Abstract
Better research quality not only inspires scholars to continue their research, but also increases the possibility of higher research budgets from sponsors. Given the importance of research quality, this study proposes that utilizing social capital (i.e., research collaboration) might be a promising avenue to achieve better research quality. In addition, as every scholar has his or her own expertise and knowledge, the diversity of collaborating members might be an extra resource for reinforcing research quality. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of research collaboration and member diversity on research quality, including the number of citations, the impact factor, and the size of the research award. To explore unknown associations, the author adopts two data sources, that is, the Social Science Citation Index database and academic database of a university, to verify the hypotheses. The results show that a higher intensity at which scholars are embedded in a collaboration network, results in higher research quality. However, member diversity does not seem to be a major concern during the organization of a research group. Research quality is not affected, regardless of whether a scholar collaborates with different or the same co-authors.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bollen, J., & Van de Sompel, H. (2008). Usage impact factor: The effects of sample characteristics on usage-based impact metrics. Journal of the American Society for Information Science & Technology, 59(1), 136–149.
Borgatti, S. P., Everett, M. G., & Freeman, L. C. (1999). UCINET 5.0 version 1.00. Natick: Analytic Technologies.
Brown, L. D., & Gardner, J. C. (1985). Using citation analysis to assess the impact of journals and articles on contemporary accounting research (CAR). Journal of Accounting Research, 23(1), 84–109.
Burt, R. (1992). Structural holes: The social structure of competition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Chang, C. C. (2008). The value of knowledge created by individual scientist and research groups. Journal of Scholarly Publishing, 39(3), 274–293.
Chen, G. (2005). Newcomer adaptation in teams: Multilevel antecedents and outcomes. Academy of Management Journal, 48(1), 101–116.
Coleman, J. S. (1988). Social capital in the creation of human capital. American Journal of Sociology, 94, 95–120.
Cross, R., Parker, A., Prusak, L., & Borgatti, S. P. (2001). Knowing what we know: Supporting knowledge creation and sharing in social networks. Organizational Dynamics, 30(2), 100–120.
De Dreu, C. K. W., & West, M. A. (2001). Minority dissent and team innovation: The importance of participation in decision making. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(6), 1191–1201.
Eaton, J. P., Ward, J. C., Kumar, A., & Reingen, P. H. (1999). Structural analysis of co-author relationships and author productivity in selected outlets for consumer behavior research. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 8(1), 39–59.
Floyd, S. W., Schroeder, D. M., & Finn, D. M. (1994). Only if I’m first author: Conflict over credit in management scholarship. Academy Management Journal, 37(3), 734–747.
Freeman, L. C. (1979). Centrality in social networks: Conceptual clarifications. Social Network, 1(3), 215–239.
Frenken, K., Ponds, R., & van Oort, F. (2010). The citation impact of research collaboration in science-based industries: A spatial-institutional analysis. Paper in Regional Science, 89(2), 351–371.
Gardner, J. K., Rall, L. C., & Peterson, C. A. (2002). Lack of multidisciplinary collaboration is a barrier to outcomes research. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 102(1), 65–71.
Goldfinch, S., Dale, T., & DeRouen, Jr., K. (2003). Science from the periphery: Collaboration, networks and periphery effects in the citation of New Zealand Crown Research Institutes articles, 1995–2000. Scientometrics, 53(3), 321–337.
Harvey, J., Pettigrew, A., & Ferlie, E. (2002). The determinants of research group performance: Toward mode 2? Journal of Management Studies, 39(6), 747–774.
Hauptman, R. (2005). How to be a successful scholar: Publish efficiently. Journal of Scholarly Publishing, 36(2), 115–119.
Hayati, Z., & Ebrahimy, S. (2009). Correlation between quality and quantity in scientific production: A case study of Iranian organizations from 1997 to 2006. Scientometrics, 80(3), 627–638.
Hudson, J. (1996). Trends in multi-authored papers in Economics. Journal of Economic Perspective, 10(3), 153–158.
Inhaber, H., & Przednowek, K. (1976). Quality of research and the Nobel prizes. Social Studies of Science, 6(1), 33–50.
