Page - (000247) - in Knowledge and Networks

243© The Author(s) 2017 J. Glückler et al. (eds.), Knowledge and Networks, Knowledge and Space 11, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-45023-0_12 Chapter 12 How Atypical Combinations of Scientific Ideas Are Related to Impact: The General Case and the Case of the Field of Geography Satyam Mukherjee, Brian Uzzi, Benjamin F. Jones, and Michael Stringer Scientific enterprises are increasingly concerned that research within narrow bound- aries is unlikely to be the source of the most fruitful ideas (National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, & Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, 2004). Models of creativity emphasize that innovation is spurred by original combinations that spark new insights (Becker, 1982; Guimera, Uzzi, Spiro, & L.A. Amaral, 2005; Jones, 2009; Jones, Wuchty, & Uzzi, 2008; Schilling, 2005; Schumpeter, 1939; Usher, 1929/1998; Uzzi & Spiro, 2005; Weitzman, 1998). Current interest in team science and how scientists search for ideas is premised in part on the idea that teams can span scientific specialties, effectively combining knowledge that prompts scientific breakthroughs (Evans & Foster, 2011; Falk- Krzesinski et al., 2010; Fiore, 2008; Stokols, Hall, Taylor, & Moser, 2008; Wuchty, Jones, & Uzzi, 2007). The production and consumption of boundary-spanning ideas can also raise well-known challenges (Azoulay, Zivin, & Manso, 2011; Collins, 1998; Einstein, 1949; Fleming, 2001; Henderson & Clark, 1990; Schilling & Green, 2011). If, as S. Mukherjee Indian Institute of Management, Udaipur, Rajasthan, India e-mail: satyam.mukherjee@gmail.com B. Uzzi (*) Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 2001 Sheridan Road, 60208 Evanston, IL, USA e-mail: uzzi@northwestern.edu B.F. Jones Department of Management and Strategy, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, 2001 Sheridan Road, Jacobs Center 371, 60208-2001 Evanston/Chicago, IL, USA e-mail: bjones@kellogg.northwestern.edu M. Stringer Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems, Northwestern University, 600 Foster, 60208 Evanston, IL, USA e-mail: mike.stringer@datascopeanalytics.com