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

Claudia Jooß et al
at RWTH Aachen University in 2006 bringing toge<strong>the</strong>r interdisciplinary scientists – mainly from
production and material sciences – into a common network to investigate integrative production
<strong>the</strong>ories. It integrates a highly complex and heterogeneous network <strong>of</strong> 19 university institutes, 7
associated institutes and fur<strong>the</strong>r non-university research institutions (e. g. from <strong>the</strong> Fraunh<strong>of</strong>er
Society) as well as different industrial advisors. Because <strong>of</strong> this, <strong>the</strong> organizational structure <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>
cluster contains a cross sectional research field to cope with <strong>the</strong> challenge <strong>of</strong> interdisciplinarity in <strong>the</strong>
context <strong>of</strong> production engineering. With reference to <strong>the</strong> introduced cluster, contemporary tendencies
such as <strong>the</strong> integration <strong>of</strong> cognitive elements or <strong>the</strong> contribution <strong>of</strong> information technologies to
production engineering extend <strong>the</strong> scope <strong>of</strong> classical mechanical engineering. Fur<strong>the</strong>rmore, <strong>the</strong>
challenge can be characterized by external requirements to interdisciplinary research following <strong>the</strong>
strategies <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> German Research Foundation, <strong>the</strong> German Science Council or <strong>the</strong> <strong>European</strong> Union.
According to that, after an overview <strong>of</strong> actual challenges in interdisciplinary research and network
management, <strong>the</strong> cross sectional approach will be outlined. Moreover, <strong>the</strong> development <strong>of</strong> a model for
<strong>the</strong> management <strong>of</strong> Cross Sectional Processes and <strong>the</strong> respective methodological approach are
discussed. The paper concludes with preliminary findings in cluster-specific interdisciplinary research
and recommendations for successful cooperations in <strong>the</strong> context <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Cluster <strong>of</strong> Excellence and its
learning and knowledge management activities. Fur<strong>the</strong>r possible research questions in <strong>the</strong> scope <strong>of</strong>
Cross Sectional Processes will be introduced in a final outlook <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> paper.
2. Interdisciplinary Network Management as a Contemporary Challenge in
Research Environments
Processes <strong>of</strong> cross linking and networking reveal chances as well as challenges for involved
organizations and networks such as a production engineering oriented Cluster <strong>of</strong> Excellence. Thus
interdisciplinary work depicts a research field exploring phenomena like an augmenting complexity
through heterogeneous partners, a growing application <strong>of</strong> hybrid methodologies or an augmenting
dynamic <strong>of</strong> innovation cycles (Bryson 2009). Because <strong>of</strong> this <strong>the</strong> question <strong>of</strong> managing
interdisciplinary cooperation needs to be fur<strong>the</strong>r discussed (Öberg 2011). Primarily, two conditions
have to be fulfilled to guarantee network coordination (Siebert 2006): On <strong>the</strong> one hand, <strong>the</strong> condition
<strong>of</strong> effectiveness demands a higher performance <strong>of</strong> networks than in o<strong>the</strong>r forms <strong>of</strong> coordination like
market or hierarchy. Concerning research networks, <strong>the</strong> output through cooperation is supposed to be
higher than in conventional forms <strong>of</strong> non-integrative research. On <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r hand, <strong>the</strong> condition <strong>of</strong>
efficiency aims at <strong>the</strong> satisfaction <strong>of</strong> all actors. In <strong>the</strong> context <strong>of</strong> research networks this means that <strong>the</strong>
benefit <strong>of</strong> cooperation has to be greater than communication and cooperation costs to be executed by
each actor (Siebert 2006).
For <strong>the</strong> development <strong>of</strong> a structure and organization <strong>of</strong> Clusters <strong>of</strong> Excellence and adequate Cross
Sectional Processes <strong>the</strong> following aspects have to be considered in order to ensure <strong>the</strong> high quality <strong>of</strong>
<strong>the</strong> cluster output:
“One <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> main attractions <strong>of</strong> interdisciplinary research is that it allows researchers freedom
from disciplinary constraints” (Repko et al. 2010). But <strong>the</strong> heterogeneity <strong>of</strong> 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 in a network applying different or partly shared methodologies, <strong>the</strong>ories and
technical terms (cf. ibid.). This gives space to new scientific possibilities as well as to new
scientific challenges regarding communication (like <strong>the</strong> lack <strong>of</strong> a common language) and
cooperation among single disciplines (Röbbecke et al. 2004, Sauer 2005). Hence, <strong>the</strong> cultural
differences within <strong>the</strong> cluster afford chances as well as risks concerning <strong>the</strong> performance <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>
entire cluster.
Especially project oriented networks distinguished by a limited project period are characterized by
a high staff turnover (Sydow 2010). Because <strong>of</strong> this, an on-going fluctuation <strong>of</strong> actors may have
chances and risks regarding <strong>the</strong> coherence <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> network which may lead to a delay in <strong>the</strong>
process <strong>of</strong> network development.
The highly-complex research processes in networks such as a Cluster <strong>of</strong> Excellence demand <strong>the</strong>
identification and continuous adaption <strong>of</strong> knowledge interfaces in terms <strong>of</strong> human, organizational
and technological aspects. Following Sydow (2010) this implicates that methods <strong>of</strong> evaluation and
reflection have to be included into a network management approach. Thus, a model for <strong>the</strong>
management <strong>of</strong> Cross Sectional Processes has to contain elements <strong>of</strong> evaluation and reflection.
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