The role of relative performance in inter-firm mobility of inventors

Francesco Di Lorenzo and Paul Almeida

Research Policy, 2017, vol. 46, issue 6, 1162-1174

Abstract: Prior research has emphasized the influence of inter-firm mobility on knowledge flows and innovation, yet we have an incomplete picture of the antecedents of inventor mobility. Building on theoretical traditions related to decision-making based on limited, asymmetric, bounded information, and economic and other incentives, our paper suggests that after controlling for individual performance and other variables previously shown to affect inter-organizational mobility, an inventor’s performance relative to his co-patenting group alters his likelihood of mobility. Our analysis of 2648 inventors in the pharmaceutical industry shows that for those performing above their reference group (of past and current co-inventors in patenting), an increase in relative performance decreases the likelihood of mobility, and for those performing below the reference group, a decrease in relative performance decreases the likelihood of mobility. We also find that when inventors have more external scientific collaborations, their likelihood of mobility increases and this variable moderates the relationship between the performance gap and mobility, but only for those performing above their peers.

Keywords: Inter-organizational mobility; Relative performance; Innovative performance; Reference group; External collaborations; Pharmaceutical industry (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J24 M51 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:respol:v:46:y:2017:i:6:p:1162-1174

DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2017.05.002

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