For companies engaged in R & D, the movement of researchers to competitors is an important challenge. Even if the company’s innovations are patented, the output of these employees can leak key information and knowledge to competitors. What researchers in an R & D are more likely to move to the competition? This research by Neus Palomeras and Eduardo Melero, Department of Business Economics of the UC3M attempts to answer this question.
The most notable finding of the study, published in the journal Management Science, shows that, paradoxically, the inventors involved in the key areas of a company are the most “palatable” to competitors and those who are more likely to end up leaving to other companies innovative. Another noteworthy finding, the researchers claim, is that inventors working in larger teams are less “attractive” to competitors. “This means – Eduardo Melero said – that companies organize their innovation activities in working groups will be better able to retain their workers because it is more difficult to identify who provides the key knowledge in addition to that, obviously, be a whole team to another company is more complicated, “he explains.
The results obtained in this study suggest that companies hire those inventors of competition which can absorb knowledge. Thus, by recognizing the characteristics of the researchers most likely to leave, managers can design policies for human resources and R & D to make the market less attractive to these workers, and therefore able to retain them, target these UC3M teachers.
During the research the authors of the study took as a reference one of the leading companies in the field of technology to the nineties. They analyzed the movement to other firms that patented inventor at IBM and found those who were authors of innovations in higher quality, those with expertise in key business areas, in addition, other companies do not dominate were more likely to leave the company. “Keep in mind that companies’ human factor is important in transferring knowledge between them,” said Neus Palomeras, he decided to start this research to confirm this fact in a previous study of the licensing market.
The figure of the inventor has always been important to obtain innovations clearly. “What is true – added Professor Melero – is that as knowledge has become more complex and increased professional specialization of research and development companies, the figure of an inventor who has a broad vision, and complete global innovations that are involved gains value. “
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