Abstract
We return to the cognitive foundations of absorptive capacity and test the idea that personal experience in a field makes it easier for an inventor to recognize and build upon local knowledge spillovers across firms in that field. Using inventor deaths and differential citations between regions with a deceased and still-living co-inventor of the same patent, we first provide causal evidence for the localization of knowledge spillovers across firms. We then establish that inventors with experience in a field are more likely to take advantage of local sources of knowledge, but that the value of absorptive capacity is greatest when they link the old knowledge to new fields of technology. Finally, inter-personal knowledge flows within firms do not appear to localize. We discuss implications for innovation strategy, location choice as a form of dynamic capabilities, and interpreting the results as evidence for Jacobs’ spillovers.
The seminar will be held in room 1249 (12th floor) at Eilert Sundts Hus. The address is Moltke Moes vei 31.