Chicago Booth Review Podcast

Does collaboration really produce better ideas?

12 snips
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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INSIGHT

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.
INSIGHT

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.
INSIGHT

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.
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