How Multiple Forms of Competition Shape Researchers and Scientific Production Within and Across Fields

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Carolin Häussler
• Subject Area: Operations Management and Computer Science for Business Administration
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 447967785

The scientific production function relates inputs and organizational structures to the production of knowledge. While numerous studies have examined the relationship between input and output, i.e., how science builds on prior scientific knowledge embodied in papers (Adams, 1990; Jones, 2009; Wuchty et al. 2007), fewer studies have investigated the organization of the research process itself, i.e., how researchers interact within and across organizational boundaries to access and secure resources and to establish priority and acumen. In particular, we do not yet understand how multiple forms of competition faced by researchers impact the scientific production. Our proposed project aims to investigate how multiple forms of competition shape researchers’ behavior and affect the scientific production within and across scientific fields. In doing so, the project contributes to the consortium’s overarching goals as laid out in the overall framework of the DFG FOR (Rahmenantrag). More specifically, we aim to analyze - on the level of the individual researcher - how multiple forms of competition are related to researchers’ selection of research projects, the type of research they conduct, and their interactions within and across organizational boundaries. Given that scientific competition and incentive systems vary between countries, the project will also take an international perspective. The proposed project will build on an international survey of German and U.S. researchers which provides insights into four dimensions of perceived competition (i.e., reputation, resources, talent & jobs, and transfer-related aspects) along with detailed information about characteristics and interaction of researchers in science. The survey dataset will be enriched by detailed publication and career data. We aim to complement our quantitative approach with a qualitative interview study to thoroughly understand the mechanisms underlying detected patterns and their boundaries. With this project, we aim especially to contribute to the emerging field of Science of Science (SciSci), which builds on comprehensive datasets to investigate mechanisms related to the way science is done - from the choice of what is researched, to the way researchers organize the scientific process, to the progress made in a field. This approach fits very well with the overall goal of the DFG FOR, as the group aims to integrate insights from different disciplines, e.g., measures from scientometrics, insights into the production of knowledge from innovation economics and organizational sciences, and insights into social processes from the sociology of science. The project also aims to strengthen the foundations for evidence-based science policy. In particular, the integration of the project into the DFG FOR and the close exchange with its members will provide a solid sociological foundation in addition to its economic and organizational foundations.

• DFG Programme: Research Units
• Subproject of: FOR 5234: Multiple Competition in Higher Education. Internationalization and International Comparisons
• International Connection: USA
• Cooperation Partner: Professorin Maria Roche, Ph.D.