The Role of Organizational Foci and Physical Proximity in Scientific Collaboration

Abstract

This paper examines how organizational foci (i.e., shared affiliations within an institution), disciplinary diversity, and physical proximity shape scientific collaboration and research outcomes. We examine scientific collaboration (via publication co-authorship) among 1138 biomedical faculty members over a 10-year period at a medical school in the United States. We use archival data to measure organizational foci (shared institutional affiliations at the medical school such as secondary appointments and center/institute membership), physical proximity (walking distance among collaborators), and disciplinary diversity (different departments). Modeling both the dyadic and team level of analysis, we find that collaborations are more likely to form and persist among faculty with more overlapping organizational foci, and this association is moderated by the physical proximity of collaborators. We also find the positive influence of team disciplinary diversity on publication impact is significantly reduced as the physical proximity among collaborators is reduced. These results support the idea that organizational foci and physical proximity, which can lower the cost of interaction, can alleviate some of the coordination issues that can arise with higher team diversity. We discuss the implications for future research on team science, managerial practice regarding office space allocation, and strategic planning of initiatives aimed at promoting interdisciplinary collaboration.