Social Geography www.soc-geogr.net 1729-4274 1729-4312 3 1 2008 10.5194/sg-3-23-2008 http://www.soc-geogr.net/3/23/2008/ http://www.soc-geogr.net/3/23/2008/sg-3-23-2008.html http://www.soc-geogr.net/3/23/2008/sg-3-23-2008.pdf 23 36 2008-06-23 International collaboration, mobility and team diversity in the life sciences: impact on research performance F. Barjak franz.barjak@fhnw.ch S. Robinson School of Business, University of Applied Sciences, Olten, Switzerland empirica, Gesellschaft für Kommunikations- und Technologieforschung mbH, Bonn, Germany The combination of knowledge and skills from different backgrounds or research cultures is often considered good for science. This paper describes the extent to which academic research teams in the life sciences draw on knowledge from different research cultures and how this is related to their research performance. We distinguish between international collaboration of research teams from different countries and cultural diversity of research teams resulting from team members with different countries of origin. Our results show that the most successful teams have a moderate level of cultural diversity; in addition, successful teams engage in collaboration activities with teams from other European countries and the US leading to joint publications. These results have implications for research team management and for research policy, in particular in relation to supporting measures for mobile scientists. Adams, J. D., Black, G. C., Clemmons, J. R., and Stephan, E.: Scientific teams and institutional collaborations: evidence from U.S. universities, 1981–1999, Res. Policy, 34, 3, 259–285, 2005. Andrews, F. M. (Ed.): Scientific productivity, the effectiveness of research groups in six countries, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1979. Arora, A., David, P. A., and Gambardella, A.: Reputation and competence in publicly funded science: estimating the effects on research group productivity, Annales d'Economie et de Statistique, 49/50, 163–198, 1998. Auriol, L.: Labour Market Characteristics and International Mobility of Doctorate Holders: Results for Seven Countries (STI Working paper No. 2007/2), OECD, Paris, 2007. Baird, L. L.: What characterizes a productive research department?, Res. High. Educ., 25, 211–225, 1986. Barjak, F.: Team diversity and research collaboration in life sciences teams: does a combination of research cultures pay off? University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland, Olten, 2006a. Barjak, F.: The role of networking in research activities, Deliverable 1.3: Doctoral students in the life sciences, University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland, Olten http://www.netreact-eu.org/documents/NetreactDeliverable1.3.pdf (download 17-03-2008), 2006b. Bland, C. J. and Ruffin, M. T.: Characteristics of a productive research environment: literature review, Acad. Med., 67, 385–397, 1992. Bonaccorsi, A. and Daraio, C.: Exploring size and agglomeration effects on public research productivity, Scientometrics, 63, 1, 87–120, 2005. Bordons, M. and Gomez, I.: Collaboration networks in science, in: The web of knowledge: a Festschrift in honor of Eugene Garfield, edited by: Cronin, B. and Atkins, H. B., Information Today, Inc., Medford, NJ, USA, 197–213, 2000 Bordons, M., Gomez, I., Fernandez, M., Zulueta, M. A., and Mendez, A.: Local, domestic and international scientific collaboration in biomedical research, Scientometrics, 37, 2, 279–295, 1996. Bordons, M. and Zulueta, M. A.: Comparison of research team activity in two biomedical fields, Scientometrics, 40, 3, 423–436, 1997. Borgman, C. and Furner, J.: Scholarly communication and bibliometrics, Annu. Rev. Inform. Sci., 36, 3–72, 2002. Bunderson, J. S. and Sutcliffe, K. M.: Comparing alternative conceptualizations of functional diversity in management teams: Process and performance effects, Acad. Manage. J., 45, 5, 875–893, 2002. Cameron, A. C. and Trivedi, K.: Regression analysis of count data, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1998. Carayol, N. and Nguyen Thi, T. U.: Why do Academic Scientists Engage in Interdisciplinary Research?, http://cournot2.u-strasbg.fr/users/beta/publications/2004/2004-17.pdf (download 07-06-2005), 2004. Cesaroni, F. and Gambardella, A.: Research productivity and the allocation of resources in