TY - JOUR
T1 - The Effects of Diversity and Network Ties on Innovations
T2 - The Emergence of a New Scientific Field
AU - Lungeanu, Alina
AU - Contractor, Noshir S.
N1 - Funding Information:
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: National Science Foundation (Grant Nos. CNS-1010904, OCI-0904356, IIS-0838564), National Institutes of Health (Grant Nos. UL1RR025741, UL1DE019587, U54HD076188), and Army Research Lab (Grant No. W911NF-09-02-0053).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2014 SAGE Publications
PY - 2015/5/4
Y1 - 2015/5/4
N2 - This study examines the influence of different types of diversity, both observable and unobservable, on the creation of innovative ideas. Our framework draws on theory and research on information processing, social categorization, coordination, and homophily to posit the influence of cognitive, gender, and country diversity on innovation. Our longitudinal model is based on a unique data set of 1,354 researchers who helped create the new scientific field of oncofertility, by collaborating on 469 publications over a 4-year period. We capture the differences among researchers along cognitive, country, and gender dimensions, as well as examine how the resulting diversity or homophily influences the formation of collaborative innovation networks. We find that innovation, operationalized as publishing in a new scientific discipline, benefits from both homophily and diversity. Homophily in country of residence and working with prior collaborators help reduce uncertainty in the interactions associated with innovation, while diversity in knowledge enables the recombinant knowledge required for innovation.
AB - This study examines the influence of different types of diversity, both observable and unobservable, on the creation of innovative ideas. Our framework draws on theory and research on information processing, social categorization, coordination, and homophily to posit the influence of cognitive, gender, and country diversity on innovation. Our longitudinal model is based on a unique data set of 1,354 researchers who helped create the new scientific field of oncofertility, by collaborating on 469 publications over a 4-year period. We capture the differences among researchers along cognitive, country, and gender dimensions, as well as examine how the resulting diversity or homophily influences the formation of collaborative innovation networks. We find that innovation, operationalized as publishing in a new scientific discipline, benefits from both homophily and diversity. Homophily in country of residence and working with prior collaborators help reduce uncertainty in the interactions associated with innovation, while diversity in knowledge enables the recombinant knowledge required for innovation.
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U2 - 10.1177/0002764214556804
DO - 10.1177/0002764214556804
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84926140434
SN - 0002-7642
VL - 59
SP - 548
EP - 564
JO - American Behavioral Scientist
JF - American Behavioral Scientist
IS - 5
ER -