Abstract
Cognitive diversity is an important concept stemming from western management research in the 1990s. With the rapid development of science and technology, there is a growing interest in the composition of an academic research team, such as team diversity. However, there is no tool available for measuring team cognitive diversity (TCD) for academic research teams. Based on Van der Vegt’s theoretical model of TCD, an Academic Research Team Cognitive Diversity Scale (ATCDS) is developed and validated for an academic research team in our research with two studies (N=737). In Study One, in-depth interviews and panel discussions were conducted to generate a preliminary questionnaire. In Study Two, the questionnaire was administered among academic research teams. Exploratory factor analysis revealed four factors regarding cognitive diversity: (1) the way of thinking, (2) knowledge and skills, (3) the view of the world, and (4) beliefs about what is right and wrong. The factor structure was further validated by confirmatory factor analysis. Moreover, correlation and regression analyses showed that academic research TCD was positively related to team creativity (r =0.306, p <0.01) and performance (r =0.204, p <0.10). To sum up, our newly developed 15-item ATCDS is sufficiently reliable and valid to be used for understanding cognitive diversity among academic research teams.
Highlights
The work structure in academic environments has become increasingly team-based, in the context of the research project, in which academic staff and researchers tend to work collaboratively within a team (Henkel, 2007)
The results demonstrated that our model had excellent fit with the data (CFA: χ2/df = 2.37, Normed Fit Index (NFI) =0.90, comparative fit index (CFI) =0.94, goodness-of-fit index (GFI) =0.91, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) =0.07, root mean square residual (RMR) =0.05)
It is helpful for scholars to further investigate cognitive diversity of the Academic Research Team Cognitive Diversity Scale (ATCDS) measure among academic research teams
Summary
The work structure in academic environments has become increasingly team-based, in the context of the research project, in which academic staff and researchers tend to work collaboratively within a team (Henkel, 2007). An academic research team is defined as a group of researchers who have complementary skills, are willing to take joint responsibility for common scientific research goals, and cooperate to produce scientific results through formal or informal collaboration (Cohen, 1991). Diversity among team members is an essential factor influencing team performance and can produce both beneficial and detrimental effects on team functioning (Harrison and Klein, 2007). The cognitive resource diversity theory is the most acceptable theory to explain the positive function of diversity and its relationship with performance. The cognitive resource diversity theory states that diversity has a positive impact on the team’s performance because of the unique combination of cognitive resources that members bring to the team (Hambrick et al, 1996). Among the different types of team diversity, cognitive
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