Through a longitudinal study of the product development portfolios of 457 US-based firms in the biotechnology industry, we investigate how prolific inventors shape a firm’s innovative direction following product development failure. Contrary to received wisdom, we argue and demonstrate that an...

This study offers theory and evidence to demonstrate that the time it takes a firm to integrate external sources of information depends on the attributes of the knowledge source and firm's own internal capabilities. By assessing innovative activities by 456 dedicated U.S. biotechnology firms...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to advance the understanding of the mechanisms associated with learning-by-hiring. Design/methodology/approach – The authors built a yearly dyad data structure of all of the hiring and sourcing firms in the US biotechnology sector between 1973 and 1999....