adopts comparative and cluster analysis of statistical data published by Eurostat.Findings – The empirical analysis approved the growing proportion of HTS in both employment and gross value added in the EU as a whole. However, there are great differences among individual member states that can be grouped into four clusters. HTS have a significantly higher proportion of tertiary educated employees, belong to young sectors and show a higher rate of participation in continuing education. HTS development is closely related to information communications technology (ICT) literacy of the population of the country, on the one hand, and on its economic standards, on the other.Research limitations/implications – The maj...