publicly funded research programmes, in: Science and innovation rethinking the rationales for funding and governance, edited by Geuna, A., Salter, A., and Steinmueller, W. E., Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA, USA, 202–232, 2003. Cohen, J. E.: Publication rate as a function of laboratory size in 3 biomedical-research institutions, Scientometrics, 3, 6, 467–487, 1981. Crawford, E., Shinn, T., and Sörlin, S.: The nationalization and denationalization of the sciences: an introductory essay, in: Denationalizing science: the contexts of international scientific practice, edited by Crawford, E., Shinn, T. and Sörlin, S., Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, 1–42, 1993. Cronin, B.: The citation process. The role and significance of citations in scientific communication, Taylor Graham, London, 1984. Cummings, J. N.: Work Groups, Structural Diversity, and Knowledge Sharing in a Global Organization, Manage. Sci., 50(3), 352–364, 2004. Earley, C. and Mosakowski, E.: Creating hybrid team cultures: An empirical test of transnational team functioning, Acad. Manage. J., 43, 1, 26–49, 2000. European Commission: Towards a European research area, COM(2000) 6, http://ec.europa.eu/eracareers/pdf/am509774CEE_EN_E4.pdf (download 30 Nov 2006), 2000. European Commission: A mobility strategy for the European Research Area, COM(2001) 331 final, http://ec.europa.eu/eracareers/docs/Com_2001_331_en.pdf (download 30 Nov 2006), 2001. European Commission: Third European Report on Science and Technology Indicators 2003 – Towards a knowledge-based economy, European Commission, Brussels, 2003. European Commission: COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION of 11 March 2005 on the European Charter for Researchers and on a Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers, http://europa.eu.int/eracareers/pdf/C(2005)576%20EN.pdf (download 25 Mar 2006), 2005. Fiol, C. M. and O'Connor, E. J.: Identification in Face-to-Face, Hybrid, and Pure Virtual Teams: Untangling the Contradictions, Organ. Sci., 16, 1, 19–32, 2005. Fox, M. F.: Publication productivity among scientists: a critical review, Soc. Stud. Sci., 13, 283–305, 1983. Georghiou, L.: Global cooperation in research, Res. Policy, 27, 6, 611–626, 1998. Glänzel, W.: National Characteristics in International Scientific Co-authorship Relations, Scientometrics, 51, 1, 69–115, 2001. Glänzel, W. and Schubert, A.: Double Effort = Double Impact? A Critical View at International Co-authorship in Chemistry, Scientometrics, 50, 2, 199–214, 2001. Greene, W. H.: Econometric Analysis, Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, [1993]2000. Hagstrom, W.: The scientific community, Basic books, New York, 1965. Harsanyi, M. A.: Multiple authors, multiple problems – bibliometrics and the study of scholarly collaboration: a literature review, Library and Information Science Research, 15, 325–354, 1993. Herbertz, H.: Does it pay to collaborate? A bibliometric case study in molecular biology, Scientometrics, 33, 1, 117–122, 1995. Hoch, P. and Platt, J.: Migration and the denationalization of science, in: Denationalizing science: the contexts of international scientific practice, edited by: Crawford, E., Shinn, T., and Sörlin, S., Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, 133–152, 1993. Hollingsworth, J. R. and Hollingsworth, E.: Major Discoveries and Biomedical Research Organizations: Perspectives on Interdisciplinarity, Nurturing Leadership, and Integrated Structure and Cultures, http://www.umu.se/inforsk/universitetsligan/hollingsworth.html (download 8 Mar 2005), 2000. Jehn, K. A., Northcraft, G. B., and Neale, M. A.: Why differences make a difference: A field study of diversity, conflict, and performance in workgroups, Admin. Sci. Quart., 44, 4, 741–763, 1999. Jöns, H.: Grenzüberschreitende Mobilität und Kooperation in den Wissenschaften: Deutschlandaufenthalte US-amerikanischer Humboldt-Forschungspreisträger aus einer erweiterten Akteursnetzwerkperspektive, Department of Geography, Heidelberg, 2003. Jöns, H.: Internationale Mobilität von Wissen und Wissensproduzenten, in: GrenzWerte. Tagungsbericht und wissenschaftliche Abhandlungen. 