Inkpen, A. C., & Tsang, W. K. (2005). Social capital, networks, and knowledge transfer. Academy of Management Review, 30(1), 146–165.
Lavie, D., & Rosenkopf, L. (2006). Balancing exploration and exploitation in alliance formation. Academy of Management Journal, 49(4), 797–818.
Lee, S., & Bozeman, B. (2005). The impact of research collaboration on scientific productivity. Social Studies of Science, 35(5), 673–702.
March, J. G. (1991). Exploration and exploitation in organizational learning. Organization Science, 2(1), 71–87.
McFadyen, M. A., & Cannella, Jr., A. A. (2004). Social capital and knowledge creation: Diminishing returns of the number and strength of exchange relationships. Academy of Management Journal, 47(5), 735–746.
Melin, G., & Persson, O. (1996). Studying research collaboration using co-authorships. Scientometrics, 36(3), 363–377.
Miller, K. D., Zhao, M., & Calantone, R. J. (2006). Adding interpersonal learning and tacit knowledge to March’s exploration-exploitation model. Academy of Management Journal, 49(4), 709–722.
Morrison, E. W. (2002). Newcomers’ relationships: The role of social network ties during socialization. Academy of Management Journal, 45(6), 1149–1160.
Nahapiet, J., & Ghoshal, S. (1998). Social capital, intellectual capital, and the organizational advantage. Academy of Management Review, 23(2), 242–266.
Oh, W., Choi, J. N., & Kim, K. (2005). Coauthorship dynamics and knowledge capital: The patterns of cross-disciplinary collaboration in information systems research. Journal of Management Information Systems, 22(3), 265–292.
Ohniwa, R. L., Denawa, M., Kudo, M., Nakamura, K., & Takeyasu, K. (2004). Perspective factor: A novel indicator for the assessment of journal quality. Research Evaluation, 13(3), 175–180.
Oppenheim, C., & Summers, M. A. C. (2008). Citation counts and the research assessment exercise, part VI: Unit of assessment 67 (music). Information Research, 13(2). Retrieved from http://InformationR.net/ir/13-2/paper342.html.
Pawar, M. (2006). “Social” “capital”? The Social Science Journal, 43(2), 211–226.
Perretti, F., & Negro, G. (2006). Filling empty seats: How status and organizational hierarchies affect exploration versus exploitation in team design. Academy of Management Journal, 49(4), 759–777.
Petter, S., Straub, D., & Rai, A. (2007). Specifying formative constructs in information systems research. MIS Quarterly, 31(4), 623–656.
Ponomariov, B. L., & Boardman, P. C. (2010). Influencing scientists’ collaboration and productivity patterns through new institutions: University research centers and scientific and technical human capital. Research Policy, 39, 613–624.
Presser, S. (1980). Collaboration and the quality of research. Social Studies of Science, 10(1), 95–101.
Reichers, A. E. (1987). An interactionist perspective on newcomer socialization rates. Academy of Management Review, 12(2), 278–287.
Rigby, J., & Edler, J. (2005). Peering inside research networks: Some observations on the effect of the intensity of collaboration on the variability of research quality. Research Policy, 34, 784–794.
Simon, H. A. (1976). Administrative behavior. New York: Free Press.
Soderbaum, F. (2001). Networking and capacity building: The role of regional research networks in Africa. European Journal of Development Research, 13(2), 144–163.
Taylor, A., & Greve, H. R. (2006). Superman or the fantastic four? Knowledge combination and experience in innovative teams. Academy of Management Journal, 49(4), 723–740.
Wadhwa, A., & Kotha, S. (2006). Knowledge creation through external venturing: Evidence from the telecommunications equipment manufacturing industry. Academy of Management Journal, 49(4), 819–835.
Wasko, M. M., & Faraj, S. (2005). Why should I share? Examining social capital and knowledge contribution in electronic networks of practice. MIS Quarterly, 29(1), 35–57.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Liao, C.H. How to improve research quality? Examining the impacts of collaboration intensity and member diversity in collaboration networks. Scientometrics 86, 747–761 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-010-0309-2
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-010-0309-2