Culturally motivated challenges to innovations in integrative research: Theory and solutions

Integrative research can lead to frame-breaking innovations; it can also lead to disruptive conflicts between research team members. In the present contribution, we propose a cultural perspective to integrative research, treating the knowledge tradition of a discipline or profession as a culture. We discuss how socialization into a disciplinary culture can reinforce intellectual centrism. We further propose that awareness of cultural differences between disciplines can further increase intellectual centrism by enlarging the perceived differences between disciplines. Nonetheless, awareness of disciplinary differences, when coupled with an interdisciplinary learning orientation or growth beliefs, can enhance creative performance and the quality of collaboration in integrative research. We discuss the implications of these ideas for promoting and managing integrative research.