Interdisciplinary Competency
Topic area: Interdisciplinarity in business companies
Interdisciplinarity in Work 4.0
Author: Clara Japing
With recent changes in the working world (digitalization, new forms of work, demographic change) the need for interdisciplinarity is widening, and breaking down silo mentalities is considered all the more important. This study aims to determine the extent to which the need for interdisciplinary collaboration has increased, how this connects to the advancing digitalization, and what effects these new or increasing requirements have on employees.
Interdisciplinary competence in organizations
Author: Yannik Schleiting, completed
This study investigates the abilities and knowledge employees need in order to work interdisciplinarily (e.g. across departments, with team members from different disciplines). First results support the validity of the competence model “Interdisciplinary Competency” in a business context. We are currently still investigating whether research and business contexts require different sets of competencies.
Innovation in start-up companies – the role of interdisciplinarity
Author: Annika Hoffmann, completed
A company’s innovation potential is an important factor for success, especially for start-ups. This study aimed to explore processes and requirements which influence the innovation potential of start-up companies (N=65). Since mixed teams have a better chance at solving complex problems, we also examined interdisciplinary team composition as a potential factor (N=55). It appeared that factors such as e.g. a shared team vision positively affect the innovation potential of start-ups. Interdisciplinary competence functioned as a moderating factor for many of the positive effects on innovation potential found, so positive effects of e.g. task-related discussions or support for innovation were only found if the respective competence was already existing.
An interdisciplinary competence model for business contexts
Authors: Xuesi Li, Simone Brandstädter, completed
Interdisciplinary competencies play an important role not only in research but also in business companies. This study consisted in conducting semi-structured interviews with team members (N=10) in a large German software company in order to identify beneficial as well as obstructive forms of behavior in interdisciplinary team work. The derived competencies were then presented to experts (here, project leads; N= 30) for evaluation. Many of the modeled competences were confirmed but some competencies were specific to the business context, e.g. pragmatism and autonomy. We are currently still assessing the relative importance of different competences in business and research contexts respectively.
Topic area: Promotion of interdisciplinary competency
Interdisciplinary Brain Training
Author: Annika Sobotta
Brief interventions, especially in combination with gamification, are enjoying greater and greater popularity and can be successfully used for fostering competences. For this study, we developed brief playful exercises for fostering interdisciplinary competence. We then tested them experimentally for efficacy and combined them to a brief brain training. The long-term goal of these studies is to implement these exercises in an online training program or an app.
IntAKt – Competency training for successful interdisciplinary work teams
Authors: Alexandra Kessler, Jan Schittenhelm, Simone Brandstädter
This large-scale study serves to evaluate an occupational training for successful interdisciplinary team work. This two-day training course serves to teach and practice the ability to work productively with colleagues from other disciplines. The goal is to be able to integrate different perspectives and expertise while representing one’s own disciplinary perspective clearly. Particular attention is paid here to efficient joint goal setting, mutual perception and recognition of disciplinary strengths, and the integration of perspectives from other disciplines. A variety of hands-on exercises train practical skills which have been found particularly helpful for interdisciplinary projects in previous studies. In an interactive and entertaining setting, participants acquire helpful tools for a successful collaboration across disciplines. We are currently still looking for participants. If you are interested in participating, please contact us.
Mini-interventions for successful collaboration: Is it possible to activate interdisciplinarity?
Author: Madlena Ivanova, completed
We know from coaching that even small interventions have an effect. We can activate certain qualities and resources in a person and make them more accessible. This study investigates whether it is possible to foster interdisciplinary competence by means of brief and simple exercises. For this purpose, brief mindfulness exercises were developed and tested in a web-based vignette study (N=119) in order to assess whether perspective-taking/ empathy can be activated. First results show a difference in perspective-taking/empathy ratings for control and experimental groups. We are currently studying the impact this may have on interdisciplinary conflict situations.
A pilot study on training interdisciplinary competency
Authors: Martina Koleva, Simone Brandstädter
We conducted a first pilot training to investigate whether interdisciplinary competencies could be fostered. For this purpose, doctoral candidates in medicine and information technology at a medical-technical graduate school (N=18) participated in a one-day training for promoting interdisciplinary collaboration. We found medium to large positive short-and long-term effects for variables describing team climate (e.g. goal and role clarity, synergies, contact maintenance) and an increase in quality and quantity of interdisciplinary collaboration after eight weeks. An independent survey of interdisciplinary team partners confirmed the self-ratings of training participants.
