Ties That Bind International Research Teams: The Role of Knowledge Production in the Social Structure of Cross-Border Interdisciplinary Collaborations of Early-Career Academics

• In Event: 26.042 - Academic Careers, Faculty Productivity, and Expansion in Higher Education

Abstract

By bridging social networks with social capital, the study examined social structures at different levels and added complexity to different levels of analysis by stressing context through qualitative research methods. This research proposed a model that could foment international collaborations by creating an international research team. It was found that international research teams positioned themselves as those organizations that redirect professional roles, positions, and actions outside of the hierarchical structure of campus bureaucracies. They did not try to break old structures, instead complemented them. As such, international research teams provided an opportunity for researchers to contribute to creation, modification, and dissemination of knowledge that reached beyond national, cultural, and organizational borders.

Author

• Aurelia Kollasch, Iowa State University