PURCHASING MANAGEMENT OF BUSINESS SERVICES IN THE
       CONTEMPORARY KNOWLEDGE BASED ECONOMY


              Corina Pop Sitar, Romanian Academy, Iaşi Subsidiary, Romania


ABSTRACT: Over the last years many countries have turned into real service economies. As a
result the strategic importance of purchasing services has increased. This article aims to
present the complexity of the process of buying services. The article begins with findings from
the literature review regarding the increasing importance of services in the contemporary
knowledge based economy. Next, we present the specific characteristics of services which
make more difficult the process of buying services. Furthermore, the paper presents the
findings from three case studies. At the end of the paper we present the conclusions and the
recommandations for managers about how they can improve the purchasing management of
services.

Keywords: purchasing management, business services, knowledge based economy

JEL Codes: L8, O32