Knowledge catalysts: The role of generalist incumbents in post-hiring knowledge integration

Learning-by-hiring is deemed an important channel through which firms tap into external knowledge, yet recent research shows that, post-hiring, incumbent inventors make only limited use of hiring-brought knowledge. This study suggests the mix of generalists among hiring firm incumbent inventors as an important factor promoting the post-hiring use of hired inventors' pre-hire knowledge by incumbents, especially in entering unexperienced knowledge domains. Exploiting a series of U. S. State R&D tax credits policies as an exogenous shock to the composition of hiring firm inventors, we find evidence supportive of our propositions. Our study contributes to the learning-by-hiring literature by demonstrating the importance of a hiring firm's human capital composition in facilitating post-hiring knowledge integration. •We study the role of generalists in post-mobility intrafirm knowledge diffusion.•Incumbent uses of new hire's pre-move knowledge increase with generalist level.•Generalist effect is greater in technological domain unexperienced by the firm.•Such generalist effect is stronger when the new hire's knowledge is more distant.•Generalist effect also strengthens when high-productivity incumbents are present.