National Science Foundation awards $143,000 to RBS study on how to leverage thought diversity
March 17, 2009
The National Science Foundation has recently awarded $143,000 to a Rutgers Business School study entitled “Leveraging Thought Diversity.” The study will examine how leadership strategies and group processes in research and development (R&D) teams affect how diversity of thought impacts innovation. RBS Professors Nancy DiTomaso and Emilio DeLia are working with Corinne Post of Lehigh University on the project.Although past research on teams has explored how group processes lead to sufficient homogeneity for team members to work well together, there has been less attention paid to how teams can develop mutual understanding without losing the value of diverse thinking within the group. “Leveraging Thought Diversity” will research about the leadership strategies that facilitate these processes within groups that are diverse in their ways of thinking, approaches to problem solving, and cultural backgrounds. The research findings from the study will have potential for impact both theoretically and practically. The researchers say the findings will help determine how diversity and globalization can be harnessed to spur productive creativity and innovation, provide guidance on how to manage processes in increasingly complex teams, and help R&D organizations develop new leadership training specifically geared toward leveraging thought diversity to make innovation more likely and more successful.The money awarded by The National Science Foundation reflects the high quality of faculty research being conducted at Rutgers Business School, the only school that delivers the business, science, and technology credentials that global employers demand.
