Assessment of Alternative Management Forms in Academic Interdisciplinary Research Projects

Abstract

Interdisciplinary research projects in academic institutions are classified using cluster analysis on their structural properties of size, stability of membership, number of hierarchical levels, division of labor, and the proportion of professional staff with doctoral degrees, masters degrees but not doctorates, and bachelors degrees but neither a masters degree nor a doctoral degree. Within each type, management actions such as time spent planning and assembling resources together with task and relationship oriented behaviors were evaluated for differences between high and low performing projects within each structural type and across types in order to identify those which enhance effective performance. Large stable projects with highly educated personnel performed best. Leaders who exhibited task oriented behaviors had higher performing projects regardless of structural type. Findings that time spent planning interdisciplinary research is not associated with higher performance are different from previous findings for noninterdisciplinary research.