The effects of a changing institutional environment on academic research practices: three cases from agricultural science

Abstract

This paper investigates the varying effects of a changing institutional environment on academic research practices in three fields of Dutch animal science. Our analysis shows that the shifts in funding have stimulated interactions with societal stakeholders in fields where this has helped to sustain a basic research agenda. In other fields researchers experience a tension between satisfying the needs of application-oriented funding sources and reaching high scores on evaluations dominated by bibliometric indicators. The paper concludes with the identification of three field characteristics that seem to moderate the effects of institutional changes on academic research practices.

The Adoption and Implementation of Transdisciplinary Research in the Field of Land-Use Science—A Comparative Case Study

“…This pressure is prevalent within the whole scientific system and forces researchers into a continual process of proposal writing under an increasing scarcity of research funding [89]. However, the extent to which researchers can adapt to call requirements and adjust their research direction is limited as the evaluation of proposals strongly depends on prior expertise and research content.…”

“…Hessels et al [89] explain the tensions that evolve for scientists when they involve stakeholders in the "credibility cycle". In addition to the pursuit of funding, the pressure to publish also increasingly rose [91], preventing scientists from reconciling the scientific demands of research with the promise of societal relevance and the involvement of stakeholders at the same time.…”

“…In addition to the pursuit of funding, the pressure to publish also increasingly rose [91], preventing scientists from reconciling the scientific demands of research with the promise of societal relevance and the involvement of stakeholders at the same time. This situation appears to be true for research fields "with less generous and powerful stakeholders" [89], as is the case in the field of land-use science. Our results showed that researchers struggled to achieve "balanced benefits" regarding practical relevance and scientific quality and productivity.…”

Sociological and Communication-Theoretical Perspectives on the Commercialization of the Sciences

“…The commercialization of the sciences can be considered as the phenotypical result of interactions, interfacing, and interpenetration among these differently coded communications in historical configurations (Hessels et al 2011). One can expect the synergetic effects of these interactions, interfaces, and interpenetrations to differ among sciences, regions, countries, etc.…”

Current Trends in Science and Technology Policy Research: An Examination of Published Works from 2010–2012

“…In an effort to answer these broader questions, scholars focus on more specific questions across a wide variety of contexts. First, how have changes in funding affected the nature of research results (i.e., basic versus applied research) (Auranen & Nieminen, ; Furman, Murray, & Stern, ; Hessels, Grin, & Smits, ; Parker & Crona, ; Smith, ; Weingart, )? Second, how have these changes affected the behavior of academic scientists (Lam, ; Perkmann, King, & Pavelin, ; Perkmann et al., ; Yang & Chang, )?…”