Evidence for a Creative Dilemma Posed by Repeated Collaborations.

Area of Science:

• Innovation Management
• Intellectual Property Studies
• Organizational Behavior

Background:

• Repeat collaborations in inventive projects present a dual effect: team development and team degeneration.
• This inherent dilemma for inventors regarding continued collaboration has lacked quantitative analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantitatively analyze the dilemma faced by inventors in repeat collaborations.
• To validate the existence of this dilemma using extensive patent data.
• To propose and validate strategies to prevent team degeneration in creative projects.

Main Methods:

• Quantitative analysis of patent data from Japan and the United States.
• Validation of three predictions concerning team longevity, patent impact, and team expectations.
• Assessment of the effectiveness of technological and inventor diversity strategies.

Main Results:

• Confirmed that greater patent success correlates with longer team collaboration.
• Demonstrated a decrease in the impact of consecutive patents after a significant invention.
• Found that new teams are expected to have a greater impact than previously successful teams.

Conclusions:

• The study quantitatively validates the dilemma of repeat collaborations in creative projects.
• Technological and inventor diversity are effective strategies to prevent team degeneration.
• Implementing diversity can help sustain high performance in inventive teams.