TY - JOUR
T1 - Substituting face-to-face contacts in academics’ collaborations
T2 - modern communication tools, proximity, and brokerage
AU - Werker, Claudia
AU - Ooms, Ward
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - Prior analyses of face-to-face contacts in collaborations have focused on one substitute only. Instead, we analyse various potential substitutes for face-to-face contacts in collaborations. Based on 45 interviews with academics from five leading European universities of technology our findings show that face-to-face contacts are closely intertwined with other mechanisms of coordination and communication for collaboration, particularly modern communication tools, proximity, and brokerage. Generally, to add personal and social proximity to their collaborations academics in our sample rely on face-to-face contacts. In their relationships with industrial partners, face-to-face contacts remain crucial to overcome cognitive and organizational distance. Yet when working with their peers, a number of partial substitutes for face-to-face contacts exist, knowingly combinations of temporary geographical proximity and modern communication tools. Moreover, PhD students can play a crucial role as junior brokers, overcoming a lack of face-to-face contacts between partners jointly supervising them while working in different locations.
AB - Prior analyses of face-to-face contacts in collaborations have focused on one substitute only. Instead, we analyse various potential substitutes for face-to-face contacts in collaborations. Based on 45 interviews with academics from five leading European universities of technology our findings show that face-to-face contacts are closely intertwined with other mechanisms of coordination and communication for collaboration, particularly modern communication tools, proximity, and brokerage. Generally, to add personal and social proximity to their collaborations academics in our sample rely on face-to-face contacts. In their relationships with industrial partners, face-to-face contacts remain crucial to overcome cognitive and organizational distance. Yet when working with their peers, a number of partial substitutes for face-to-face contacts exist, knowingly combinations of temporary geographical proximity and modern communication tools. Moreover, PhD students can play a crucial role as junior brokers, overcoming a lack of face-to-face contacts between partners jointly supervising them while working in different locations.
KW - academia
KW - face-to-face contacts
KW - junior brokers
KW - Modern communication tools
KW - proximity
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85071158203&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/03075079.2019.1655723
DO - 10.1080/03075079.2019.1655723
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85071158203
SN - 0307-5079
VL - 45
SP - 1431
EP - 1447
JO - Studies in Higher Education
JF - Studies in Higher Education
IS - 7
ER -