Aftermath of a Tragedy: A Star’s Death and Coauthors’ Subsequent Productivity

40 Pages Posted: 1 Mar 2021

See all articles by Rajat Khanna

Rajat Khanna

Tulane University - A.B. Freeman School of Business

Date Written: November 5, 2020

Abstract

Following the death of a star, do coauthors experience a uniform decline in their productivity? Prior work informs us that the death of a star negatively influences coauthors’ productivity. In this study, I extend this work and argue that the characteristics of coauthors’ collaboration networks moderate the negative association between a star’s death and coauthors’ productivity. The analyses of data on academic publications in pharmacology and pharmacy between 1980 and 2000 reveal that the death of stars has influenced the subsequent productivity of coauthors heterogeneously. In particular, I find that the effective size of the coauthor’s collaboration network mitigated the negative effect of a star’s death. In contrast, the stability of the coauthor’s collaboration network intensified the negative aftermath of the loss of a star scientist. The findings uncover the role of collaborative ties of coauthors of a deceased star in pursuit of scientific research.

Keywords: star scientists; coauthors; collaboration network; research productivity; academic publications

JEL Classification: O31, J24, I23

Suggested Citation

Khanna, Rajat, Aftermath of a Tragedy: A Star’s Death and Coauthors’ Subsequent Productivity (November 5, 2020). Research Policy, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3793791

Rajat Khanna (Contact Author)

Tulane University - A.B. Freeman School of Business ( email )

7 McAlister Drive
New Orleans, LA 70118
United States

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