Networks, Diversity, and Productivity: The Social Capital of Corporate R&D Teams
Organization Science
Recombinant Uncertainty in Technological Search
Management Science
Collaborative Networks as Determinants of Knowledge Diffusion Patterns
Management Science
Evolution of R&D Capabilities: The Role of Knowledge Networks Within a Firm
Management Science
Brokers and Competitive Advantage
Management Science
Organization Science
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In this study, I examine how past performance influences the relative positions of actors in a network and how the actor-level heterogeneity in quality mediates the often-demonstrated association between brokerage and performance. On the collaboration network of U.S. biotech inventors during 1976--1995, I find that inventors with superior track records are more apt to form collaboration ties that enhance brokerage, thereby occupying positions that allow them to broker across network boundaries. Controlling for past performance significantly weakens the positive relationship between brokering position and innovative performance. Furthermore, when inventor-level heterogeneity is controlled for through inventor fixed effects, the position-performance correlation disappears. These findings suggest that, at least for collaborative inventors, actor-level heterogeneity such as performance history largely drives the asymmetry in brokerage, explaining most of the position--performance association.