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Managing Interdisciplinary, Longitudinal Research Teams: Extending Grounded Theory-Building Methodologies

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  • Gina Colarelli O'Connor

    (Lally School of Management and Technology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180-3590)

  • Mark P. Rice

    (F. W. Olin Graduate School of Business, 242A Olin Hall, Babson College, Babson Park, Massachusetts 02457-0310)

  • Lois Peters

    (Lally School of Management and Technology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180-3590)

  • Robert W. Veryzer

    (Lally School of Management and Technology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York 12180-3590)

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to extend the literature on grounded theory development to incorporate considerations for team-based, interdisciplinary longitudinal research projects in the domain of organizational studies. Every element of the research process is affected if the research questions call for team-based data collection and interpretation over a lengthy period of time. It is unusual for a team of scholars from different disciplines to work together, not because the need doesn't exist, but because the mechanisms for doing so are not well established. We draw from the writings of scholars in the fields of research methodology, team and work-group design, and project management to inform our thinking on the subject. The work presented here is based on the authors' experiences during 1995–1999 as members of the Radical Innovation Research Program (RIRP). The RIRP is an ongoing multidisciplinary study of the development and management of radical innovations in established firms. Here, we do not describe the findings or insights associated with the content of the study, radical innovation, which is surely a complex managerial phenomenon. Rather, we focus on the processes used to conduct the research that were affected by the need for a multidisciplinary research team. A framework is presented for thinking about managing such a project. Challenges that we encountered within this framework are identified. Mechanisms we used (or, in some cases, wish we had used in retrospect) for confronting those challenges are also described. Throughout, we compare our study objectives and resultant methodological design choices with those of other multidisciplinary research teams that are by now well known in the organizational management literature. Our objective is to help researchers who are considering launching interdisciplinary, longitudinal studies of organizational processes as they plan and manage those pursuits.

Suggested Citation

  • Gina Colarelli O'Connor & Mark P. Rice & Lois Peters & Robert W. Veryzer, 2003. "Managing Interdisciplinary, Longitudinal Research Teams: Extending Grounded Theory-Building Methodologies," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 14(4), pages 353-373, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ororsc:v:14:y:2003:i:4:p:353-373
    DOI: 10.1287/orsc.14.4.353.17485
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Haeussler, Carolin & Sauermann, Henry, 2020. "Division of labor in collaborative knowledge production: The role of team size and interdisciplinarity," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(6).
    4. Andrew C. Corbett & Heidi M. Neck & Dawn R. DeTienne, 2007. "How Corporate Entrepreneurs Learn from Fledgling Innovation Initiatives: Cognition and the Development of a Termination Script," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 31(6), pages 829-852, November.
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    6. Mary A. Malina & Hanne S. O. Nørreklit & Frank H. Selto, 2007. "Relations among Measures, Climate of Control, and Performance Measurement Models," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(3), pages 935-982, September.
    7. Xue Cheng & Qingpu Zhang, 2018. "How to Develop the Interdisciplinary Innovation Teams Sustainably?—A Simulation Model from a Perspective of Knowledge Fission and Fusion," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-21, September.

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