Organizational Resilience to Knowledge Loss in Biotechnology Research

In this article, we examine organizational resilience to research and development (R&D) productivity losses following knowledge loss (aka “forgetting”) using a long panel (1970–2007) of data on U.S. biotechnology research. In our model, knowledge and R&D productivity loss may occur through three mechanisms, scientist turnover, interference with knowledge retrieval, and scientist knowledge decay. Our model also proposes three means through which organizations may become resilient to the effects of knowledge loss on R&D productivity. First, managers may compensate for knowledge losses due to turnover by recruitment. Second, the effects of interference to knowledge retrieval due to the use of new technologies may be minimized if new technologies are introduced into organizations by members with little prior experience in using incumbent technologies or by scientists with little prior collaboration experience. Third, scientists may mitigate the effects of knowledge decay by relearning because the reacquisition of previously lost knowledge is easier than learning it was initially. Irrespective of their source, our results suggest that the agency plays a role in making an organization resist the negative effects of knowledge loss on its R&D productivity.