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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.

This article applies the concepts of alpha, beta, and gamma changes to test whether the implementation of a new office information system with networking capabilities changes the way organizational members conceptualize office work. The traditional approach (t‐test) was used to measure alpha change and indicated little change in how effectively the respondents felt they performed eight generic office activities before implementation (T1) and nine months after implementation (T2). However, considerable change was detected between effectiveness reported at T1 and a retrospective assessment of T1 effectiveness reported at T2 (called "then" assessments). Strong change was also detected between "then" assessments and T2 effectiveness reported at T2, indicating beta change. Multiple hierarchical tests showed that most of the change was actually gamma change; the T2 and the "then" factor structures and covariances differed significantly. This study supports propositions that using computers to accomplish organizational work may be associated with different conceptualizations of work, which may create ambiguity and uncertainty if training and management policies do not respond appropriately. Finally, this study provides an expanded version of a prior solution to detecting alpha, beta, and gamma changes.

Media skepticism is defined as the degree to which individuals tend to disbelieve or discount the picture of reality presented in the mass media. Media skepticism is caused in part by the process by which individuals are confronted with discrepancies between their personal experience of reality and the reality portrayed in the media. As a result, they discount the media portrayal. Given this conceptualization, it was hypothesized that exposure to nonmediated information that conflicts with information gained from a media source would cause an increase in media skepticism. The hypothesis was tested in a controlled experiment. Results support the hypothesis and suggest that media skepticism may be a useful construct for future research in communication processes and effects.

This paper reports on research designed to test a dynamic model of the causes of organizational innovation. Two communication variables (level of information and group communication) and three motivational variables (perceptions of equity, expectations of benefits, and perceived social pressure) were derived from equity theory, expectancy theory and the theory of reasoned action. These variables were used to predict the number of innovative ideas contributed by members of the organizations. Weekly data were collected for over a year from five firms and were analyzed with multivariate time series techniques. The results indicated that the communication variables were causes of organizational innovation but the motivational variables were not. Across the five firms, the variance explained by the model ranged from a low of 30 percent to a high of 78 percent. In four of the five firms, the forecast accuracy for the amount of individual innovation ranged from a low of 77 percent to a high of 85 percent.

AbstractDigital technologies have created the potential for new forms of organizing among geographically dispersed individuals by connecting their ideas across the time and space in complex multiteam systems (MTSs). Realizing this potential requires novel forms of shared leadership structures to shepherd divergent and convergent thinking necessary to nurture innovation. While there is limited research on how space influences leadership and how the time influences leadership, there is virtually no theorizing on how space and time interact together to influence the emergence of shared leadership structures that facilitates innovation. A key contribution of this study is to utilize an agent-based model (ABM) that draws upon the research on leadership, networks, and innovation to specify generative mechanisms (or micro-processes) through which shared leadership structures emerge over space and time. The parameters in this model were estimated from empirical data. Results of virtual experiments (VE) yielded testable hypotheses suggesting that, over time, leadership capacity and between-team ties are negatively influenced by space. Furthermore, the computational model suggests that space increases the concentration of divergent leadership but decreases the concentration of convergent leadership. The study concludes by discussing the implications for the design of effective leadership structures to nurture innovation in MTSs.

This paper addresses the need for theoretical advancements in understanding team processes and the impact of technology on teams. Specifically, it examines the use of digital collaboration technologies by organizational teams and their effect on team communication and collaboration. Using the concept of affordances as a theoretical lens, the paper explores the potential relationships between technology affordances and essential team processes. It also provides an agenda for future research on social technologies and teams as well as novel methodological approaches for better understanding the ways in which digital technologies are affecting team processes and performance in the workplace.

AbstractDespite the importance of diverse expertise in helping solve difficult interdisciplinary problems, measuring it is challenging and often relies on proxy measures and presumptive correlates of actual knowledge and experience. To address this challenge, we propose a text-based measure that uses researcher's prior work to estimate their substantive expertise. These expertise estimates are then used to measure team-level expertise diversity by determining similarity or dissimilarity in members' prior knowledge and skills. Using this measure on 2.8 million team invented patents granted by the US Patent Office, we show evidence of trends in expertise diversity over time and across team sizes, as well as its relationship with the quality and impact of a team's innovation output.

Objective The aim of this study was to examine how task, social, and situational factors shape work patterns, information networks, and performance in spaceflight multiteam systems (MTSs). Background Human factors research has explored the task and individual characteristics that affect decisions regarding when and in what order people complete tasks. We extend this work to understand how the social and situational factors that arise when working in MTSs affect individual work patterns. Methods We conducted a complex multi-site space analog simulation with NASA over the course of 3 years. The MTS task required participants from four teams (Geology, Robotics, Engineering, and Human Factors) to collaborate to design a well on Mars. We manipulated the one-way communication delay between the crew and mission support: no time lag, 60-second lag, and 180-second lag. Results The study revealed that team and situational factors exert strong effects: members whose teams have less similar mental models, those whose teams prioritize their team goal over the MTS goal, and those working in social isolation and/or under communication delay engage longer on tasks. Time-on-task positively predicts MTS information networks, which in turn positively predict MTS performance when communication occurs with a delay, but not when it occurs in real-time. Conclusion Our findings contribute to research on task management in the context of working in teams and multiteam systems. Team and situational factors, along with task factors, shape task management behavior. Application Social and situational factors are important predictors of task management in team contexts such as spaceflight MTSs.