IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/respol/v44y2015i1p96-107.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

From practice to collaborative community in interdisciplinary research contexts

Author

Listed:
  • Siedlok, Frank
  • Hibbert, Paul
  • Sillince, John

Abstract

This paper contributes to the debate on the dynamics of the development of practices and their relation to the emergence of collaborative communities of practitioners. Our research is situated in a university that was seeking to promote and stimulate interdisciplinary research collaborations through a number of initiatives. We are concerned both with characterizing the practices that make this kind of collaboration possible, and with the emergence of a community that creates and endorses such collaborative practices. Our findings provide insights in relation to two particular questions. First, we report on the development of interdisciplinary practices and the emergence of community, providing insights on how collaborative interdisciplinary work is accomplished in organizations in a repeatable and durable manner. Second, we consider how support interventions undertaken by the university stimulated the development of those practices. We develop theoretical and practical insights in these areas.

Suggested Citation

  • Siedlok, Frank & Hibbert, Paul & Sillince, John, 2015. "From practice to collaborative community in interdisciplinary research contexts," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 96-107.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:respol:v:44:y:2015:i:1:p:96-107
    DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2014.07.018
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048733314001395
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.respol.2014.07.018?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Katherine C. Kellogg, 2011. "Hot Lights and Cold Steel: Cultural and Political Toolkits for Practice Change in Surgery," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(2), pages 482-502, April.
    2. Caroline Haythornthwaite, 2006. "Learning and knowledge networks in interdisciplinary collaborations," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 57(8), pages 1079-1092, June.
    3. John Seely Brown & Paul Duguid, 2001. "Knowledge and Organization: A Social-Practice Perspective," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 12(2), pages 198-213, April.
    4. Amin, Ash & Roberts, Joanne (ed.), 2008. "Community, Economic Creativity, and Organization," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199545506.
    5. Deborah Dougherty, 1992. "Interpretive Barriers to Successful Product Innovation in Large Firms," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 3(2), pages 179-202, May.
    6. Paul R. Carlile, 2002. "A Pragmatic View of Knowledge and Boundaries: Boundary Objects in New Product Development," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 13(4), pages 442-455, August.
    7. Karen Handley & Andrew Sturdy & Robin Fincham & Timothy Clark, 2006. "Within and Beyond Communities of Practice: Making Sense of Learning Through Participation, Identity and Practice," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(3), pages 641-653, May.
    8. van Rijnsoever, Frank J. & Hessels, Laurens K., 2011. "Factors associated with disciplinary and interdisciplinary research collaboration," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 463-472, April.
    9. Katz, J. Sylvan & Martin, Ben R., 1997. "What is research collaboration?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 1-18, March.
    10. Martha S. Feldman, 2004. "Resources in Emerging Structures and Processes of Change," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 15(3), pages 295-309, June.
    11. Paul S. Adler & Seok-Woo Kwon & Charles Heckscher, 2008. "Perspective---Professional Work: The Emergence of Collaborative Community," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 19(2), pages 359-376, April.
    12. Raasch, Christina & Lee, Viktor & Spaeth, Sebastian & Herstatt, Cornelius, 2013. "The rise and fall of interdisciplinary research: The case of open source innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(5), pages 1138-1151.
    13. Huutoniemi, Katri & Klein, Julie Thompson & Bruun, Henrik & Hukkinen, Janne, 2010. "Analyzing interdisciplinarity: Typology and indicators," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 79-88, February.
    14. Martine R. Haas & Sangchan Park, 2010. "To Share or Not to Share? Professional Norms, Reference Groups, and Information Withholding Among Life Scientists," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 21(4), pages 873-891, August.