Topic area: Interdisciplinary competency
Questionnaire on interdisciplinary competency
Author: Lena Kölmel
The aim of this study is to develop and validate a questionnaire on interdisciplinary competence. Based on the competence model “Interdisciplinary Competency” we developed items for five competence factors which we are validating with a large sample of study participants. We are still looking for participants. Please click here to participate in our study. Your support is highly appreciated.
Modeling and validation of the competence model “Interdisciplinary Competency”
Author: Simone Brandstädter, completed
The collaboration of team members with different disciplinary backgrounds presents specific challenges. For targeted interventions, it is important to know which competences are necessary for successful interdisciplinary collaboration. By means of individual studies (semi-structured interviews: N=33), we identified important competencies; the required competency levels were then assessed by experts (N=60) and validated with an employee survey (N=210). The resultant model is divided into five factors: special competencies, subject-matter competencies, leadership competencies, team competencies, and work competencies. This competence model can serve as an empirically validated basis for the development of promotion measures, personnel selection or further research on interdisciplinary teamwork.
The Interdisciplinarian? - What factors are associated with interdisciplinary competency?
Author: Charlotte Kraus, Simone Brandstädter, completed
Using structural equation modeling, we examined the link between competence level and other factors in the context of validating the competence model “Interdisciplinary Competency”. The factor structure with five competency areas and second order total competency was confirmed. In addition, we found substantial links between interpersonal competence, work performance and work satisfaction.
Topic area: Conditions for successful interdisciplinary collaboration
Daily incidents and their impact in interdisciplinary collaboration
Author: Maren Grub, Simone Brandstädter, completed
In this weekly diary study, participants were asked to record positive and negative occurrences in daily interdisciplinary collaboration (N=487). This served to identify the type of challenges that occur on a daily basis in interdisciplinary projects as well as the role of interdisciplinary competence in this. By means of qualitative content analysis we developed a comprehensive category system of positive and negative occurrences. The quantitative analysis showed a differential impact of occurrences: Whereas participants with low competency levels reported a drop in collaborative quality in case of negative occurrences, participants with high competency levels were able to sustain high quality levels (buffer effect of interdisciplinary competence).
Always the same? Differences in problem areas of different interdisciplinary projects
Author: Anna Bernhardt, Simone Brandstädter, completed
What problems are reported in interdisciplinary collaboration? This qualitative study investigated what types of areas (e.g. communication, work sequences, methods) are particularly affected by problems. An analysis of interviews with employees (N=32) of two technically and two socially oriented graduate schools showed that prejudice and discipline-centeredness, i.e. the view that one’s own discipline is superior, are important factors. In addition, problems with group dynamics occurred increasingly in technical projects, such as e.g. insufficiently coordinated work processes as well as unequal benefit for cooperation partners.
Do similar people argue? The role of disciplinary similarity in interdisciplinary collaboration
Authors: Solin Sarbast Shaker, Simone Brandstädter, completed
Depending on the respective task, interdisciplinary projects bring together people with very different disciplinary backgrounds. An analysis of N=744 collaborations provided empirical evidence that, despite interdisciplinary project orientation, disciplines tend to cooperate within their disciplinary categories (e.g. natural sciences or the humanities). Collaborative success was rated higher with increasing similarity of disciplines as well as with higher interdisciplinary competence levels. We did not find empirical evidence for the importance of interdisciplinary experience discussed in the literature.
Diary study on interdisciplinary team work and work satisfaction, commitment and performance
Authors: Theresa Neutze, Simone Brandstädter, completed
The success of interdisciplinary teams depends on many factors such as e.g. the characteristics of team members or organizational conditions. Over four consecutive weeks, scientists working in interdisciplinary contexts (N=80) were interviewed about factors of collaboration. Multilevel analyses showed that interdisciplinary competency, and quality and intensity of collaboration have a differential effect on satisfaction and performance at work. The effect was mediated by a person’s own commitment. In contrast to existing literature, we did not find any effect for frequency of contact.
Everybody in the same boat? Comparison of interdisciplinary and intercultural collaboration
Author: Michaela Kammler, completed
Interdisciplinary projects get together very different people to work on a common goal, much like cross-cultural work does. But in contrast to cross-cultural competency, we still don’t have any theories, models, or promotion measures for interdisciplinary collaboration. By comparing the concepts discipline and culture, we derived commonalities for team work. An empirical comparison (N=69) further confirmed that similar competencies are required. Based on these results, cross-cultural concepts and promotion measures can be transferred and evaluated in an interdisciplinary context.
