Leadership, Cooperation and Conflicts in Physics: Research Leaders' Perspectives.

Autor/inn/en	Reimer, Maike; Burkert, Bianca; Görg, Theresa; Welpe, Isabell M.
Institution	Bayerisches Staatsinstitut für Hochschulforschung und Hochschulplanung
Titel	Leadership, Cooperation and Conflicts in Physics: Research Leaders' Perspectives.
Quelle	München (2026), 38 S. PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Link als defekt meldenVerfügbarkeit
Reihe	IHF Forschungsbericht
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	online; Monografie
URN	urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-109356-2
Schlagwörter	Führung; Konfliktregelung; Politische Steuerung; Forschung; Forschungseinrichtung; Universität; Hochschulverwaltung; Hochschule; Kooperation; Organisationskultur; Führungskraft; Team
Abstract	In recent years, conflicts in research cooperations and the role of leadership in academia have become a much-discussed phenomenon in the DACH-region, with two central aspects: a) individual senior researchers who abuse their formal power and/or fail to exert their leadership functions responsibly and professionally, b) the formal structures of governance in universities and research organizations which are not able to deal with these problems in a fair and transparent manner. As most empirical insights come from junior researchers, this report focuses on research leaders' perspectives on workplace conflicts and evaluates the encompassing institu-tional reactions. About 12% of respondents had experienced complaints, most of them concerning non-scientific misconduct (e.g. power abuse, discrimination or intimidation). About half re-ported that constructive attempts were made to find a fair solution to the conflict. Standards of fair dealings - such as hearing anyone involved, clearly explaining which rules or standards had been violated or providing all necessary information to the accused - were not observed in a large part of cases. Conflict in research teams was a near-ubiquitous phenomenon, with the three top issues being lack of respect or overconfidence, non-collegial behaviour and authorship. Most frequently involved (and perceived as most helpful) were informal sources of support, such as colleagues at the same institution and private contacts. Official institutional bod-ies were less often involved and often not perceived as helpful. In the majority of conflicts, there was no serious harm done to the research leaders in-volved, and qualification goals of conflicting parties could be reached. More widespread however were damages to research productivity such as delays or unpublished results. About two third of conflicts involved at least one person in a qualification process, demonstrating how inextricably research is linked with qualification, and that conflicts often occur in the complex entanglement of collaborative knowledge production and certification of individual research performance. Satisfaction with conflict development and its final resolution was fairly evenly distributed over the spectrum from complete dissatisfaction to complete satisfaction. Most re-search leaders changed their leadership practices in response to conflict experiences, showing that conflicts can be an opportunity to learn and grow. Within Physics as a research culture, some field-specific differences point to subtle variations in the contexts for the development of conflicts, partly connected to different group sizes, although overall, similarities are high. Gender differences are scarce; they were most pronounced and conclusive in emotional and practical responses. To improve the situation, universities and research organizations can follow five lines of action that should be implemented with respect for and participation of research professionals.
Erfasst von	GESIS - Leibniz-Institut für Sozialwissenschaften, Mannheim
Update	2026/3