    15. König, Bettina & Diehl, Katharina & Tscherning, Karen & Helming, Katharina, 2013. "A framework for structuring interdisciplinary research management," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(1), pages 261-272.
    16. Joanne Roberts, 2006. "Limits to Communities of Practice," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(3), pages 623-639, May.
    17. Morlacchi, Piera & Martin, Ben R., 2009. "Emerging challenges for science, technology and innovation policy research: A reflexive overview," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 571-582, May.
    18. Lars Lindkvist, 2005. "Knowledge Communities and Knowledge Collectivities: A Typology of Knowledge Work in Groups," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(6), pages 1189-1210, September.
    19. Carole L. Palmer, 1999. "Structures and strategies of interdisciplinary science," Journal of the American Society for Information Science, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 50(3), pages 242-253.
    20. Davide Nicolini & Jeanne Mengis & Jacky Swan, 2012. "Understanding the Role of Objects in Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(3), pages 612-629, June.
    21. Czarniawska, Barbara, 2004. "On Time, Space, and Action Nets," GRI-rapport 2004:5, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg Research Institute GRI.
    22. Davide Nicolini, 2011. "Practice as the Site of Knowing: Insights from the Field of Telemedicine," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(3), pages 602-620, June.
    23. Yakhlef, Ali, 2010. "The three facets of knowledge: A critique of the practice-based learning theory," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 39-46, February.
    24. John Seely Brown & Paul Duguid, 1991. "Organizational Learning and Communities-of-Practice: Toward a Unified View of Working, Learning, and Innovation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 2(1), pages 40-57, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Pershina, Raissa & Soppe, Birthe & Thune, Taran Mari, 2019. "Bridging analog and digital expertise: Cross-domain collaboration and boundary-spanning tools in the creation of digital innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(9), pages 1-1.
    2. Carr, Gemma & Loucks, Daniel P. & Blöschl, Günter, 2018. "Gaining insight into interdisciplinary research and education programmes: A framework for evaluation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(1), pages 35-48.
    3. Casey Helgeson & Robert E. Nicholas & Klaus Keller & Chris E. Forest & Nancy Tuana, 2022. "Attention to values helps shape convergence research," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 170(1), pages 1-19, January.
    4. Marina Knickel & Karlheinz Knickel & Francesca Galli & Damian Maye & Johannes S. C. Wiskerke, 2019. "Towards a Reflexive Framework for Fostering Co—Learning and Improvement of Transdisciplinary Collaboration," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-22, November.
    5. Davies, Andrew & Manning, Stephan & Söderlund, Jonas, 2018. "When neighboring disciplines fail to learn from each other: The case of innovation and project management research," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(5), pages 965-979.
    6. Syed Tariq Anwar, 2017. "Alibaba: Entrepreneurial growth and global expansion in B2B/B2C markets," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 15(4), pages 366-389, December.
    7. Solomon, Gregg E.A. & Youtie, Jan & Carley, Stephen & Porter, Alan L., 2019. "What people learn about how people learn: An analysis of citation behavior and the multidisciplinary flow of knowledge," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(9), pages 1-1.
    8. Cristina Páez-Avilés & Esteve Juanola-Feliu & Islam Bogachan-Tahirbegi & Mónica Mir & Manel González-Piñero & Josep Samitier, 2015. "Innovation And Technology Transfer Of Medical Devices Fostered By Cross-Disciplinary Communities Of Practitioners," International Journal of Innovation Management (ijim), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 19(06), pages 1-27, December.
    9. Syed Tariq Anwar, 2023. "The sharing economy and collaborative consumption: Strategic issues and global entrepreneurial opportunities," Journal of International Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 60-88, March.
    10. Arnold, Austin & Cafer, Anne & Green, John & Haines, Seena & Mann, Georgianna & Rosenthal, Meagen, 2021. "“Perspective: Promoting and fostering multidisciplinary research in universities”," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(9).
