Lunch-Talk: Prof. Dr. Hanna Hottenrott

What’s behind multiple institutional affiliations in academia?

 (joint work with Cornelia Lawson)

This study investigates the roots, patterns and consequences of multiple institutional affiliations in academia. Such co-affiliations occur when a researcher is associated with more than one organization. So far, the evidence for multiple affiliations is mainly anecdotal. Changing institutional conditions and recent trends in the governance of academic research, however, suggest that co-affiliations may present a new model for competitive edge in the highly contested research market. This article reports results from an international survey on academics in three major science nations (the UK, Germany and Japan). We find that multiple affiliations are indeed widespread across disciplines and used to increase access to resources, networks or know-how, but also to increase job prospects and income. Roles and contractual arrangement vary with researchers’ motivations to take on the additional affiliation. While additional affiliations do not seem to be a source of conflict for mid-career and senior researchers, junior researchers may face time and other work-related conflicts due to the additional commitment.