
Chicago Booth Review Podcast Does collaboration really produce better ideas?
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Oct 22, 2025 Mike Gibbs, an economist from Chicago Booth, discusses his groundbreaking research on collaboration and innovation. He dives into the importance of social networks and reveals that a larger network can indeed lead to better ideas. The conversation explores how remote work impacts networking, highlighting that collaboration boosts idea quality but its effects are often short-lived. Gibbs emphasizes the role of brokers in bridging gaps between teams, ultimately expanding innovation. The dynamic of hybrid work complicates collaboration, challenging the traditional views on workplace settings.
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Real Innovation Measured From Employee Suggestions
- HCL's employee suggestion system provides real innovation data, not survey responses.
- Researchers link suggested ideas and team membership to map real workplace social networks.
Degree Versus Network Size Explained
- Degree counts how many people you collaborate with during a period.
- Network size captures the broader group you're associated with beyond direct collaborators.
What Bridge Centrality Captures
- Bridge centrality measures how much a person connects otherwise disconnected groups.
- Bridgers occupy the loose ties across subnetworks and span structural holes.


