The costs of large teams in innovation

While traditional studies have emphasised the benefits of teamwork, the cost of teams in innovation has been overlooked.

By leveraging big data and AI tools, Dr Lingfei Wu’s research identifies disruptive innovation in science and technology, showing how large teams can hinder individual creativity that might otherwise drive breakthrough advancement in the field. Team hierarchy is a key factor, with early-career scientists often playing a supporting role in idea implementation rather than leading the generation of new ideas. Large teams can also obscure individual recognition, exacerbating the contribution-credit paradox in science—a phenomenon first identified by sociologist R. K. Merton in the 1960s. This issue has become increasingly relevant today, as teams grow ubiquitous across domains, yet not all team members receive recognition for their contributions.

Join Dr Lingfei Wu, Visiting Fellow on the Oxford Martin Programme on the Future of Work, as he discusses his research and its implications for innovation.