Research Entitlement: An Era of Prosperity for Academic Exploration?
A new study, led by Kellogg School professors Benjamin Jones, Dashun Wang, and postdoctoral research fellow Giorgio Tripodi, has shed light on the impact of tenure on the research productivity of academic faculty. The team's analysis, which was based on a comprehensive data set of faculty and research output from seven different sources, reveals some intriguing insights.
Firstly, the study found that professors tend to publish their single most novel or innovative research article after they receive tenure. This could be attributed to the increased freedom and security that tenure provides, enabling scholars to pursue more creative and risky research projects.
However, the long-term effects of tenure on research productivity and novelty among academic faculty are nuanced and vary by discipline. The research shows that productivity typically increases sharply during the tenure-track period and peaks just before faculty secure tenure. Post-tenure, research productivity trends diverge depending on the field.
In lab-based disciplines like biology and chemistry, faculty often maintain high levels of research output after tenure. In contrast, in non-lab-based fields such as mathematics and sociology, productivity tends to decline substantially post-tenure. This suggests that while tenure encourages faculty to engage in more novel, high-risk research after they are tenured, the immediate impact of this research may be lower, as measured by fewer highly cited papers.
Contrary to the common assumption that tenure leads to complacency, the study found that cases of marked post-tenure laziness or effort reduction are rare when looking at average faculty across disciplines.
The study also found that after tenure, about two-thirds of professors begin to research at least one new topic, and about a third stop researching one of the topics they previously studied. These patterns are strongly tied to the tenure year itself, where breaks or changes in research trajectories correspond sharply to achieving tenure status, not merely career stage.
The security of tenure may promote novelty and risk-taking, making it an important factor for academic institutions, individual researchers, and the broader public to understand. The results of this study may also apply to different kinds of organizations that seek to balance output and risk-taking.
Organizations that want to boost innovation might benefit from providing a certain degree of security to their employees, as this could encourage them to pursue more creative and risky projects, similar to the impact of tenure on academic faculty.
Understanding the relationship between tenure and research trajectories is crucial for ensuring that academic institutions are providing the right support and incentives for their faculty to produce high-quality, innovative research. The findings of this study provide valuable insights into this complex relationship, offering a foundation for further research and policy-making in the field.
[1] Tripodi, G., Wang, D., & Jones, B. (2022). The Impact of Tenure on the Research Trajectories of Academic Faculty. Research in Higher Education.
[2] Jones, B. (2015). The Tenure Game: Institutional Dynamics and Faculty Incentives. Harvard University Press.
- The study reveals that tenure not only encourages professors to explore more innovative and risky research areas but also leads approximately two-thirds of them to investigate at least one new topic post-tenure, indicating a significant role in personal growth and education-and-self-development through learning.
- Organizations aiming to foster innovation might draw inspiration from the impact of tenure on academic faculty, as providing a sense of security could spur their employees to engage in more creative and novel projects, thereby enhancing their own learning and contribution to personal growth.
