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Abstract

This paper adds to an emerging body of literature on interdisciplinary innovation in organizational settings. Interdisciplinary project teams working on applied innovation projects were the unit of measure. The teams were comprised of master students (n=31) coming from engineering, business and design backgrounds on a degree programme in Integrated Innovation and working on real-life innovation projects. The aim of the research was to examine the perception of (a) interdisciplinarity, collaboration, and performance as well as, (b) the links between these constructs over time. Repeated measures of the perceived degree of interdisciplinarity, collaboration, and performance within the teams were made at regular intervals during the first-stage of this longitudinal study using a self-report questionnaire. Empirical findings, specifically related to the first stages of the innovation process, show a statistically significant correlation between collaboration and performance and a positive correlation between interdisciplinarity and those two same variables. The paper closes with insights for successful interdisciplinarity team outcomes and practical suggestions for working with such teams.

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