55. Deutscher Geographentag Trier 2005, edited by: Kulke, E., Monheim, H.. and Wittmann, P., DGFG, Berlin, Leipzig, Trier, 151–160, 2006. Johnston, R.: Effects of resource concentration on research performance, High. Educ., 28, 25–37, 1994. Knorr, K. D., Mittermeir, R., Aichholzer, G., and Waller, G.: Leadership and group performance: a positive relationship in academic research teams, in: Scientific productivity. The effectiveness of research groups in six countries, edited by: Andrews, F. M., Cambridge University Press and Unesco, Cambridge and Paris, 95–120, 1979. Larédo, P. and Mustar, P.: Laboratory Activity Profiles: An Exploratory Approach, Scientometrics, 47, 3, 515–539, 2000. Lau, D. C. and Murnighan, J. K.: Demographic diversity and faultlines: The compositional dynamics of organizational groups, Acad. Manage. Rev., 23, 2, 325–340, 1998. Laudel, G.: Collaboration, creativity and rewards: why and how scientists collaborate, Int. J. Technol. Manage., 22, 7/8, 762–781, 2001. Li, J. and Hambrick, D.: Factional groups: A new vantage on demographic faultlines, conflict, and disintegration in work teams, Acad. Manage. J., 48, 794–813, 2005. Leeuwen, T. N. v., Moed, H. F., Tijssen, R. J. W., Visser, M. S., and Raan, A. F. J. v.: Language biases in the coverage of the Science Citation Index and its consequences for international comparisons of national research performance, Scientometrics, 51, 1, 335–346, 2001. Mattsson, H.: Mobile talent or privileged sites? Making sense of biotech knowledge worker mobility and performance in Sweden, Soc. Geogr., 2, 115–123, 2007. Moguérou, P. and Di Pietrogiacomo, M. P.: Integrated Information System on European Researchers II. Deliverables 1, 2 & 3 (final) WP 1, 2 & 3: Indicators on researchers' stock, career and mobility, European Commission, DG Joint Research Centre, http://ec.europa.eu/eracareers/pdf/indicators_on_researchers_en.pdf (download 7 Mar 2008), 2007. Narin, F., Stevens, K., and Whitlow, E. S.: Scientific collaboration in Europe and the citation of multinationally authored papers, Scientometrics, 21, 313–323, 1991. National Science Board: Science and Engineering Indicators 2002, National Science Foundation, Arlington, VA, 2002. National Science Board: Science and Engineering Indicators 2004, National Science Foundation, Arlington, VA, 2004. Persson, O., Glänzel, W., and Dannell, R.: A relational charting approach to the world of basic research in twelve science fields at the end of the second millennium, Scientometrics, 55, 3, 335–348, 2004. Raan, A. v.: The use of bibliometric analysis in research performance assessment and monitoring of interdisciplinary scientific developments, Technikfolgenabschätzung – Theorie und Praxis, 12, 1, 20–29, 2003. Ramesh Babu, A. and Singh, Y. P.: Determinants of research productivity, Scientometrics, 43, 309–329, 1998. Seglen, O. and Aksnes, D. W.: Scientific Productivity and Group Size: A Bibliometric Analysis of Norwegian Microbiological Research, Scientometrics, 49, 1, 125–143, 2000. Simonton, D. K.: Creativity in Science: Chance, Logic, Genius, and Zeitgeist, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2004. Stankiewicz, R.: The size and age of Swedish academic research groups and their scientific performance, in: Scientific productivity: the effectiveness of research groups in six countries, edited by: Andrews, F. M., Cambridge University Press and Unesco, Cambridge and Paris, 191–222, 1979. Stephan, E. and Levin, S. G.: Exceptional contributions to US science by the foreign-born and foreign-educated, Popul. Res. Policy Rev., 20, 1, 59–79, 2001. Thatcher, S. M. B., Jehn, K. A., and Zanutto, E.: Cracks in diversity research: The effects of diversity faultlines on conflict and performance, Group Decis. Negot., 12, 3, 217–241, 2003. Thelwall, M.: Web use and peer interconnectivity metrics for academic web sites, J. Inf. Sci., 29, 1, 1–10, 2003. Thorsteinsdóttir, O. H.: External Research Collaboration in Two Small Science Systems, Scientometrics, 49, 1, 145–160, 2000. von Tunzelmann, N., Ranga, M., Martin, B., and Geuna, A.: The Effects of Size on Research Performance: A SPRU Review, SPRU, Brighton, 2003. Wagner, C. S.: Six case studies of international collaboration in science, Scientometrics, 62, 1, 3–26, 2005. Williams, K. Y. and O'Reilly, C. A.: Demography and diversity in organizations: A review of 40 years of research, Research in Organizational Behaviour, 20, 77–140, 1998. Wray, K.: Is science really a young man's game?, Soc. Stud. Sci., 33(1), 137–149, 2003.