Coordinating knowlegde creation in multidisciplinary teams: Evidence from early-stage drug discovery
Ben-Menahem, Shiko von Krogh, Georg Erden, Zeynep Schneider, Andreas
Ben-Menahem, Shiko
von Krogh, Georg
Erden, Zeynep
Schneider, Andreas
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Publication Type
Journal article with impact factor
Editor
Supervisor
Publication Year
2015
Journal
Academy of Management Journal
Book
Publication Volume
59
Publication Issue
4
Publication Begin page
1308
Publication End page
1338
Publication NUmber of pages
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Abstract
Based on a multi-year field study of early-stage drug discovery project teams at a global pharmaceutical company, this paper examines how multidisciplinary teams engaged in knowledge creation combine formal and informal coordination mechanisms when faced with unpredictable interdependencies among specialists’ knowledge domains. While multidisciplinary teams are critical for knowledge creation in increasingly specialized work environments, the coordination literature has been divided with respect to the extent to which such teams rely on formal coordination structures and informal coordination practices. Our findings show that when interdependencies among knowledge domains are dynamic and unpredictable, specialists design self-managed (sub-)teams around collectively held assumptions about interdependencies based on incomplete information (conjectural interdependencies). These team structures establish the grounds for informal coordination practices that enable specialists to both manage known interdependencies and reveal new interdependencies. Newly revealed interdependencies among knowledge domains, in turn, promote structural adaptation. Drawing on these findings, we advance an integrative model explaining how team-based knowledge creation relies on the mutual constitution of formal coordination structures and informal coordination practices. The model contributes to theory on organizational design and practice-based research on coordination in cross-disciplinary knowledge creation.
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Keywords
Coordination, Drug Discovery, Innovation, Interdependence, Knowledge Creation, Multidisciplinary Teams, Organizational Design, Practice, Research and Development, Task Uncertainty