Passing the torch of knowledge: Star death,collaborative ties,and knowledge creation |
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| Institution: | 1. The Guilford Glazer Faculty of Business and Management, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 8410501, Israel;2. The Department of Management, The Guilford Glazer Faculty of Business and Management, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva 8410501, Israel;1. Ahmedabad University, India;2. Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, India;3. University of Sussex, Hoover Institution, Stanford University, & Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, India;4. University of Utah, Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition & NBER, United States of America;1. University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management, 105 St. George St, Toronto, ON M5S 3E6, Canada;2. The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), 1050 Massachussetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA;3. Burning Glass Technologies, 1 Lewis Wharf, Boston, MA 02110, USA;4. University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business, 701 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA;1. Foundation Professor of Public Policy and Management, School of Public Affairs, Global Center for Technology Transfer, Arizona State University, United States of America;2. Professor of Open & Collaborative Innovation, Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands;3. Innovation & Entrepreneurship, University of Copenhagen, Denmark;4. University of California, Berkeley, United States of America;5. Graham Professor of Strategy and Organization, Alberta School of Business, University of Alberta, Canada;6. Distinguished Chair Professor, School of Public Policy and Management, Schwarzman College, Tsinghua University, China;1. Aalto University, Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, P.O. Box 15500, FI-00076 Aalto, Finland;2. Stanford University, Department of Management Science and Engineering, 475 Via Ortega, Stanford, California 94305, United States;3. SKEMA Business School, Université Côte d''Azur, Avenue Willy Brandt, F-59777 Euralille, France |
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| Abstract: | Stars hold a large portion of organizational knowledge, and their sudden absence may have non-trivial consequences for firms. In this study, I investigate what happens to the knowledge of star inventors following their absence. In particular, I consider the composition of stars' ties with coinventors and examine how it affects the future use of stars' knowledge (i.e., patents). Using the death of star inventors as an exogenous cause for their absence in firms, I find that the use of a star's patents in a firm's subsequent inventive efforts declines following the star's death. The results also indicate that when star inventors frequently collaborate with coinventors, the negative effect of stars' absence on the future use of their knowledge is somewhat alleviated. Further, the presence of central inventors in stars' collaboration networks increases the relative use of stars' knowledge in future inventions. The findings inform managers about conditions that favor “passing the torch” of knowledge from stars to their peers. |
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