| In this thesis, we are interested in the role of business services (BS) in the process of regional development. Using the cases of Kigali City and the Capitale-Nationale region as examples, we study the differences between developing countries and developed countries and between an urban core and its adjacent rural areas in terms of BS development. We also explore factors responsible for BS development, the strategic business services (SBS) and the relationship between innovation and BS. Our goal is to contribute to the BS development and consequently to the regional development of both regions. This research is based on the assumptions according to which the BS are more developed in developed than in developing countries, are more developed in urban are as than in rural areas, and their development is positively linked to factors directly supporting their offer and their demand. We realised the study by analysing the concentration of BS, where they are purchased by the local companies and by comparing the results from both regions. To do so, we used statistical data and conducted surveys in those two regions.;The results of this study do not allow us to conclude that the BS are more developed in developed than in developing countries. However, we found out that they are more developed in the urban regions than in the rural areas. Indeed, while most of the services we studied are well developed in the urban areas of the two regions, less than one fifth of those services are well developed in their rural zones. Regarding the factors responsible for BS development, we found out that generally speaking favorable factors are technology and innovation, demand growth, services externalization, expertise of BS providers and networking. We also identified many other favorable and unfavorable factors related specifically to each of two regions. As far as SBS are concerned, we noted that they are almost the same for the companies operating in both regions. Concerning innovation and BS, we found out, on the one hand, that innovation is one of the main factors of the BS development and, on the other hand, that BS are important supports of innovation whereas the BS providers cannot be ignored in the process of initiating innovations. For that, innovation and BS seem to maintain interdependent relationships.;We end the study with recommendations that aim at reinforcing the development of BS in both regions, by taking into account the situation of each of them and by stressing the rural localities, the less developed BS and the SBS. Then, our proposals consist in supporting favorable factors and fighting unfavorable factors that may lead to the development of BS, supporting the offer and demand of BS in both regions, and mobilizing all local actors on the subject of BS.;Keywords : services, business services, regional development, Rwanda, Quebec, developed countries, developing countries. |
