The research university as an organizational context for collaboration: Cross-departmental research collaboration in environmental studies.

Abstract

The deterioration of the "natural" environment raises research questions that often require university faculty to collaborate across academic disciplines. The organization of universities into disciplinary departments tends to make such collaboration both cross-disciplinary and cross-departmental. This suggests obstacles to collaboration based on both conflicting disciplinary and departmental reward structures. This study explores the relationships between organizational and individual characteristics, faculty perception of obstacles to cross-departmental research, and faculty views on appropriate organizational structures for environmental research. The study is based on survey responses of 212 faculty members involved in environmental research at the University of Michigan and interviews with faculty and administrators at the same university and with directors of environmental studies centers at peer institutions. The conceptual model for the study was based on the findings of Biglan, Lodahl, and others of variation in faculty behavior by discipline type (physical versus social sciences and basic versus applied). Key findings of the study were that organizational and individual characteristics explained little variance in the perception of obstacles to cross-departmental research or in preference of organizational structure type. The major characteristics studied--discipline type, research orientation, unit type (professional versus graduate school department), and tenure status--were also unrelated to involvement in or perceived importance of cross-departmental research. However, being a social scientist, having an applied research orientation, and being untenured were all significantly related to dissatisfaction with extent of involvement in cross-departmental collaboration.