Passing the torch of knowledge: Star death, collaborative ties, and knowledge creation

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.