    11. Suenaga, Keiichiro, 2020. "The ‘Industrial Enlightenment’ and technological paradigms of the modern steel industry," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Anne Kokkonen & Pauli Alin, 2015. "Practice-based learning in construction projects: a literature review," Construction Management and Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(7), pages 513-530, July.
    2. Sylvain Lenfle & Jonas Söderlund, 2019. "Large-Scale Innovative Projects as Temporary Trading Zones: Toward an Interlanguage Theory," Post-Print hal-02390158, HAL.
    3. Torsten Ringberg & Markus Reihlen, 2008. "Towards a Socio‐Cognitive Approach to Knowledge Transfer," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(5), pages 912-935, July.
    4. Amin, Ash & Roberts, Joanne, 2008. "Knowing in action: Beyond communities of practice," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 353-369, March.
    5. Caccamo, Marta & Pittino, Daniel & Tell, Fredrik, 2023. "Boundary objects, knowledge integration, and innovation management: A systematic review of the literature," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    6. William C. Barley, 2015. "Anticipatory Work: How the Need to Represent Knowledge Across Boundaries Shapes Work Practices Within Them," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 26(6), pages 1612-1628, December.
    7. Tiziana Russo Spena & Marco Trequa & Francesco Bifulco, 2016. "Knowledge Practices for an Emerging Innovation Ecosystem," International Journal of Innovation and Technology Management (IJITM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 13(05), pages 1-21, October.
    8. Geilinger, Nina & Haefliger, Stefan & von Krogh, Georg & Rechsteiner, Lise, 2016. "What makes a social practice? Being, knowing, doing and leading," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 319-327.
    9. Michael Kaethler, 2019. "Curating creative communities of practice: the role of ambiguity," Journal of Organization Design, Springer;Organizational Design Community, vol. 8(1), pages 1-17, December.
    10. Giovanni Abramo & Ciriaco Andrea D'Angelo & Flavia Costa, 2012. "Identifying interdisciplinarity through the disciplinary classification of coauthors of scientific publications," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 63(11), pages 2206-2222, November.
    11. Mathias Guérineau & Sihem Ben Mahmoud-Jouini & Florence Charue-Duboc, 2018. "Role of Community of Practices and their Coordination in the Innovation Development and Deployment within a Multinational Corporation [El papel de las comunidades de práctica, su coordinación en el," Post-Print hal-04574372, HAL.
    12. Davide Nicolini, 2011. "Practice as the Site of Knowing: Insights from the Field of Telemedicine," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(3), pages 602-620, June.
    13. Alexandra Michel, 2014. "The Mutual Constitution of Persons and Organizations: An Ontological Perspective on Organizational Change," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 25(4), pages 1082-1110, August.
    14. Caroline A. Bartel & Raghu Garud, 2009. "The Role of Narratives in Sustaining Organizational Innovation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 20(1), pages 107-117, February.
    15. Anja Danner-Schröder & Daniel Geiger, 2016. "Unravelling the Motor of Patterning Work: Toward an Understanding of the Microlevel Dynamics of Standardization and Flexibility," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(3), pages 633-658, June.
    16. Yukika Awazu & Stefania Mariano & Sue Newell, 2019. "The mediating role of artifacts in position practice at work: Examples from a project-based context," Post-Print hal-02110757, HAL.
    17. Yakhlef, Ali, 2010. "The three facets of knowledge: A critique of the practice-based learning theory," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 39-46, February.
    18. Casey Helgeson & Robert E. Nicholas & Klaus Keller & Chris E. Forest & Nancy Tuana, 2022. "Attention to values helps shape convergence research," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 170(1), pages 1-19, January.
    19. Martha S. Feldman & Wanda J. Orlikowski, 2011. "Theorizing Practice and Practicing Theory," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 22(5), pages 1240-1253, October.
    20. Pier Vittorio Mannucci, 2017. "Drawing Snow White and Animating Buzz Lightyear: Technological Toolkit Characteristics and Creativity in Cross-Disciplinary Teams," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 28(4), pages 711-728, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:respol:v:44:y:2015:i:1:p:96-107. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/respol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.