Internal redeployment versus external recruitment of inventors

Firms must recruit external talent while strategically redeploying incumbent inventors across projects to maximize the value of their inventor resources. This study examines how firms can balance external recruitment and internal redeployment of inventors within the global semiconductor industry. Our findings suggest that inventors with less central positions in a firm's knowledge network are more likely to be redeployed to similar technology areas. External hires, in particular, are more likely to be redeployed compared to incumbents, possibly due to their lower opportunity costs. However, external hires tend to be redeployed to firms' incumbent technology areas rather than new ones, except when firms enter new technology areas by hiring individuals with prior experience in those areas. This approach indicates that firms may prioritize inventor productivity over possible opportunity costs to enhance the success of new technology entry.