The innovation process of knowledge intensive business services (KIBS) is challenging because the information and knowledge required for innovation come from a variety of sources, collaboration partners, and network relationships. The purpose of this research is to identify barriers that KIBS face during the innovation processes. This study is based on a systematic literature review and an online survey of 103 enterprises carried out at the beginning of 2022. The research study confirmed that KIBS enterprises innovate for a diverse range of customers outside of their own organization. Most innovations are developed in partnership with different specialists and businesses, necessitating knowledge from a variety of areas and specialities. As a result of this diversity, KIBS are confronted with a variety of barriers in the innovation process which are both knowledge and context related. According to the survey findings, KIBS enterprises face different knowledge barriers during the innovation process, with syntactic and semantic boundaries being the most encountered challenges. Additionally, barriers such as time, limited resources, hierarchy of authority, communication and collaboration skills, conflicting agendas and ambitions, and leadership were identified as frequently faced barriers during the KIBS innovation process.