Researchers of a Feather Flock Together: Endogamy Recruitment Tracks for Industrial Researchers

Based on French company data, we assess the hiring of different education profiles of industrial researchers in corporate R&D departments. First, our results show engineers are more likely to be recruited in corporate R&D that develops a patent‐oriented strategy; PhD‐holders are more likely to be recruited in firms that compete at the technological frontier and in companies that maintain close links with academia and public research. Second, new results reveal the endogamy of industrial researchers' recruitment based on the specifics of their scientific human capital and highlight the mitigating role of hybrid scientific human capital.