Proceedings of the 12th European Conference on Knowledge ...

The Challenge <strong>of</strong> Scientific Cooperation in Large Complex
Research Clusters – Experiences from <strong>the</strong> Cluster <strong>of</strong>
Excellence “Integrative Production Technology for High-
Wage Countries”
Claudia Jooß, Florian Welter, Anja Richert, and Sabina Jeschke
IMA - Institute <strong>of</strong> Information Management in Mechanical Engineering & ZLW -
Center for Learning and Knowledge Management & IfU - Institute for
Management Cybernetics RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
claudia.jooss@ima-zlw-ifu.rwth-aachen.de
florian.welter@ima-zlw-ifu.rwth-aachen.de
anja.richert@ima-zlw-ifu.rwth-aachen.de
sabina.jeschke@ima-zlw-ifu.rwth-aachen.de
Abstract: The initiation <strong>of</strong> so called Clusters <strong>of</strong> Excellence constitutes a milestone with regard to Germany’s
efforts to foster integrative and interdisciplinary research. Clusters <strong>of</strong> Excellence constitute spatially concentrated
research networks including about 20 university institutes, non-university research institutes as well as fur<strong>the</strong>r
selected partners and advisors from industry and science. The heterogeneity <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> included actors can lead to
structural, cognitive and cultural challenges in coordination and cooperation, because diverse disciplines (e. g.
production and material engineering, informatics as well as business sciences) are integrated using different
methodologies and technical terms. Therefore, <strong>the</strong> question arises in how far cross linked, knowledge-intensive
and highly complex scientific cooperations can be organized to ensure a high quality <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> research cluster
output. To cope with <strong>the</strong> challenge <strong>of</strong> scientific cooperation, <strong>the</strong> conceptual framework <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Cross Sectional
Processes in <strong>the</strong> Cluster <strong>of</strong> Excellence “Integrative Production Technology for High-Wage Countries” at RWTH
Aachen University supports effective networking processes and strategic cluster development by means <strong>of</strong>
learning and knowledge management. In order to contribute to <strong>the</strong> aforementioned research question, a model
for <strong>the</strong> management <strong>of</strong> Cross Sectional Processes is developed. The model will define specific measures for a
promotion <strong>of</strong> interdisciplinary cooperation and cluster development at respective phases <strong>of</strong> network development
– e. g. from <strong>the</strong> initiation phase to <strong>the</strong> steady phase. Following <strong>the</strong> research approach <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Grounded Theory,
<strong>the</strong> generation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> model bases on a triangulation <strong>of</strong> quantitative as well as qualitative data, captured through
a Balanced-Scorecard-based performance measurement tool, direct evaluations and structured interviews with
cluster members. First results <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> data triangulation make obvious that e. g. <strong>the</strong> role <strong>of</strong> project leaders as
cluster-internal knowledge agents is crucial for a successful knowledge transfer in a hierarchical Cluster <strong>of</strong>
Excellence. Moreover, a high rate <strong>of</strong> staff turnover in <strong>the</strong> research environment strongly influences <strong>the</strong>
implementation <strong>of</strong> cross sectional activities. A fur<strong>the</strong>r transfer <strong>of</strong> cross sectional measures to o<strong>the</strong>r forms <strong>of</strong>
scientific oriented clusters and comparable networks is aspired by <strong>the</strong> Cross Sectional Processes to support
scientific oriented interdisciplinary cooperation in future.
Keywords: Challenge <strong>of</strong> Interdisciplinary Cooperation, Cross Sectional Processes, Learning and Knowledge
Management in Clusters <strong>of</strong> Excellence, Model for Cluster Development
1. Background and Introduction
In order to overcome <strong>the</strong> pillarization <strong>of</strong> basic research, applied research and operative research and
development (R&D) towards a more dynamic-interactive process <strong>of</strong> interdisciplinary knowledge
generation, <strong>the</strong> German federal government initiated <strong>the</strong> Excellence Initiative to streng<strong>the</strong>n <strong>the</strong>
research location Germany in a sustainable way.
In light <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> German Excellence Initiative, one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> first scientific approaches for promoting
interdisciplinary knowledge generation constitutes <strong>the</strong> Cross Sectional Processes in <strong>the</strong> Cluster <strong>of</strong>
Excellence “Integrative Production Technology for High-Wage Countries”. The approach aims at
providing adequate measures <strong>of</strong> learning and knowledge management to support scientists working
in interdisciplinary research areas. The main research question <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Cross Sectional Processes can
be described with:
How should cross-linked, knowledge-intensive and highly complex scientific cooperations
within <strong>the</strong> Cluster <strong>of</strong> Excellence be organized and simplified to ensure <strong>the</strong>
high quality <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> cluster output?
As one <strong>of</strong> 37 funded Clusters <strong>of</strong> Excellence, initiated through <strong>the</strong> German Excellence Initiative, <strong>the</strong>
Cluster <strong>of</strong> Excellence “Integrative Production Technology for High-Wage Countries” was established
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